Its interesting to note that the earliest global brands which arrived in India were majorly catering to Indian men. The foreign brands made their inroads into Indian land through their loyal Indian customers. Many of their customers were from the royal families of India as well as few rich families in India. Most of these brands made accessories specially watches catering to the Maharajas and super rich gentlemen.
The Swiss watch brand Zenith came to India in 1901 and had the great Mahatma Gandhi & Jawahar Lal Nehru as its consumers. Zenith pocket watch was something the mascot of Swadeshi movement Gandhiji could not let go off. It was clearly because there was no Indian brand making pocket watches at that time – so it had no swadeshi alternative to this product.
The famed Nawanagar Cartier Diamond Necklace was created by Jacques Cartier in 1931 for the erstwhile Maharaja of Nawanagar (now Jamnagar), Sir Ranjitsinhji. The Nawanagar Ruby Necklace has also earned a spot among the most famous and finest jewelry pieces owned by Indian royalty. It was commissioned to Cartier in 1937 by Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Jadeja, the successor of Sir Ranjitsinhji as the Maharaja of Nawanagar. The Tiger’s Eye Turban Ornament was another impressive piece created by Cartier for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji Jadeja in 1937. One cannot simply talk about Cartier’s relationship with the Indian Maharajas, without the mention of Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala and one of Cartier’s regular clients.
Pierre Cardin had a pivotal to play in the Indian fashion story.
Design Guru Rajeev Sethi says “India has a huge debt to pay to Pierre. Pierre Cardin started fashion in India. He took Indian textiles across the world before anyone else did,” while showing Indian prints-inspired swatches clipped to the sketches he made while working for him. “He was able to immediately see the edge India had, the design, colour forms, which nobody else could see. India could be ancient and modern. That’s what he saw,” he explains.
In 1967, at the Ashoka hotel, the only five-star hotel at that time in Delhi, Cardin presented his collection—all made using Indian textiles—to a packed room, with Sonia Gandhi, then fiancé to Rajiv, sitting to the right of her prospective mother-in-law Indira Gandhi with Sanjay Gandhi alongside in the front row.
Lots of such interesting stories will find place in the Great Indian Fashion Town.
Stay tuned.
This. Article is very nice to go through,as it informs how the different accessories step by step entered India.I hope this magzine will be successful in its mission.
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