Lucknow-based footwear brand Toramally (the name is derived from the stone ‘tourmaline’) has become synonymous with big-scale fashion events like The India Story and Wedding Diaries for shoppers in Calcutta. One would often see shoppers with a Toramally bag leaving Raajkutir Swabhumi; some would specifically wait for the exhibitions so that they could try the shoes and buy them. Good news, there is no need to wait any more because Rahul Shastri, founder and designer of Toramally, has launched the brand’s first flagship store in Calcutta.
“I started Toramally from a rented apartment opposite the Science College on Ballygunge Circular Road just five years back and I had never imagined I’ll come up with a store this close from where we started. I have received immense love from the city, that aside I have a very deep connection with Calcutta... I studied in NIFT Calcutta. But I come from Lucknow, from a middle-class background; I was the first one who got into design. I am a first-generation entrepreneur and when I started I had no clue about how it is going to go. My clientele in Calcutta has been phenomenal so it feels great to open our first store in Calcutta,” said Rahul.
For East India partners Divya Ganeriwala and Surbhi Poddar, getting Toramally only made sense. “Toramally is the epitome of luxury shoemaking in India and offers a level of customisation not available anywhere else in the world. Its products are for the discerning shoe lover, comparable to the finest in France and Italy. One has to experience their product to understand its nuances,” said Divya and Surbhi.
Glimpses from the newly launched store...
When you walk into the store, you will be mesmerised by the aesthetics of it with various kinds of shoes kept meticulously on the racks. "We are known in India and abroad now for our tattooing on our shoes. We also have a line of formals and then there are some cool accessories like paper weights made with pebbles moulded with leather and hand-stitched, hand-printed... we call it Toramally pebbles. Men always want a good office bag, and so we started making them, we also do satchel with a tattoo, belts but only on orders as people mostly want to buy a shoe and make matching belt. Wallets are also present at the store," said Rahul on the collection at the store.
The brand has a series of leather accessories too. Here the mannequin is seen carrying a Weekender bag (that can also hold a suit), which can be used for overnight business trips, and wearing a pair of Zeus — Blake Stitched construction whole-cut loafers with filigree work on the toe. He is seen in a leather apron that is "used to protect the garments of the shoemaker or the shoe shiner". Toramally uses the latter to style and accessories their mannequins.
What: Toramally flagship store
Where: 26, Chakraberia Road (North), Ground Floor
Timings: Monday to Saturday: 11am to 8pm; and Sunday: noon to 7pm