Author:
Publication: The Economic Times
Date: August 9, 2011
Introduction: Hermes to launch limited-edition
sarees for $1,800 each in India in October,says Ravi Teja Sharma
Could the extensive coverage of Pakistan foreign
minister Hina Rabbani Khars Birkin handbags have spurred Hermes to go beyond
its bags and scarves to tempt the subcontinental fashion buffs For, a decade
after the French luxury brand debuted a limited edition of silk sarees, it
is poised to do so again.
A Hermes India spokesperson confirmed that
the brand would launch a limited edition collection of four to five silk sarees
in India in October. Priced at $1,800 (Rs 81,000 plus taxes, of course) with
another $500 for a matching blouse, the ensemble would cost a tad less than
the first collection.
Those silk mousse line sarees retailed at
around 1,200 each (plus 250 for the blouse) at Hermes London store in Sloane
Street in October 2000.And they were designed by Sunita Kumar, a Kolkata-based
designer who is the wife of former Indian tennis player Naresh Kumar along
with Hermes in-house designers.
In fashioning the six-yard drape, her role
was explained by the fact that Hermes chief Jean-Louis Dumas had seen a saree
that Kumar had made by sewing many Hermes scarves together. At the initiative
of Jean-Louis son Pierre-Alexis Dumas it led to a collaboration with Sunita
Kumar.
They launched the sarees for the Millennium
collection. I am happy they are again bringing the saree to India, Kumar,
who was unaware of Hermes' new plans, told ET over the phone from Kolkata.
Beyond the sarees, India has featured in Hermes scarves motifs,and a 2008
collection called Indian Fantasies in which Jean Paul Gaultier featured saree
dresses. In 2009, the brand launched Garden of the Monsoon,a perfume inspired
by the arrival of monsoon in Kerala. This shows what a powerful market dia
is, said designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, whose sarees are trousseau must-haves.
Hina Rabbani Khar and fashionistas worldwide
are not the only ones who covet Hermes. Bernard Arnaults luxury conglomerate
LVMH has increased its stake in the label to 20%, prompting the Hermes family
to close ranks and put its 72%-odd shares in a holding company.
Little wonder then that Hermes shares bucked
the trend in a falling market last week, taking its valuation to nearly 26
billion almost as much as banking major Societe Generale. Experts say luxury
sells even during recessionary times. Decisions of most people who buy high-end
luxury products are not impacted by a slowdown and stock market movements,
said Pinakiranjan Mishra, partner at Ernst & Young. With Hermes targeting
luxury buyers in new markets (China being the star), the limited edition saree
could be the first of several India-specific launches.
