Blending European-inspired fashion with timeless comfort, Bata India has unveiled its newest 9 to 9 collection with the industry-first ‘Try and Fly’ campaign in partnership with Ease My Trip.com.

The Try & Fly campaign transforms the act of trying on shoes into a rewarding adventure. With every try-on, participants win assured prizes, while weekly lucky winners snag all-expense-paid trips to Goa. Moreover, bumper prize winners win an opportunity to jet off to premier international holiday destinations.

The '9 to 9' collection boasts a diverse range of fashionable footwear suitable for all occasions, ensuring style from dawn till dusk during holiday travels. From semi-casual shoes for leisurely strolls to chic heels for fancy dinners, from casual sandals for beach getaways to trendy sneakers for adventurous outings, the collection mirrors global trends. By seamlessly blending fashion and comfort, it offers travelers an effortlessly stylish experience.

The 'Try & Fly' campaign is now live across Bata stores pan India until June 20, 2024. Customers can simply walk in, try on the 9 to 9 collection, and scan the QR code to enter the contest.

Italian apparel and accessories brand, Armani Exchange (A|X) has unveiled its new store at Phoenix Mall of Asia in Bengaluru. Targeting fashion-forward individuals from late teens to mid-thirties, A|X offers a diverse range of fast-fashion streetwear and accessories for both men and women.

Founded in 1991, Armani Exchange is a mass-market sub-brand of Giorgio Armani, catering to the style-conscious. Initially, A|X absorbed elements from the Armani Jeans and Armani Collezioni lines. Today, its products are available in over 31 countries and online.

A|X debuted in India with its first store at Select Citywalk Mall in New Delhi in October 2016, through a partnership with Reliance Brands (RBL), a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries. Since then, A|X has expanded to over 26 stores across India, in cities including Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Indore, Ahmedabad, Dehradun, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, and Kochi.

RBL has been instrumental in introducing numerous international brands to the Indian market, such as Bottega Veneta, Tiffany & Co., Valentino, Versace, Kurt Geiger, Diesel, Hugo Boss, Burberry, Coach, Giorgio Armani, Balenciaga, Boss, and Zegna.

Additionally, since 2020, Reliance has been negotiating with the Milan-based luxury company to bring the Michelin-starred Armani/Caffè to India. The high-end café is set to make its Indian debut at Reliance's Jio World Plaza. According to IndiaRetailing, the mall has allocated about 1,000 sq ft for the café, with an opening expected in the near future.

Member of the Jaipur royal family, Princess Gauravi Kumari has been appointed as the brand ambassador for the brand Jimmy Choo in India. The young royal is the cofounder of the PDKF store in Jaipur, which showcases the work of women associated with the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation, an organisation founded by her mother. Notably, all proceeds from the store support the foundation.
The princess’ influence and vision perfectly resonate with the brand’s ethos of blending tradition with a contemporary point of view, says Sandra Choi, Creative Director, Jimmy Choo.
Expressing her enthusiasm, Kumari adds, Jimmy Choo’s take on refined glamor and timeless elegance has always been admirable. The brand has been increasingly focusing on the Indian market. Last week, it hosted a cocktail party in London to celebrate Vogue India’s May-June issue, featuring ‘Bridgerton’ actor Simone Ashley. In November 2023, the brand organised an event to highlight Indian talent, including Sanjay Garg of Raw Mango, Gaurav Gupta, and Akshat Bansal of Bloni Atelier. Additionally, the luxury footwear and accessories brand has opened two boutiques in Mumbai.
A recent report from Barclays forecasts, world's most populous country, India will soon become the next frontier for global luxury markets. Although the country currently accounts for only about 2 per cent of global luxury sales, the market is likely to grow at an annual rate of 15 to 25 per cent to reach a value between €23 billion and €38 billion over the next seven years, estimates Barclays.

FirstCry, a leading omnichannel retailer specializing in baby and mother care products, is poised to resubmit its draft initial public offering (IPO) papers to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) following concerns raised by the regulator regarding insufficient disclosure in key performance indicators (KPIs).
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the SoftBank-backed company intends to address these concerns by revising its filings and incorporating updated financial data as of March 2024.
Sebi's insistence on comprehensive KPI disclosures reflects a broader trend of regulatory vigilance, particularly in the wake of recent instances where IPOs from new-age firms have led to retail investor apprehension due to inadequate KPI transparency.
Notably, this development aligns with a string of IPO filings by prominent companies like Ola Electric and Awfis, alongside SoftBank-backed Swiggy's imminent public offering.
FirstCry's anticipated IPO, potentially valued at $500 million, hinges on the valuation it sets for itself. With plans for international expansion and infrastructure development, the company aims to leverage the fresh capital infusion to bolster its presence and offerings in the burgeoning market for baby and mother care products.

Offering a fresh take on wardrobe staples, H&M has teamed up with emerging brand Rokh to launch a new collaborative collection. Available both in selected stores and online at hm.com, this collection brings Korean designer Rok Hwang's meticulous attention to detail to a diverse range of pieces, spanning womenswear, menswear, and accessories.

Ann-Sofie Johansson, Creative Advisor and Head-Design Womenswear, H&M, says, the collection aims to introduce Hwang's work to a wider audience, blending his distinctive aesthetic with H&M's accessibility.

Inspired by 1980s office power dressing, the collection takes a playful approach to reinventing classic styles. It features deconstructed corset tops, dresses, and accessories with customisable details such as button fastenings and hook-and-eye trims allowing for individualised styling.

A few of the standout pieces for women in the collection include a double-layer trench coat and an oversized blazer with an extended metallic-notched belt. Statement occasion wear styles include a black corset dress with a detachable, irregularly pleated hem and a cut-out blazer mini dress. For men, the collection offers oversized trench coats and cocooning leather blazers, challenging traditional corporate attire norms.

Rok Hwang, Creative Director, Rokh, emphasises, featuring customisable details and decisive cuts, his collections are timeless. He expressed excitement about seeing customers engage with the collection and interpret it in their unique ways.

Designers David Abraham, Rakesh Thakore, and Kevin Nigli have unveiled a new location for their handcrafted apparel and home brand, Abraham & Thakore, in New Delhi’s upscale Defence Colony. This store, co-designed with Studio Organon, a Delhi-based architecture and design firm, features polished, white-marbled walls subtly veined with black streaks and square-mesh-patterned terrazzo flooring. The minimalist interiors align with the brand’s aesthetic, showcasing open closets lined with garment rods, black shelves displaying delicate ceramics, and furniture accentuated with linens and carpets.
This is the brand’s third store in the capital, replacing a nearly 12-year-old outlet in south-east New Delhi. The brand also has stores in The Dhan Mill, near Chhatarpur, and DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj, which focus primarily on fashion.
Abraham & Thakore’s design ethos centers on Indian textiles and crafts. Their autumn/winter 2011-12 double ikat silk houndstooth sari and shirt are part of the Victoria & Albert Museum's permanent collection in London. Since 1992, the brand has expanded internationally with stores in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Rome, and Kuwait. However, significant expansion within India began in 2022 after Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) acquired a majority stake. The brand currently has six stores in India, with two more opening in Hyderabad next month and Mumbai by September.
The brand’s success stems from its ability to convey complex designs simply.It focuses on the essence of a technique, asking itself if many patterns are necessary when one suffices, or if multiple lines are needed when a single line can express our design languages.
This philosophy is evident in the brand’s latest spring/summer home and apparel collection, Body Language, now showcased in the new store. The collection features playful typography with numbers, alphabets, and symbols, and explores techniques such as ikat, ajrakh, brocades, badla, sequin, and fine laser cut work. “Each collection is a composite of diverse elements — silks from Varanasi, industrial tencel linen blends from Surat, Maheshwar silk cotton woven on handlooms, and ikat fabrics from Telangana. We work with various techniques across multiple clusters, incorporating a bit of everything in each collection,” David elaborates.
The brand recently displayed its textiles and ceramics at the AD Design Show 2023. The new store features napkins and table runners with signature kantha stitches, porcelain bowls, marble cheese plates, scented candle sets, ikat bed linen, and artwork centered on the dot motif. The brand collaborates with approximately 30 to 40 vendors and suppliers nationwide, varying according to textiles and techniques. Their association with ikat weavers dates back to their first collection.

Lee Cooper launched their eco-friendly clothing line, the Lee Cooper ECO collection, featuring the world's first jeans made from recycled cigarette butts.
This sustainable initiative coincides with Earth Day and aims to reduce waste.
Lee Cooper recognizes the power of Indian content creators and sees them as environmental influencers, not just celebrities.
Actor Karan Kundrra introduced the collection at a Thane store alongside influencers and host Anushka.

Leading menswear brand Mufti has launched a new sub-brand named ‘400050’, pronounced ‘Four Triple Oh Five Oh’. Catering to Gen Z shoppers, this brand offers casual, oversized garments in select Mufti EBOs and all leading MBOs across the country. This fresh label, catering to Gen Z shoppers with a focus on casual, oversized garments, is now available in select Mufti exclusive brand outlets and multi-brand stores.
Coinciding with the 26th Founder’s Day celebration of Mufti, the launch of 400050 underscores the brand's commitment to innovation. Priced between Rs 1,800 and Rs 3,500, the brand’s maiden collection is named after the pincode for Bandra, a vibrant neighbourhood in Mumbai.
Capturing the essence of the Mumbai suburb Bandra, the 400050 collection includes oversized graphic T-shirts featuring its numerical brand name as button-down shirts in jacquards and dobbies. The collection showcases a neutral color palette and an urban aesthetic, says Kamal Khushlani, Promoter, Chairman, and Managing Director, Credo Brand.
Since its launch in 1998, Mufti has been offering Mumbai-inspired unique casual wear clothing solutions for the modern Indian men.

Iconic American denim brand, Levi’s recently inaugurated its largest mall store in India. Located at Koramangala, Bengaluru, the store spans 6,000 sq ft and boasts of the innovative Indigo format. It incorporates a Tailor Shop that offers personalised options to shoppers.

Hiren Gor, General Manager - South Asia, Levi Strauss & Co, emphasises, India is a pivotal market for the brand with the opening of the brand’s store at Nexus Mall store being a key milestone in their expansion strategy within the country.

Catering to both men and women, the store showcases a comprehensive range of clothing, accessories, and footwear, featuring the timeless Levi’s denim collection tailored to suit diverse tastes.

Levi Strauss India was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the San Francisco-based retailer in 1994 Over the years, the brand has solidified its presence with notable landmarks including the unveiling of Asia's largest Levi’s store spanning 7,521 sq ft a year ago in Bengaluru.

Presently, Levi’s boasts a robust network of over 400 store locations across India, according to data from the SaaS platform Agenty.