Our Story
Zebba is the brainchild of two people who couldn’t be more different but who share the same deep passion for shoes. Childhood friends, Paras and Shambhavi, who fought over silly things, realized that they were both absolute shoe fanatics.
Brought together by Shambhavi’s designing skills and Paras’ shoe-manufacturing experience in the European markets, the duo now creates shoes that are fashionably comfortable and relevant.
Paras’s family was already manufacturing shoes and selling them in the European markets since 1988. He realized that there was a huge potential for his creations in India as well. Wanting to capitalize on the ever-growing Indian market, which has stood its ground despite the global economic crisis, he felt it was the right time last year to penetrate the Indian market with his own brand.
Zebba is an exquisite line of patent leather shoes, designed with a fun and contemporary edge and handcrafted by skilled artisans in Kanpur.
The word Zebba is Persian for everything graceful and delicate and it is the brand’s constant endeavor to create designs that are elegant and playful at the same time.
What makes Zebba stand out besides the designs is the quality of materials that are used in making each shoe. Made with materials ranging from exotic rare leather to matt suede, each design is ideated with thoughtfulness and infused with artisan laces, satin silks, and embellishments like rivets and zips.
Early on, Paras and Shambhavi knew that the focus of the line would be flats. With the market flooded with heels, which are both – unhealthy and not-so-comfortable, the pair felt the need to cater to women who did not want to compromise style for comfort.
There was also a looming gap in the market for sophisticated ballerinas for women as tall as Shambhavi, who always felt too awkward in heels, towering well above most men around them.
Zebba is also unique in terms of its ability to customize its shoes according to your needs and specifications. Don’t like a color, want to change the black suede for the nude, tell us and our experts will create the shoe from scratch and we’ll have it delivered to you. Add sequins, remove the zip, you say it, we’ll do it.
The result – a classy, glamorous and fun pair of shoes that will last you a lifetime
WHO WE ARE
Zebba is a part of Shradha Enterprises, which is owned by Bharat Exports, a leader in manufacturing and exports of footwear for women for over 25 years. Founded in 1988, Bharat Exports is not only ahead of its time in innovation and designs, but also renowned for the quality of its products, which has met the standards of even the most discerning eyes.
While promoting the spirit of craftsmanship, Bharat Exports is also technologically advanced than most of its peers with the use of modern machines to supply shoes to the hungry European markets. Our workforce is extremely qualified to meet the needs of the ever-evolving global clientele. Bharat Exports’ goodwill and reputation walks ahead of the company. Experience, consumer testimonials, reliability has made us a very popular brand in the Unites states, United Kingdom and other European countries as well.
FOUNDERS
PARAS
The shy guy who sees a woman’s feet before he sees her face, Paras owns over 35 pairs of shoes and still counting. He is the next generation of shoe-manufacturers at Bharat Exports and after studying business management in UK he decided to take the business to the next level. Early on Paras realized the potential of the Indian markets and the need for oh-so-dropdead-gorgeous shoes for women here who have limited options from Indian brands.
He decided to start an Indian brand of genuine leather products and the way forward for him was digital. Hence, Zebba.co.in was born.
While his move has been unconventional to retail only online, Paras is a pretty conventional guy. If you’re a girl, he’ll probably open doors for you. Oh, also he never wears two socks of the same pair on any day. He will always pair one sock with a sock from another pair!
SHAMBHAVI
Shambhavi is tall. Really tall. This explains why most of her designs for Zebba have been pretty delicate ballerinas and slip-ons. The demure looking girl is the designer and muse for Zebba, which is her dream project along with Paras, her childhood friend. After visiting his factory in Kanpur over the years to pick countless pair of shoes, she realized she wanted to design these babies. A bachelors degree in applied arts from Rachana Sansad College in Mumbai taught her the finer nuances of design.
She is also an assistant designer at a leading design house in Mumbai where she creates beautiful designs for cushions and decor accessories best described only by the words of a poet.
Like Paras, Shambhavi also loves to observe people's footwear. She found Indian women were extremely well dressed but had a tough time finding shoes that could live up to the mark.
She loves good music, cupcakes, accessories, chick flicks and SHOES!
When asked about herself, here’s what Shambhavi had to say, “One who seeks life through all forms and colors…”
With Paras’ vision and Shambhavi’s inspired designs, Zebba became a reality.
CREATIVE HEAD
KADAMBRI
Kadambri - A creative, imaginitive and an absolute committed individual who works as a Creative Head of Zebba.
Elegance, luxury and style of Zebba's line of product is due to her constant dedication and passion.
As a skilled and ambitious professional she
successfully translates concepts and ideas into designs for the modern day contemporary women.
She does not only designs the product but also looks into every detailing till the product reaches the market.
Loves to hear ideas from random people and try to create designs based on real woman requirements.
Kadambri likes innovation. She likes to play with colors.
She curates every piece with passion which reflects her fierce and progressive personality. Her enthusiasm and involvement in detailing is the asset to the company.
Kadambri loves Dim sums, Punjabi music and Korean dramas.
Explains why she is so versatile.
She believes in introducing newness in the business. With her, Zebba is always all ready to bring delight and beauty at your table.
HOW WE MAKE SHOES
A typical Zebba shoe is almost like a piece of art with fine craftsmanship. Minute details are added to give you a perfect pair of shoes.
Did you know what goes into making your shoes? We’ll tell you how we produce some of the finest leather shoes.
PATTERN MAKING
What you wear is not just a design on a paper for us. Our expert group of designers first create the pattern on a cast. Generally the pattern size is 37, which is the standard global size for women footwear.
GRADING
Once the pattern has been prepared, it is graded in all sizes. The difference between each consecutive size is 6.6 millimeters. Apart from this, the vamp girth, which is the front part of the shoe, and joint girth also differs according to the size.
CUTTING
The is the first actual step towards making your footwear. Once the pattern is ready, our cutting department trims the leather or suede or any other cloth according to the pattern. The materials are hand-dyed and cut by hand.
UPPER CLOSING
The upper material, which has been cut to size, is now attached with a lining, wherever necessary. It is then molded, pierced, punched, ridged, and mounted with perfection on the line-up.
STITCHING
The upper needs to be stitched before it goes ahead for the next process. This gives a strong hold so that the upper material doesn’t tear apart.
STAMPING
In this step, the Zebba logo is stamped on the insole, either by heat embossing or screen print.
LASTING
Lasting is the most critical part of shoe making. This is the process of stretching the upper material over the cast to give it definite shape. A high degree of force is applied for stretching and it is then adjusted at different points of the cast to acquire its definite shape.
PASTING
Once the lasting is done, the shaped upper part is attached with the sole. In this step, the upper and sole come together and form a shoe.
BUFFING
Once the shoe is made, the edges of the shoe are buffed to give it a proper and neat shape of the shoe.
FINISHING
This involves the final trimming, cleaning and polishing of the shoe to make it look as desirable as it feels.
PACKING
Once the shoe is complete, it is packed in a beautiful Zebba box after being scanned and checked by our experts. It is now ready to be delivered at your doorstep.