Under the watchful gaze of a tiger, woven into a signature Hermès silk scarf, Eric Festy, regional director for Hermès in South Asia is discussing the changing Indian luxury consumer. He has just opened the French luxury brand’s new store, at Mumbai’s Jio World Plaza, now joining an array of luxury names that have taken up residence in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The open-plan store features silks, home decor and jewellery, the latter set apart by the use of bamboo marquetry and deep blue walls. Further towards the rear are the men and women’s clothing and accessories and a private salon.
Spread over 4,800 square feet, the new retail space has been designed by Paris-based architecture and interior design firm, RDAI which works with the brand for all of its stores worldwide. The space combines brand trademarks, like the mosaic floor, while also integrating nods to India with embroidered mustard walls, dotted with abstract motifs. On the façade are metal cubes that flow from the brand’s signature orange to deep Jodphur blue, which takes inspiration from the festival of Holi. The inaugural windows are by production designer and filmmaker Aradhana Seth, who has created the installation, ‘Faubourg in an Enchanted Forest,’ which like the name suggests, brings together the maison’s historic address (on 24 Rue de Faubourg Saint- Honore in Paris) with Gond-inspired artworks.
