India

Centuries-old heritage brands and contemporary jewellers from India are opening stores in North America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the UK, but few have broadened their offering to appeal to a client base beyond the South Asian diaspora.

India’s most idolised sportsmen have the potential to be powerful marketing vehicles for global fashion brands but only if partnerships don’t distract players from the game or cast them as elitist figures in the eyes of their diverse fanbase.

Today in Mumbai, the Bollywood superstar is launching a premium lifestyle label with a range of sneakers, everyday clothing and accessories.

Actors Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Jacqueline Fernandez, Ananya Panday, Khushi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, together with designers Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Malhotra, Anita Dongre, Anamika Khanna, and more, joined BoF’s Imran Amed and The Bicester Collection’s Desirée Bollier to celebrate India’s growing influence on the global luxury landscape.

Indian fashion star Sabyasachi Mukherjee marked his 25th anniversary in business with a spectacle that sought to position his Sabyasachi label as ‘India’s first global luxury brand.’

An ongoing political crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh, has prompted global retailers to explore alternatives, including India, for garment imports, exporters told Reuters.

A new report has linked businesses supplying companies including Zara-owner Inditex, H&M Group, Gap Inc. and Amazon to incidents of forced labour and debt bondage on Indian cotton farms.

Fashion brands like Dior, Ralph Lauren and Jimmy Choo are cosying up to a new generation of actresses, socialites and aristocrats who capture the zeitgeist in India’s rapidly growing luxury market.