Dior unveils new collection
Christian Dior showcased its Fall 2023 collection in Mumbai on March 30, becoming the first fashion house to unveil the latest lines in India as luxury brands tap new markets in a hunt for their next billions.
Everything from sariinspired skirts to boleros to vibrantly coloured outfits in silks, including those in an Indian pink, were on display, with the Gateway of India as the backdrop in the show led by Dior’s first female creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Parent group LVMH’s shares rose as much as 1% to €838.7, touching a record high during market hours on Friday.
Dior, the second-biggest brand of billionaire Bernard
Arnault ’ s French luxury behemoth LVMH, and the decision to add India to its seasonal schedule shows a rising interest to tap the nation’s rising wealth. India has 119 billionaires, according to Oxfam, with the country estimated to produce 70 new millionaires every day between 2018 and 2022.
It also points to Dior’s ability to bring entry-level buyers into the LVMH realm — a rising group of spenders, especially in the country of 1.4-billion people, through its cosmetics to perfumes to bags offerings.
“It’s a hugely untapped market with the middle class on the rise and lots more, by the year, millionaires,” says Deborah Aitken, senior analyst for luxury goods at Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s vibrant, it’s new design, new colour, new technologies into the luxury space, which is hugely needed.”
Dior is not new at showcasing its collections at untapped locations with iconic architecture serving as backdrop to its runways. Artistic director Kim Jones had unveiled its men’s autumn collection last year with the Pyramids of Giza rising in the background, bringing to the front its parent group’s ambition to ensure future profits as the next generation of the Arnault family takes on more pivotal roles in the empire.
“When you think about Dior, there’s an immediate link for Dior in fragrances, in makeup where they’re so strong and that is where entry-point luxury starts for so many consumers,” said Aitken.