Brand Premiere
German watch brand, A. Lange & Söhne opened its first retail setup in India, with an event to mark their entry into the Indian market, on January 23, 2008. The launch witnessed a recreation of the manufactory at Glashütte where craftsmen assemble watches. They also unveiled the product range, which will be retailed in Mumbai. Present at the event were CEO of A. Lange & Söhne Fabian Krone, the Indian Brand Spokesperson, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, Director of Public Relations Arnd Einhorn, and craftsmen, Frank Wolf and Helmut Wagner. Krone spoke of the brand’s entry into India, saying, “We’ve been planning to come to India for several years, but with a limited capacity of a few 1,000 watches per year, we needed to properly assess our ability to supply before we did so.” The brand has collaborated with Arun Malhotra, owner of luxury jewellery boutique, Beyond Luxury in Mumbai, where the watches are now available.

Teeing Off
In its capacity as co-sponsor and official timekeeper of the Ladies European Masters tournament, Swiss watch brand Omega felicitated the winner with an Omega Constellation Double Eagle ladies watch. Held on December 8, 2007, the first international ladies golf tournament to be held in Bangalore witnessed the presence of international golfers like Laura Davies, Trish Johnson, Gwladys Noccera, Iben Tinning and Becky Brewerton. The trophy was awarded by Oliver Hugentobler, Regional Sales Manager of Omega and P.H. Narayanan, Brand Manager, Omega India. The brand’s association with sports dates back to 1932, when it was named official timekeeper of all Olympic Games disciplines for the first time. As a niche cultural sport, golf combines glamour and class with precision and achievement, all that Omega stands for.

Winning Wheels
IOn January 12, 2008, the Louis Vuitton Classic Awards 2007-’08 were held during a dinner organised at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Yves Carcelle, President of Louis Vuitton and Christian Philippsen, President of the Awards’ jury, presented The Louis Vuitton Classic Concours Award to the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Spider Touring and the Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award to the Mazda Ryuga. Every year since 2005, Louis Vuitton has presented two Louis Vuitton Classic Awards. The Louis Vuitton Classic Concours Award is given to an automobile chosen from among the best at the world's leading concours d'élégance, while the Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award distinguishes the year's outstanding prototype.

Racing Time
Longines launched their Sport Collection in India at a sporting event in Mumbai on December 6, 2007. The event, which unfolded over the Longines Classic Race at the Royal Western Turf Club (RWTC), was graced by the Longines Ambassador of Elegance, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The watch was launched at the hands of Charles Villoz, Vice President of Longines, who also presented Aishwarya with the Conquest watch from the collection. At the event, Aishwarya commented, “It’s been an honour representing Longines, and being a part of such an occasion.” Following the presentation, commentator Charu Sharma announced the start of the Longines Classic race. In a prize distribution ceremony, the winning jockey was presented with the first place trophy by Aishwarya.

Fest of Style
Between the 22nd and the 25th of December 2007, the Royal Western Turf Club played host to the first ever Gitanjali Luxury Style Fest. Attended by the crème de la crème of Indian society, the Fest served as a platform for several fashion designers, watch, jewellery and other luxury brands. With the Gitanjali Group and the Morellato and Sector Group joint venture, the four-day event witnessed a showcase of jewellery and other luxury products. Inaugurated by actress Kajol, brand ambassador of Asmi jewellery, the highlight of the Fest were the fashion shows. The designers who showcased their latest collections were Krishna Mehta, Wendell Rodricks, Anamika Khanna, Vikram Phadnis, Prashant Verma, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, Nandita Mahtani, Arjun Khanna, Manish Arora, Surily Goel, Ranna Gill, Neeta Lulla and JJ Vallaya, to name a few.

Wine Tour
The Indian edition of Italy’s Vinitaly wine event took place over two days — January 15 and 17, in Mumbai and Delhi respectively. The all-day walk-around tasting witnessed over 100 of Italy’s top wine producers. Hailing from almost every region of the Italian peninsula, the vintners showcased their wines along with select products of distillates, olive oils and balsamic vinegar. Most of these are not yet available in the Indian market and were being showcased for the first time ever in India. A range of informative seminars were held at the two cities. These seminars had wine experts from Italy, as well as India, taking the visitors through guided wine-tasting tours. The seminars offered an insight into the texture and taste of the wines along with the nature of the grapes used. Some of the sessions were conducted by experts Magandeep Singh, Michele Shah and Professor Atilio Scienza.

A Driving Force
On January 10, 2008, Dr. Vijay Mallya, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Force India Formula One Team Limited, introduced its members to the media at a press conference in Mumbai. The team comprised Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy and Adrian Sutil of Germany, along with Vitantonio Liuzzi of Italy as its reserve driver. Held at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, the press conference had Mallya and the Team Director speaking about the team and its prospects. Mallya stated, “With this team, we are not making any promises of instant success but we do plan to get our act together and make it to the victory stand by 2010 at the Formula One Grand Prix in India.” The racetrack for the scheduled 2010 race is being constructed at a spot selected in Noida.

For The Love of Bags
On December 6, 2007, Sangeeta and Madan Assomull of the Marigold Group hosted the launch of the exclusive accessory brand, Leiber, at the Articulate Gallery in Mumbai. Founded by Judith Leiber, the brand with its range of jewel-encrusted evening handbags is now making its entry in India. The theme of the Launch was “LEIBER — Then, now, always”. It showcased eminent Indian women who have carried Leiber for decades, depicting how these classics have attained heirloom status. On display were an array of designs from the standard box-clutches, to the more exotic shapes designed to look like animals and birds, and still others with exotic patterns and motifs. A must-have for every Leiber fan is their range of stylishly designed coin-purses.

Trousseau Trail
On January 23, 2008 designers Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor presented their spring-summer collection at a hotel in Mumbai. The collection comprised men and women’s trousseau pieces, including jewellery. Models who walked the runway were Gauhar Khan, Nina Manuel, Carol Gracias, Deepti Gujral, Shruti Sharma, Dipannita Sharma, among others. Actress Lara Dutta appeared in the showstopper — a white lehenga with swarovski work. Having completed six months in Mumbai, the duo has now chosen the city as the venue for their first signature store. “We find an instant connect between our design sense and the city's couture patrons,” they explained. A few key elements in the collection showed were, Mughal motifs, Victorian embellishments, fitted forms with fluid chiffons, and a palette of vibrant colours, in the fabric as well as the encrusts.