Contemporary lustre: Marketing luxury brands in India
Melanie Puddick and Priya MenonAdded Value
After breakfasting and instructing her maids on details of the dinner party she is hosting that evening, Leela slips onto the back seat of her chauffeur-driven Mercedes and goes shopping for Dior stilettos, a bag from Fendi and an outfit from Indian luxury couturier Tarun Tahiliani. Next stop is a purchase for her husband, a Mumbai-based businessman with interests in shipping and hotels. From a small showroom facing the Arabian Sea, she is attended by three sales assistants before picking out a perfect white...