For years, global luxury spoke about India in hypotheticals; a market of promise, but “too complex,” “too traditional,” “too price-sensitive.” Today, as global luxury faces its slowest expansion in years, and India is accelerating, the industry has begun to ask the lazy question: “Is India the next China for luxury market?”
The answer is simple: No.
China’s luxury expansion was born out of rupture. The Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) disrupted traditional craft lineages, and weakened cultural confidence. When Western luxury arrived with its ready-made identity, it stepped into a vacuum. India’s history is the opposite story. India never lost its cultural heritage.
India was always the homeground of luxury. Today, homegrown brands along with a new class of High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs) are bringing it back into focus.
India’s Luxury Engine
India is experiencing a powerful homegrown luxury renaissance, with domestic brands shaping the aspirations of a young, culturally confident consumer.
Fashion and couture brands like Raw Mango, Torani, Anamika Khanna, and Shantanu & Nikhil are succeeding because they understand the emotional logic of India’s luxury customer; a buyer who seeks meaning, craftsmanship, and investment value.
The "Big Fat Indian Wedding" market remains the undisputed king of luxury consumption. For ceremonial and high-occasion wear, consumers overwhelmingly prefer Indian couture designers like Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani, and Manish Malhotra. As one buyer noted,
"If I want to buy something to wear for my wedding, I will buy Sabyasachi or Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla."
Global brands struggle here; homegrown ones thrive.
Global, but Rooted
India’s affluent and HNWI population is expanding steadily, with more young buyers entering the luxury ecosystem than at any time in recent history. Yet what differentiates this cohort is not wealth alone, it is cultural clarity.
A 28-year-old Indian luxury buyer today may carry a Bottega bag, choose Louboutins, wear a Raw Mango sari, invest in gold from a local jeweller, and buy Ayurvedic skincare. The mix is global, but the expression is distinctly Indian.
Western luxury will always have a place in India, especially for watches, handbags, and shoes, but they will orbit a market increasingly defined by Indian identity.