The Luxe Affair Continues

Whilst I was striding by a LV store at The Taj, Mumbai, I noticed these two young ladies clad in black burkhas, drooling at a backlit Louis Vuitton poster of a semi-nude female holding firey red LV bags. It was quite an offbeat sight. Not the window-shopping part. But the contrast between the icons in real and on the print ad.

I just couldn’t stop myself from capturing the visual then and there. But the moment I took out my SLR and started composing my frame, the ladies spotted me and were more than happy ‘posing’ for me. They probably assumed that I was a newspaper reporter.

India is a very new market. Despite the immaturity of the luxury segment in India, there are already clear trends developing – particularly in the penetration rates of luxury brands into the men’s and women’s sectors.Yes, that’s exactly the word, penetration. An owner of a multi-brand luxury retail stores in (my ex-boss) India confidently states 'Luxury seems a mirage today, shall become an epidemic tomorrow.'

The luxury goods market in India is one of the world’s most diverse and exciting. You cannot walk down the high streets of metros, without spotting an LV, Gucci or Dior amongst others. And the catch is the variety of people sporting the same brand ranges from a rich-fat-diamond-bathed aunty in a bling salwar-kammez, a classy professional, a chic stylish rich spoilt brat, to the above mentioned boorkha clad ladies.

"This is what I find remarkable about Americans- they believe that if you buy the right clothes you will be accepted by the right people, regardless of where you come from. It is quite touching, really. I don't know if I believe that. But I suppose it's a good thing because it keeps the fashion business going."

Suzy Menkes, leading fashion commentator, in the New Yorker, 2003

India ain't much different.Whilst the love affair with luxury amongst the elite has been on for a while now, the new emerging affluent can’t cease its lust for luxe either!