Back then, I was enchanted by the craft. The heritage. The obsession with detail. But over the years, as I’ve worked to bring global luxury brands into India and mentored a generation of professionals, something else began to emerge: a subtle discomfort with the silence of luxury.
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The luxury industry likes to position itself above the noise—untouched by the messiness of politics, conflict or crisis. It speaks of elegance and aspiration, not activism. But what happens when the world becomes too loud, too unjust and too morally urgent to ignore?
That’s the question I’ve been asking myself lately. And I think it’s time the global luxury industry asked it too.
What Russia taught us: When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, I watched the industry act faster than I had ever seen before. LVMH shut down its boutiques in Russia. Chanel pulled out of e-commerce. Hermès closed shop. For the first time, heritage houses—known all along for their silence—took a stand. It was refreshing. Even admirable. Finally, luxury wasn’t just about where you shop. It was about what you stood for.
And yet, here I was, three years later, reading about yet another brutal attack by Pakistani-sponsored terrorists on Indian civilians, and what did we hear from the global luxury community? Nothing.
No solidarity posts. No symbolic gestures. No brands standing with India. Silence.
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Silence isn’t neutral: This is not the first time, of course. Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar— the luxury world has become selectively responsive to crises. When Western media amplifies the event and Western consumers demand a reaction, brands respond. When the tragedy is quieter, more complex or located in a less ‘critical’ market for the industry, the silence returns. But here’s the problem: silence is no longer neutral. Not in the age of Gen Z. Not in the era of conscious consumption.
I have spoken at global forums, taught luxury strategy to students from Milan to Mumbai, and worked with CXOs across India’s luxury ecosystem. One thing is consistent: today’s luxury consumers aren’t just buying status. They’re buying alignment. They want to know what the brand stands for, even when it’s not convenient to speak.
The India question: Let me say it bluntly: India deserves the same moral consideration from global luxury brands as Europe and North America.
India is among the world’s five largest economies. Our luxury market is projected to grow to $200 billion by 2030. Our diaspora shapes global pop culture, from Met Galas to Marvel movies. We are no longer a side story. In many ways, we are the story. So when Indian lives are lost to terror and luxury brands that proudly advertise themselves in Delhi and Mumbai stay silent, the message is loud: some tragedies matter more than others.
As someone who has spent two decades trying to position India as a strategic rather than symbolic luxury market, this stings.
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Conscience as a competitive edge: A few weeks ago, I was speaking to a group of MBA students about how trust is becoming the new currency. Not product trust, but moral trust. If your brand speaks out for some lives but not others, it’s not being neutral. It’s being inconsistent.
And inconsistency has consequences. Would you still sport a brand that stood against one injustice but ignored another? Would you still feel pride in a label that shows selective concern? In luxury, perception is everything. And the perception here is that luxury brands are picking their battles based on a public relations calculus, not principle.
A chance for Indian luxury to lead: Here’s where I see opportunity. Homegrown Indian luxury brands—in fashion, beauty, hospitality and more—have a chance to do something different. To lead not just with product excellence, but with perspective.
When global luxury players hesitate, Indian brands can speak. When others stay silent, we can show that a conscience is not at the other end of luxury—it is the soul of it.
Maybe that’s how we start defining Indian luxury on our own terms—not just through craft and culture, but through courage. I don’t write this to shame the industry I’ve spent a significant part of my career in. I write this because I believe in its power—to influence, uplift and shift culture.
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Luxury is no longer on a distant pedestal. It is a mirror of the times. And in times like these, silence doesn’t necessarily protect a brand’s appeal. It could erode it.
As someone who has helped luxury succeed in India and watched it grow from a whisper to a roar, I say this with love, not anger: If luxury wants loyalty from India, it must show loyalty to India. And it must go beyond a few boutiques and billboards.
The author is the founder of Luxury Connect LLP and Luxury Connect Business School.
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