Indo-Asian News Service, New Delhi, Jan 28: A growing clientele with an appetite for luxury products makes India a conducive market for global fashion designers to make inroads, says British designer Alice Temperley, whose creations have been worn by the likes of The Duchess of Cambridge, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez.
She has launched her fashion brand Temperley London in the Indian market.
An annual visitor to India, she feels that over the years, the country’s market has turned ripe for fashion-related engagements.
“I have been to India at least once a year for the last 15 years and I have loved seeing the market place change,” Temperley told IANS in an email interview from London.
“The first big European flagship stores, the first mall and now more eclectic designer boutiques. It is the right time to engage with the Indian consumer as there is a clear appetite for luxury brands and a discerning customer base that are influenced by global fashion trends,” said the women’s wear designer.
The year 2015 marks the brand’s 15th anniversary, and the designer feels that her latest collection is perfect to make its mark in India.
The Temperley brand has made its India foray via multi-designer store Kitsch, a property co-owned by Priya and Charu Sachdev.
“I am happy to be launching in Kitsch and excited to see the response,” said the designer.
Over the years, several international designer brands like Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Givenchy, took inspiration from India’s rich culture and heritage for some of their offerings. Temperley too hopes to take a ‘desi’ cue.
A joint study from an industry association and a private bank said Wednesday that the Indian luxury market was expanding fast and would reach $18 billion mark by 2017 from its existing level of $14 billion.
According to an Assocham and Yes Bank’s market study, increasing brand awareness among the Indian youth and rising purchasing power of the upper class in tier II and III cities would lead to consumer spending touching $4.2 trillion by 2017.
Fashion, fine dining and automobiles are the primary components which would register the highest growth in the luxury segment.
The study also said global consumer spending, too, is on the rise, and is expected to reach $40 trillion by 2020, with an unprecedented growth of $12 trillion in a decade.