Here comes the daughter

The Stella McCartney label will soon be available in India.

When former Beatles member Paul McCartney came to India in the swinging 60s, few would have thought that his daughter Stella McCartney would follow in his footsteps so many years later.

Stella McCartney, who runs a successful designer line under her own name, is all set to launch her label in India as well.

Says McCartney about her label being launched in India, exclusively to Business Standard, "It's a part of the world that I love. We work with India on aspects of the collections and it is a natural progression for our business to launch in India."

By the end of this year there is likely to be two free-standing Stella McCartney retail stores in India to be followed by another four stores in the next two years.

Stella McCartney is entering the country through a long term agreement with TSG International Marketing Pvt Ltd for exclusive distribution rights to the Stella McCartney brand in India.

Charu Sachdev, CEO, TSG International, said they will be working with Stella McCartney to strategically develop the brand's presence in the country.

TSG right now has similar tie-ups with other international lables like Jean Paul Gautier, Moschino, Alberta Ferretti, Pollini and Lanvin. The McCartney label will compete with these brands along with Gucci's flagship brand, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, and so on.

McCartney's label is jointly owned internationally by Gucci Group and McCartney herself and the line espouses her vegetarian credentials, which were first made fashionable by her mother Linda McCartney. For instance, McCartney does not use fur at all in her collections.

Her line, apart from clothes, also includes fragrance, eyewear, organic skin care, lingerie, a performance range with adidas and travel with LeSportsac.

Internationally, the label is worn by celebrities like Mischa Barton, Kate Moss, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce Knowles, Kate Hudson, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Madonna.

The label became profitable last year. Commenting on the tie-up, Sachdev had this to say: "When we were first introduced to the idea of partnering with Stella by one of our board members, Keith Miller, I could not have been more delighted to have been given the opportunity as it fits in perfectly with the portfolio of successful luxury fashion brands TSG already has for the territory of India."