Glamour vs glamour

Luxury covetables this merry season are trying to find the right balance between glamorous and glamorous! The colours are getting warmer, most accessories have variants in gold and silver, some of the more luxe products incorporate exotic materials like furs and minks, and wherever need be sparkling crystals always add that extra glamour.

"Accessories with gold are flying off the shelves... bags, shoes, belts," says a representative of Thanks, a multi-brand luxury store in Mumbai.

Happy coincidence then, that current fall/winter collections are in line with glittery demands of Diwali's shopping lists. But responses from luxury representatives in India indicate that luxury fashion as a category is largely resistant to seasonal aberrations.

However, self-indulgence does find more justification at a time like this according to Ruchita Bharadwaj of SSIPL, that represent brands like Ferragamo, Aigner and Fratelli Rossetti in India. "It's particularly nice to see men gift themselves something like a pair of Rossetti shoes (upwards of Rs 10,000)," she says.

Ferragamo's female customers have been booking up all available limited edition pieces of the latest Feria collection which, thanks to its vibrant colours, makes for perfect (and very indulgent) gifts according to Bharadwaj.

"It" bags (seasonal must-haves enjoying global ubiquity) across brands are flying off the shelves with customers placing themselves on waiting lists for limited editions like the Moschino muffin bag (Rs 40,000) in satin silk with leather tassels and silver lockable hand cuffs and LV monogram miroir papillon, gold and shiny and due to arrive anytime soon.

Bestsellers for luxury retailers in India have always been logo bags and Charu Sachdev of TSG marketing that distributes Moschino in India, says they are already out of stock on theirs prematurely this season. For Louis Vuitton, monogrammed bags in metallic colours have been a popular choice, as have richer fabrics like suede.

Small leather goods have found plenty of takers this month. Trussardi suggests that their logo embossed leather planners and keyrings have been popular premium corporate gifts. And Louis Vuitton's bracelets, wallets and card holders have also been doing particularly well it seems.

If you've nurtured your business relationships judiciously, you might be the happy recipient of a Ferragamo "museum collection" tie (between Rs 8,000-12,000) or cufflinks; customers have been placing orders in multiples of 10 as corporate gifts. Or a Mont Blanc Boheme Cartridge fountain pen, platinum-plated with 18 K gold nib and inlaid with crystal.