ALL HAIL THE BAG QUEEN : Tarini Nirula

All Hail The Bag Queen: Tarini Nirula

The young entrepreneur and accessory designer Tarini Nirula’s clutches are a rage in the fashion world. Renowned for her fun-themed, hand-crafted minaudieres, her passion for fashion started at a very young age and manifested into her profession. An interesting play of colors, textures, prints, and embellishments sets the tone for each piece.

Tuned to doing things with a fresh mind and thought Tarini cleared up her schedule to make sure she would do this interview full justice. Her sincerity, passion, and commitment are reflected in her work.

Radhika: What did you want to be as a child? 

Tarini: I have been passionate about designing ever since I can remember. As a little girl, I loved fashion, dressing up, and accessorizing. I would ask my mother to draw fashion figures for me, which I would then color in and accessorize. I think it’s safe to say that the inclination towards fashion and the creative arts started from a very young age.

Radhika: Do you have a fashion background?

Tarini: Topping in the subject of Art in my school (The Shri Ram School), I went on to apply to NIFT, which is the best fashion institute in India. After completing a four-year intensive program and being armed with a degree in fashion and lifestyle accessories, I started working on projects with design studios through which I gained experience in the industry and also experimented with various styles of design. After a year, I launched my own label of luxury fashion accessories and graphics.

Love spell Pink Minaudière

Radhika: What inspired you to create your own label?

Tarini: To put it simply, designing accessories is what comes naturally to me, and I love every bit of it. Though it was not an overnight decision. I experimented a lot with various styles of design, before finally realizing that this is my true calling.

I did a bit of styling, designed clothes, worked on a lot of graphics-digital and by hand, and of course, designed accessories throughout. I think the time that it really struck me was when I noticed that I had been in a fabric shop for 4 hours, but it felt like hardly any time had gone by! Looking at all those colors, patterns and textures always leave me with a tingly feeling of excitement, of creating something completely fresh out of an idea.

Shortly after, when I designed my first collection of bags in 2011, all the pieces sold out within a week, and that’s when I decided that I was going to take my passion and make it my profession.

Radhika: Tell us how your label came into being and how did it evolve?

Tarini: I launched my design label in 2011 and there has been no looking back ever since. After the sell-out of my debut collection, I collaborated with renowned fashion designer Jenjum Gadi for the Wills India Fashion Week, where in I designed coordinated accessories to match the outfits on the ramp. I have also been designing a range of accessories for textile designer Bina Rao for her label Creative Bee, using fabrics that are all natural hand loom pieces.

Apart from the various features in leading fashion magazines that include Vogue and Marie Claire, my designs are now available on Pernia’s Pop-up Shop, one of India’s leading fashion retail websites. I receive inquiries from all over the world and have supplied to buyers in Paris, Milan, Germany, Australia, and the Middle East to name a few.

I feel blessed to have people from different parts of the world appreciate the designs I create, and hope to spread all the joy I can through these pieces of art.