Azzuraa bag review

I was contacted some time ago by a relatively new brand called Azzuraa – which means blue or sky blue. Azzuraa is a brand producing bespoke leather goods for men and women as well as bespoke leather shoes. They make small goods like wallets or belts to briefcases, women bags and overnight bags or holdalls.

The company is based in India therefore is able to offer completely customisable and bespoke products in a reasonable price. Azzuraa offered to make a bag of my choice in return for a review.

Coincidently I had been in a market for a black leather bag at that time and was excited to hear about Azzuraa’s offer. Before than I only owned one bag which I used take with me to the office on a daily basis. Did not matter whether I was wearing bordeaux or black shoes – I always went with my dark brown office bag. I really couldn’t stand it when wearing blue suit with black oxford shoes. There comes the Azzuraa and their bespoke service.

My requirements were clearly defined. I usually do not take too much papers with me to the office but there are times when I need to go on a meeting, travel on the train for a couple of hours, take bottle of water, my laptop, some papers and personal stuff with me.
I started with defining the width of the bag. The main pocket should have been at least 10cm wide in order my lunch box to fit into. I also wanted a padded laptop sleeve in a separate pocket so I added 4cm and finally I needed a small pocket on the outside of the bag where I carry all my personal items – this is another 3cm. So in total the bag is 17cm wide. It is also 30-31cm high and about 42cm long. It is a proper office bag and because of its versatility and size I can use it as a overnight bag as well. In terms of inside pockets I requested 3 zipper-less pockets (i.e. for a phone, pens, notes etc) about 12cm long each and a zip pocket on the side for carrying a wallet. My only complaint would be that there was some confusion during the ordering process because I wanted this thin separate laptop pocket to be padded while the padded sleeve was added inside this pocket. This only gives more space at the end but also places the laptop on the very side of this pocket. It might be an issue if you do not distribute the weight inside a bag uniformly. Otherwise Azzuraa executed all my requests perfectly and the accuracy of the width of the bag can be measured in mm.

The inspiration for my bag comes from famous Berluti bag. I really like this almost flat and smooth surface of the leather only disturbed by small pocket on the side and handles. In the process of ordering I asked Azzuraa to make certain parts of the bag in a specific way. I think I mixed details from a few different bags, added my own practical requirements and that was it. There was no specific requirements in terms of details and finishing so I left it all to Azzuraa in order to test their capabilities. Colours of the zipper and handle/shoulder strap fixings were chosen by the makers.

In order to summarise my requirements, I requested:

black leather
blue twill cotton for the lining
17cm (width) x 32cm (height) x 42cm (length)
one main pocket 10cm wide, thinner pocket with padded laptop sleeve 3cm wide and external smaller pocket 4cm wide – all with zippers
3 zipp-less pockets inside the main one and one small pocket with zip on the opposite side

Azzuraa only uses 100% vegetable tanned leathers from Montana, Italy and Thomasware, UK. No artificial additions, it is a classic, most traditional leather and offers natural, elegant and fashionable look. I hope it will age nicely in a vintage way. Cotton twill lining used on the inside of the bag is a 100% cotton fabric weighting at least 9-10 oz – nice solid lining. The thread used in the bag is also of highest quality provided by Gutterman and their MARA line. Zipper as you expect from famous YKK made of premium brass, as well as all brass hardware items. Be aware though, that because of all the above the bag is definitely not light, with this size it weights a proper 2kg.

To be honest I am impressed with the quality. All the stitching is done very neatly and regularly, everything is nice and parallel to each other. Leather does not seem to have any significant or visible imperfections nor scars. The bag is very stylish, as you can see at the photos it looks like a £2k bag not to mention that it was a bespoke process with full customisation. Leather is great, have proper thickness and the bag stands on its own, doesn’t collapse. I have to say I am very happy with the product. The bag was delivered in 2 days from India and shipped on the 19th of March, while ordered on the 4th of March which makes the turnaround time about 2 weeks! Can’t confirm yet if that is the standard delivery date but will provide more info in the next post.

I will cover the ordering procedure, prices and available options in the next post. Stay tuned!

First few photos from the making of: