Desi Luxury - Indians prefer local Luxury Brands

A new survey at the Time Magazine has shown that when it come to Luxury, Indians prefer desi brands.

Three of the six most often mentioned luxury brands in India are local and cater primarily to men. Survey respondents who were asked to name the most familiar brands off the top of their head listed menswear labels—which can be explained by the fact that the majority of Indian women wear traditional saris. As foreign brands go, Swiss watchmakers have made the deepest inroads into this market, and only one foreign fashion label—Gucci—made the Top 10.

With so many Indian consumers still opting for the traditional sari, it's not surprising that menswear would be the fashion category leading the subcontinent into the world of luxury. There are other factors, like the climate, that explain the popularity of menswear brands like Louis Philippe and Crocodile. In India, shirts are considered outerwear, and these two brands are well-known shirtmakers. Other high-scoring local brands such as Park Avenue, Allen Solly and Reid & Taylor focus mainly on men's business and formal attire (although they do manufacture women's lines and traditional Indian clothing)—which means they cater to special occasions like weddings, considered the most important social event in India. Wills Lifestyle, the smallest of the brands above, may be more familiar to local fashionistas because it is a major sponsor of India Fashion Week.

Read the complete survey results here.
Read the complete Global Luxury Survey here.