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Following seven months of extravagant festivities estimated to have cost over $600 million, Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and India’s richest man, married pharmaceutical heiress Radhika Merchant this past weekend.
Both the actual event, along with the pre-wedding celebrations, were attended by seemingly all of the world’s rich and famous, including Mark Zuckerberg, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, and Kim and Khloe Kardashian. With most guests wearing custom designs by Indian designers such as Rahul Mishra, Gaurav Gupta, Tarun Tahiliani and Manish Malhotra, the event provided a unique opportunity for the Indian fashion and occasionwear industry to make a splash on the global stage.
“Anant and Radhika’s wedding has put India on the world map like nothing else in recent years,” says eponymous designer Mishra. “The visibility it has generated for Indian culture, traditions and craft is unparalleled. It not only brings designer brands like us to the forefront but also allows the West to imagine our clothes as more than just costumes.”
Cue The Wedding Collective by Reliance Retail, a wedding expo set to take place this August in Mumbai, designed to make the most of that momentum.
Expanding the Reliance fashion portfolio
The timing of the expo, just weeks after the Ambani wedding, is noteworthy and seemingly serendipitous. “Six weeks from the grandest Ambani wedding to their newest business venture,” says Nisha Kundnani, founder of Bridelan, a Mumbai-based boutique styling consultancy. “It’s a smart move on the part of Reliance Retail to capture the digital attention, and channel it towards their new brand. It is highly possible that the event lends The Wedding Collective a larger-than-life image and an exhibit to covet, with unexpected footfalls.”
It is a show that Indian designers are excited about. Mishra says that similar expos, like the past Vogue Wedding Show and the Fashion Design Council of India (FCDI) Wedding Weekend, boosted order queries and drove revenue. The Wedding Collective, which will run from 23 to 25 August, is well timed. The bridal shopping season kicks off in August, usually running until October, with peak wedding season being October to March.
Over 100 products and services will be a part of the three-day, invite-only event held at Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre, with over 11,000 people from India and elsewhere expected to attend. While there are many bridal shows in India, Priya Tanna, president of The Right Side (the creative arm of Reliance Retail), believes this specific show will redefine the genre of wedding exhibitions. “Our biggest value add is the presence of the design talent — this is possibly the only show and exhibition where you can interact with all the country’s top couturiers,” she adds.
Reliance Industries has been building its portfolio within the fashion and luxury scene since 2006, when it founded Reliance Retail. It also operates some of the country’s top luxury brands through Reliance Brands Limited (RBL is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd). Over the last few years, RBL has invested in several Indian designer labels including Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and Manish Malhotra and has partnerships with Mishra and Anamika Khanna for their ready-to-wear labels.
Building a brand
Many of the wedding’s standout fashion moments came from Isha Mukesh Ambani, Anant’s sister who serves as director of RIL and holds a pivotal role at Reliance Retail. Her wedding wardrobe featured a blouse adorned with fine jewellery and worn with a heavily embroidered lehenga by couturiers Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, as well as a custom-couture sari designed by Schiaparelli. Kundnani observes: “There’s a strategic image that she’s building as head — and face — of Reliance Retail.”
Meanwhile, The Wedding Collective’s Instagram has picked up images of the Ambani family and attendees of the ceremony who wore pieces from participating designers. The Arpita Mehta custom, hand-embroidered ruffle sari worn by Isha features on the account, with the caption: “Discover Arpita Mehta at The Wedding Collective — a bridal show by Reliance Retail.” Eponymous designer Mehta notes that, “Her looks going viral has definitely grabbed a lot of attention for us.”
The business of weddings
There is no question that weddings are big business in India. For most designers, it is their bread and butter. “Weddings are central to the revenues for occasionwear designers,” says Kunal Rawal, a leading local menswear designer who created looks for many of the male Bollywood stars who attended the wedding, and a participant in The Wedding Collective. “This was the wedding of the century. And the impact will be positive, especially as it was held at the onset of the wedding season — it alerted people how beautiful Indian weddings can be,” Rawal says.
The Indian wedding industry is the second largest wedding market in the world, after the US, and is worth $130 billion annually, according to a June Jefferies report. “Given our large population and the forecasts of the number of weddings expected in the next few years, we can be sure that the trend will show no signs of slowing down, both economically and culturally,” says The Right Side’s Tanna.
Mehta adds: “In India, every individual family saves up for their weddings, no matter how big or small they are. Bridal markets are crucial as they bring everything under one roof, making it easier for families to plan their special day.”
Jewellery will also play a major role, as it did at the Ambani wedding. Just one of the many necklaces worn by mother of the groom, Nita Mukesh Ambani, was valued at over $60 million.
One of the participating jewellers is Yash Agarwal, creative director of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas Jewellers, who have previously taken part in wedding shows such as Bridal Asia. “Reliance Retail’s reach and influence — along with its grandeur — provide an unparalleled chance to interact with potential clients who value heritage and luxury,” he says. “Wedding shows, when curated well, act as a one-stop shop for the perfect Indian wedding.”
And with Reliance having just served up a wedding to beat all weddings, the show could become the wedding show to beat all wedding shows in India.
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Correction: This article was updated to name Isha Mukesh Ambani as launching The Wedding Collective. An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Mukesh Ambani as launching.
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