Indian Diwali festival and European luxury brands

On Nov 5, 2023

Women light clay lamps to celebrate Diwali, the festival of lights, at Shri Ram Chandra Ji Temple in Jaipur, India, on Oct. 24. (Vishal Bhatnagar/NurPhoto via AP)

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Dilwali as an Indian festival of lights has served as a good fortune for European luxury brand.

Coming from the Sanskrit word Deepavali, meaning ‘row of lights’ Diwali is a Hindu, Jainism, and Sikh celebration of the triumph of good over evil.

With its emphasis on abundance and good fortune and rituals of lighting candles, it’s a chance to indulge in eating sweets, dressing up and gift-giving.

Usually taking place between late October and November, this year’s Diwali festivities will happen between 10-15 November, with the main day falling on 12 November – the darkest day under the Hindu lunar calendar of the month “Kartika”.

While the traditional choice of clothing for Diwali are saris, lehengas and salwar kurtas, the approach is changing, with India and its diaspora seeing a growing number of high-spending customers.

This trend has proved to be a big opportunity for luxury brands, such as Jimmy Choo, Swarovski and Gucci who have jumped on it and produced limited edition ranges for the occasion.

“We’ve noticed that our clients are style-forward and experimental, pairing international brands with their traditional outfits, blending the best of both worlds,” Cecilia Morelli Parikh, co-founder of Le Mill, a leading luxury concept store in Mumbai said.

Earlier this year we reported how demand for luxury goods from the wealthiest parts of society has soared.

In April, French company LVMH became Europe’s first company to break the $500 billion barrier. LVMH, which owns 75 luxury brands including Dior, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany also became one of the top 10 best-valued companies in the world.

This interest in luxury shopping does appear to be reflected in India where 70 per cent of Indians are ready to spend more this Diwali, representing a marked 35 per cent increase from last year.

According to research by Mileu, this is due to more than half of consumers viewing their financial situation as improved (53 per cent), and just under half being eager to celebrate a lot more this year (49 per cent).

A significant majority also said they were interested in purchasing luxury goods and apparel (84 per cent) and gold (80 per cent).