(From top): Luxury pens from Cartier; high-end watches from the same brand; Hugo Boss shoes; jewellery from Bvlgari; Tikka Shatrujit Singh at the Louis Vuitton store; Hugo Boss shirts; a model shows off an Aigner handbag; a quilted Chanel bag; Chanel perfumes

Looking for a new look this season and have money to burn? We?ve got a list of high-end headturners. Nowadays you don?t have to criss-cross the globe to buy some of the most coveted items money can buy ? just walk into one of the seductive luxury stores nearest to you.

Perhaps it?s now time to make a coveted monogrammed Cherry Blossom Louis Vuitton bag your arm candy, slip on a Bvlgari ring ? maybe like the one Rani Mukherjee flashes in Bunty Aur Babli, hide behind a pair of Chanel sunglasses with the ensnared Cs, put on Aigner stilettos or maybe all of the above. Splash on some Roberto Cavalli perfume and you?re ready to go. Men can don a Hugo Boss Super 150 suit and complement it with a Cartier briefcase. The price tags are burning hot and the look is cool.

Some of the world?s prestige brands are in a tearing hurry to set up shop in Indian metros to reach out to its millionaires ? industry tycoons (their wives), film stars, big paypacket businessmen and anyone else with a taste for the high life. Pierre Cardin may have had to beat a hasty retreat when he tested Indian waters a decade ago. But since then the market has undergone a sea change in which pockets are seemingly bottomless.

Explains Tikka Shatrujit Singh, brand representative, Louis Vuitton, ?It?s the coming of age of the high-end customer. People want to be associated with big brands and so connoisseurs don?t look at price tags.? With the world?s affluent getting richer by the day, it?s no wonder that Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH), the group identified by its cache of luxury brands, posted global sales growth of 11 per cent in the first quarter of 2005. Or that Bvlgari reported a turnover of 828 million Euro for 2004.

Now it?s no longer consumers elsewhere who are driving luxury goods sales growth. Indians are also in on the act. High-end goods are flying off the shelves in India. Well-heeled Indians are frequenting outlets of Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Chanel, Aigner, Mont Blanc and Bvlgari ? not just when they travel abroad but at home.

Watches are a big favourite of the moneyed set. Anyone who wants to keep time in style can buy Omega, Tissot, Longines and Corum. Jaeger LeCoultre, Baume & Mercier, Tag Heuer, Christian Dior and Cartier are also available in glitzy showrooms.

There?s more news in the offing. Donatella Versace has promised that next year Versace will open five outlets in the country. And perhaps it won?t be long before Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Coach and Valentino also come calling.

India?s jet set customers aren?t batting an eyelid about paying up. According to brand managers in India, prime brands are being bought even before the consignments land in India ? and that includes exclusive limited editions. So what makes them so alluring? ?While mere fashion products exist within a limited time frame, these creations have a timeless appeal,? says Patrick Normand, Cartier?s managing director for the Middle East and South Asia.

The truly timeless pieces that are catching the Indian?s eye include Louis Vuitton?s goatskin Suhali handbag at Rs 1.28 lakh and Chanel?s famed quilted bags. Bvlgari?s Spiga bracelets aren?t doing too badly either despite the over Rs 16 lakh tag. Brands cufflinks are setting men back anywhere between Rs 23,000 and Rs 80,000 while Hugo Boss suits are hot sellers at Rs 75,000. Aigner shoes at Rs 21,000 and wallets for Rs 15,000 are also becoming must-haves.

The bottom line is that India is now a hard-to-ignore emerging market for luxury brands just as much as China and Russia. Consider these figures: China accounts for five to six per cent of sales of European luxury goods, followed by Russia which represents three per cent while India kicks in just one per cent. ?The Indian market is definitely large and we believe it will contribute significantly to Cartier?s sales worldwide,? says Normand. Most importantly, these are the markets where the luxury goods manufacturers expect major growth.

It also helps that ?Rich Indians? are no longer a rare breed. The latest household income survey from the National Council of Applied Economic Research shows that wealth is rising in leaps and bounds. According to their latest figures, in 2001-02 there were some 20,000 families in India with annual incomes of over Rs 1 crore. This year the figure is set to more than double to 53,000 families. And by 2010, the numbers will climb to some 1,40,000.

India is now a compelling market for the brands with burgeoning economic growth, the fashion and film industry getting stronger, the basic love for gifting and massive weddings,? affirms Aigner brand manager Rajika Narain. And besides making their entry into Delhi and Mumbai, the brands are discovering pockets of wealth in mini-metros like Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Chandigarh. ?These cities represent a huge client base for us,? says Tamana Sirphi, store coordinator and visual merchandiser of Hugo Boss.

So what?s the mark of a luxury brand? ?To begin with, we don?t do sales,? says Singh. These brands ?never? sell at discounts and prices remain, to put it mildly, expensive, at all times. The brands ? as their profiles suggest ? also offer the Indian consumer a heritage that sometimes dates over 100 years.

When the history of fashion handbags is written, Louis Vuitton will perhaps be steering it. The price of a Louis Vuitton may well take your breath away but this bag stands for the highest quality ever produced. ?One that doesn?t meet standards is destroyed,? says Singh. Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami, has collaborated with the brand?s creative director, Marc Jacobs, and given the world what connoisseurs like designer Kalyani Chawla call ?a work of art?.

Since Louis Vuitton entered the Indian market over a year ago, it has sold more than 10 limited editions while its suitcases and briefcases have sold briskly. Custom-made luggage is also the order of the day, taking six months for delivery. Prices at the Louis Vuitton store range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Women are also swooning over Aigner bags, a brand that?s known by its horseshoe symbol. Says Rajika Narain, ?We cater to Indian tastes yet maintain an international feel.? Aigner?s Autumn-Winter Collection 2004 included the Lucky Horse Collection crafted from elk leather and worked with horse-hair. Its latest line offers the Horse Shoe Bag (Rs 32,000 to Rs 45,000), an international hit.

According to Narain, at Aigner there?s something for everyone (other than its trademark bags that can cost up to Rs 65,000). There?s men?s footwear (Rs 15,000 to Rs 21,000), key chains (Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000), belts (Rs 5,500 to Rs 9,500) and wallets (Rs 5,000 to 15,000). For men, Aigner has launched a menswear line including shirts (Rs 7,500 to Rs 13,000), Tees (Rs 5,500 to Rs 10,000), jeans and trousers (Rs 8,500 to Rs 15,000) and blazers (Rs 25,000 to Rs 65,000).

Cartier too offers an upbeat collection of eyewear (Rs. 34,750), watches (Rs 1.88 lakh to Rs 16 lakh), pens (Rs 25,100 to Rs 35, 700) and lighters (Rs 21,600 to Rs 38,600). Its leather bags (the Pasha round clutch bag at Rs 28,600 is a hot favourite) are the top sellers.

But how does a luxury brand attract a new and modern following without losing out on the old? ?The styling is classic and this keeps both the traditional and contemporary buyers returning for more,? says Sirohi of Hugo Boss. Men can?t get enough of its linen suits (Rs 43,000), classic striped ones (Rs 6,000-Rs 11,000), ties (Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000), sunglasses (Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000) and jackets (Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000).

The brands are also keeping Indians on their toes watching out for the exclusive limited editions that the companies introduce from time to time. The last time Aigner introduced a line with limited edition pieces, some 12 were sold which it says ?is a high number for a luxury brand?.

This season you can also pick up Bvlgari?s limited edition Carbongold watch, in pink, yellow or white gold, with the name of a glamorous city engraved on it.

The market is ripe and set to expand. Cartier plans to open a boutique in Delhi or Mumbai ? right now it retails from Maurya Sheraton?s Regent. Aigner is set to introduce womenswear in its Mumbai store this winter and plans to launch two more stores within a year. So maybe it?s time to pamper yourself and display a superior sense of style. There?s enough in the market for a luxurious ego massage.

Photographs by Jagan Negi

Brand wagon

The highly visible international brands in India’s luxury market.

• Louis Vuitton: This French corporate is reportedly the most profitable luxury brand on the planet. It is now a giant conglomerate but it was started by the Louis Vuitton family that began by designing luggage over 100 years ago. It is now known for some of the most coveted bags, shoes and ready-to-wear fashion accessories.

• Chanel: From her first store in 1912, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel rose to become a force to reckon with in the fashion world. Her signature brand Chanel has become the epitome of elegance. The brand brings suits, dresses, women’s trousers, perfumes, sunglasses and its bags to India.

• Bvlgari: From jewels and watches to accessories and perfumes, Bvlgari has it all. The group is controlled by the Bvlgari family that holds some 52 per cent of the share capital while the remaining 48 per cent is floated on the Milan Stock Exchange.

• Cartier: Its association with India spans decades, dating back to Jacques Cartier’s visit to India in pursuit of fine pearls when he persuaded the maharajas to set their priceless stones using Cartier designs. Besides its signature watches, Cartier has come to India with lighters, bags and more.

• Aigner: Represented by a horseshoe symbol, this prestigious brand from Munich presented its first collection of bags in New York over 50 years ago. Today, its product lines take in leather, fashion and accessories.

• Hugo Boss: Established in 1923, Hugo Boss has hit home as one of the leaders in fashion clothing. Its core brand, Boss has lines for both men and women.