India in the luxury spotlight: How global houses are rewriting themselves the desi way

When fashion week venues, campaign shoots and store openings increasingly commence with the phrase “India first”, you know something has shifted. Global luxury brands, once content to treat India as a peripheral market, are now rewiring their creative priorities to include India not just as a future growth region, but as a narrative generator and cultural canvas. The merger of commerce and craft, marketing and meaning, is under way.

On pure numbers, the Indian luxury goods market remains modest by global standards. According to the latest report from Euromonitor International, India’s luxury-goods market is projected to hit US$ 12.1 billion in 2025, growing at about 10% year-on-year. Even slower-growing forecasts from other bodies suggest the market was about US$10 billion in 2024.

For comparison: global luxury is estimated at US$1.5 trillion in 2025. So yes: India is still a smaller piece of the global luxury pie.

But—and here is the inflection point—India’s growth rate, and perhaps more importantly its cultural and creative richness, are catching luxury houses’ attention.

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India as a Cultural Canvas

From a creative perspective, the change is palpable. According to Sumit Chaurasia, Founding Partner & Creative Director at the Indian agency Famous Innovations, “Earlier, most luxury briefs came with predetermined executions, just translate, localise the cast, maybe adjust a color palette. Today, the better ones are asking harder questions upfront: What does luxury mean to someone in Bombay versus Milan? The brands that are getting it right aren’t just adapting, they’re investing in understanding.”

Chaurasia emphasizes that the most effective briefs now go beyond adaptation. They demand authenticity, where Indian aesthetics and talent are co-authors of global storytelling, not cultural extras. “Production houses in India have also raised their game significantly. When you combine that capability with cultural understanding, you get work that doesn’t just look good. It feels true.”

And from the viewpoint of Indian-market strategy, Prathap Suthan, Chief Creative Officer & Managing Partner at Bang In The Middle, is unequivocal, “Any brand that is looking at growth, cannot afford to ignore India. The Indian-ness of the idea is what gives it life here. It has weight today. The next decade belongs to ideas born in India and then carried out to the world.”

As Business Strategist and Independent Director Lloyd Mathias puts it, “India is growing in significance, though, to be honest, it is still not very big as far as the world’s luxury brands go. One is the market is small, but growing fairly rapidly.”

In practical terms, this is translating into campaigns and luxury collections that reference Indian heritage, embroideries, regional craftsmanship, soundtracks, narratives of place. For example: how a global brand (Prada) borrowed the form of the Kolhapuri chappal (and the subsequent controversy around it) shows exactly how Indian craft is now on the radar of luxury houses.

Mathias points to this phenomenon, “If you saw, let’s say, what Prada did with the Kolhapuri chappals, you’ve seen a lot of global brands playing off Indian themes and products.”

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These creative gestures are no longer confined to Indian-market ads, they are influencing global campaigns and runways.

On the communications front, brands are shifting media mix and investment patterns for India. Mathias outlines a three-pronged structure, “It’s a mix of all. A lot of them still rely heavily on print ads and luxury magazines. The second - collaborations with large Indian business houses, Third - digital is important. They’re looking at a lot of digital campaigns focusing on the rich Indian consumer, because in digital, you can go very exclusive …”

What this means for creative and agency teams:

1. Print + luxury magazines still carry cachet in the affluent Indian context.
2. Partnerships & tie-ups (e.g., local conglomerates, luxury retail platforms) build scale and localization.
3. Digital storytelling is central for India’s affluent, tech-savvy audiences, but with the caveat that the execution must carry premium craft and feel genuinely luxury, not merely flashy.

As Chaurasia points out, “Digital storytelling is essential, but the good brands are being selective. They’re looking for creators who understand taste. The investment is definitely growing, but it’s becoming smarter, not just bigger.”

Additionally, this rising creative investment is backed by retail infrastructure expansion: leasing activity by luxury and bridge-to-luxury brands surged ~90 % year-on-year in Q1 2025 in India, per CBRE data. That means for luxury advertisers, the environment in India is shifting: it’s not just downstream media, it’s ecosystem activation (stores, experiences, content) plus storytelling.

One of the most interesting shifts is the direction of influence. Previously, Indian campaigns were localized renditions of global-platform briefs. Now, as Chaurasia notes, “India is no longer just a market to be served, it’s becoming a creative reference point. I’ve seen global clients pause and ask: ‘What’s working in India?’ The way we weave tradition with modernity, these are tensions that exist in many markets, not just ours. And when you solve for them, that work travels.”

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In essence: work conceived for India is now influencing global creative strategy. The logic: Indian consumers expect luxury to feel both aspirational and culturally anchored. If a campaign works in India on those parameters, global teams see the model as transportable (within adaptation constraints).

Suthan’s quote underscores the shift in global thinking, “The more a brand distances itself from this truth [of local culture], the more irrelevant it becomes.”

For luxury advertising, that means agencies in India are being elevated, from execution hubs to creative hubs. Indian studios, directors, stylists, and craft houses are being positioned as originators, not just adapters.

With opportunity comes risk, particularly in the domain of authenticity, craft credit and cultural sensitivity. A luxury house borrowing Indian craft without meaningful engagement or attribution can face backlash. As Mathias warns, “India has a rich cultural diversity and heritage. For a lot of these brands, it is about heritage, and India is able to provide them that rich canvas.”

But if the brand treats that canvas as décor rather than partner, the consumer (and press) will notice.

From a creative viewpoint, the lesson is clear: the India story isn’t a campaign bolt-on, it’s an opportunity to co-create global luxury narratives. When brands get this right, they not only build local relevance but gain global currency.

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Looking ahead, this shift will deepen:

• Brands will increasingly launch India-inspired global collections (not just India-only capsules) and use Indian creative teams.
• Indian heritage crafts (embroidery, leather goods, region-specific design) will be elevated in global stories, not just referenced for India.
• Retail touch-points in India will become experiential hubs (flagship stores as cultural spaces) and sources of content for global campaigns.
• Agencies that position themselves as “India as origin” rather than “India as local execution” will gain global briefs.

Mathias forecasts, “It’ll start growing significantly. A lot of Indian artists have a global appeal, and India is slowly getting big on the global stage. One will see a significant uplift in the next five to ten years.”

“The next decade belongs to ideas born in India and then carried out to the world," Suthan adds.