Mumbai, India – Global luxury brand Balenciaga has signed a strategic long-term franchise agreement with Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), the retail arm of Reliance Industries Limited, to officially launch its brand in the Indian market.
In this new partnership deal, RBL will serve as Balenciaga’s sole partner and will have exclusive rights to launch the brand in the country. This is RBL’s second partnership with parent group Kering, which houses the luxury fashion brand, among others.
The fashion brand’s first-ever standalone store in India is located at Mumbai’s Jio World Plaza and will house Balenciaga’s latest collection of men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, accessories, eyewear, and jewellery.
As its first foray into the Indian market, the fashion brand’s store design follows its experiential raw architecture concept that’s conceived to question the nature of authenticity, leaving surfaces intentionally raw and adding evocative details like simulated corrosion or rough edges.
Since its inception in 1917, the global luxury brand has continued its vision through boundary-pushing collections, which have expanded to include women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, accessories, and objets d’art.
Darshan Mehta, MD at Reliance Brands Limited, said, “Few brands have actually embraced the opportunity for creative reinterpretation and reinvention quite like Balenciaga. Their avant-garde and ingenious creations, bold use of the logo, and consequent cult in the fashion industry have already created a strong footing throughout the world. It’s the most opportune time to introduce the brand to the country, as the Indian luxury customer has matured and using fashion as a form of creative expression of their individuality.”