LUXURY IS WHAT’S PRECIOUS IN THE WAY IT’S MADE, IT NEED NOT BE EXPENSIVE
NEW DELHI: Family-owned Italian luxury knitwear brand Missoni SpA’s co-owner and creative director, Angela Missoni, defined luxury as special, precious and not necessarily expensive. “Luxury is what is special, it has to be precious in the way it is made. It does not have to expensive,” said Missoni, at a session on the future of luxury at the 16th edition of the Hindustan Times Summit in New Delhi on Saturday.
Missoni added that all luxury is not fashion. “There is a misunderstanding of the word luxury. Fashion is independent of luxury,” she said. Missoni added young men between the ages of 16 and 20 are spending a lot more on luxury.
Missoni SpA opened a store at the Emporio Mall in south Delhi in 2013. Europe is the brand’s largest market.
Leading Indian designer, Tarun Tahiliani, who also participated in the session, said luxury in India is part of the wedding market. “Indians want to be so western. The influx of western clothing and brands has changed the landscape. But they still do appreciate what is made in India,” he said.
The luxury market in India has the potential to grow from $18.5 billion to $50 billion by 2020 and to $180 billion by 2025, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said in 2016. While discussing the rise of e-commerce in retail in the country, Tahiliani remarked, “E-commerce takes away from the tactile experience of retail therapy. You can never take away from the human element,” he said.
India’s e-commerce market, dominated by Flipkart Pvt Ltd and Amazon.com Inc, can potentially grow more than fourfold to $150 billion by 2022, fuelled by rising incomes and a surge in internet users, according to a report by software industry lobby group, Nasscom, and consulting firm, PwC India.
DURING THE SESSION, ANGELA MISSONI SAID THE WORD LUXURY IS MISUNDERSTOOD AS ALL OF IT IS NOT LIMITED TO FASHION, WITH TARUN TAHILIANI ADDING THAT LUXURY IN INDIA IS PART OF THE WEDDING MARKET