Roberto Cavalli, Hackett London make high-street debut

Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli and British luxury

menswear and accessories brand Hackett London that have entered India through Dubai-based Infinite Luxury group and Madura Fashion and Lifestyle respectively have opened their stores at high-street locations in New Delhi’s DLF Emporio. The 2,000 sq. ft. Roberto Cavalli store set up by fashion designer Manav Gangwani, Dubai-based entrepreneur Sahiba Narang and finance expert Rahul Kapoor, will also be introducing the country’s first Cavalli café across the mall’s atrium this year. Roberto Cavalli, known for its over-the-top style and bold prints, is planning aggressive expansion in this part of the world with its first few stores opening in Tokyo, Beijing and then in New Delhi.

All the merchandise, from the carpet to the clothes at the new store has been shipped from Milan. Since its opening in August this year, the brand has already garnered interest of buyers enquiring about upcoming collections. While the menswear and accessories line is already in, massive demand is keeping the staff on toes. For instance, pf the 400 belts shipped from Milan last month, only 18 are left. In the first month of its launch in Emporio, Roberto Cavalli was the second-highest selling brand in the mall.

On the other hand, the Hackett London store, a recent edition to DLF Emporio’s list of high-end brands, offers very British waistcoats, dinner jackets, top hats, bow ties and totting canes. While this is the first standalone store of the British menswear brand in India (stores in Chandigarh and Bangalore are also on the cards), the brand has also been retailing at The Collective across the country for a few years.
In another section of the Hackett store is the Mayfair collection — stacked according to colour and fabric are Hackett’s Savile Row-inspired, three-piece chalk-stripe suits in navy blue, black and chocolate brown; Prince of Wales double-breasted suits in grey and Twill overcoats; tweed jackets and dinner jackets in blue, black and even a velvety red.

Keeping the recent CII-AT Kearney report on India’s bullish luxury market in mind and with gloomy economic conditions continuing in the western markets, many global premium luxury brands are planning India entry and they are definitely seeing a great demand here.