In an attempt to revive the dying art of conversation in today’s social-media driven world, 20-year-old Madhura Kulkarni has designed an LED Emoji Bag. “People in the 21st century are so engrossed in social media that they hardly talk to each other verbally. Human to human verbal communication and interaction has reduced a lot,” the young fashion designer told HuffPost India. “I wanted this to change, so I came up with this bag that displays different emoticons or emojis, which could actually start a verbal conversation between people.”
Kulkarni who is still in her final year of fashion studies at the Birmingham University in the UK, decided to design these bags for her final-year project and launched it under her brand MADHECII. “I wanted to create something futuristic and out of the world which depicts the modern era. Sci-Fi, Robots, Cyborgs, Humanoids -- in short, the future, inspires me the most. The reason is, you never know what is going to happen in the future. And, that gives me tremendous freedom and inspiration to create something which is original, un-imagined and out of the world,” she says. Emojis are already recognized as bonafide couture accessories after designer Karl Lagerfeld showcased emoji prints as part of the Chanel Fall 2016 collection in Paris this March. Kulkarni however wanted to go a step further and use a moving picture in her design.
Madhura Kulkarni with her Emoji bag
Somewhat reminiscent of the popular 1970’s mood rings that changed colour to reflect the wearer's mood, Kulkarni’s bags feature an LED panel that shows 5 different emojis and 3 words in colour. The budding Nasik-born designer is planning to develop an app that will customise the type of emoji and words displayed on the bags, along with the time when it is to be displayed. The bags themselves are made out of aeroply wood with leather trimmings, and are priced between £500 and £1000, and are available here. One can also write in to Kulkarni at madhecii.madhura@gmail.com to place orders.
Kulkari, who was selected as one of 5 finalists for the Independent Handbag Designer Awards this year, says that she is working on other ideas that could employ wearable technology.
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