India’s enduring love affair with Jimmy Choo - and Tiffany

Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif sporting Jimmy Choo shoes. Jimmy Choo and Tiffany & Co bank on their popularity with Indian stars to reach out to the Bollywood-captivated country.

First came a collaboration with one of India’s well-known fashionistas and a member of the powerful Bollywood community: In October 2021, Jimmy Choo launched The Core Collection in collaboration with Rhea Kapoor (Sonam Kapoor’s sister, known for her love of luxury and creating all those natty looks that her actor sister sports).

Rhea didn't just style the collection but also modelled it, creating a look featuring the brand’s three design pillars: pearls, crystals, and monogram. The collection—all glamour and bling—is a perfect ode to the Hindi film industry and its extravagant lifestyle.

Rhea Kapoor sporting shoes from The Core Collection.

But then, Jimmy Choo got an even bigger fillip. Katrina Kaif, clearly the bride of the year whose every single wedding ceremony look has been written about, analysed and commented on with a peculiar obsession, wore the brand in her pre-wedding festivities.

Kaif paired Romy 60 heels with a pastel floral tulle saree, peppered with semi-precious gems, crystals and hand-cut English flower embroidery. The white crystal shoe perfectly complemented the delicate saree in a rather OTT sort of way—which was the intent.

This wasn’t the first time that Kaif chose a Jimmy Choo. Down the years, and many a red carpet, she has worn Jimmy Choo heels and pumps on multiple occasions. She paired a red Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla strapless gown with a peplum waist and Jimmy Choo gold-coloured heels for an event in June this year. A while ago, she chose to wear a classic black dress with Choo pumps.

Before the uber-luxurious Christian Louboutin who has several takers among the rich and famous in India, there was Jimmy Choo.

Also read: Dummies guide to building a trendy luxury shoe wardrobe for men

The brand has been doing everything possible to keep its love affair with India going. In 2020, it picked a shoe designed by an Indian, Hemal Ved, as one of the winners of its #CHOOSKETCh competition. Fans were invited to create a sketch of their version of the Choo shoe. The winning entries were crafted into actual shoes and sold across the globe. Ved’s Cynosure, inspired by Indian jhumkas and embellished with a cascade of hotfix crystals, pearl drops embroidered around the ankles, and metallic heels with crystal-covered spheres, were among the chosen few.

Hemal Ved's Cynosure

Jimmy Choo coasts on its popularity with Indian stars to reach out to the Bollywood-captivated country. If Sonam Kapoor paired Ralph & Russo couture tuxedo with a long train to her jacket, Chopard jewellery and Jimmy Choo white pumps, costing $1, 050, at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival along the picturesque French Riviera, Alia Bhatt shot an entire portfolio wearing a lovely Choo with engine red pants.

Over the years, says Joshua Schulman, CEO, Michael Kors (which owns the Jimmy Choo brand), Indians have who travel abroad frequently, have been their biggest customers, having shopped for Jimmy Choos in Europe, particularly in London.

Jimmy Choo shoes work for celebrities choosing to wear them for their red carpet looks, as well as those looking to flaunt the crystal and gemstones-swathed shoes on occasions wear, such as weddings. It helps that you know it is a Choo when you look at the details: they are known for flawless crafting and seamless blending of soles, tie-ups and fabric.

The brand extensively follows Bollywood influencers on Instagram and collaborates with them to create a narrative for its red-carpet clientele in the country.

Interestingly India has a newfound love for another global brand, Tiffany & Co. Over the past few years, since Nick Jonas gifted Priyanka Chopra a big blingy Tiffany wedding ring, Indian celebrities have discovered the brand that’s synonymous with beautiful wedding bands and rings. Her engagement ring has a cushion-cut diamond set in platinum with small baguette diamonds on the sides and is reported to have cost around Rs2.1 crore.

Tiffany & Co. launched in India in 2019 and since then, the robin’s egg blue boxes, with sparkly rings, have seen a steadfast growth on the celebrity wish list.

Earlier this year, Patralekha Paul chose Tiffany’s Classic Platinum Wedding Band for her beau, Rajkumar Rao, whom she married in a glittering ceremony. And now, both Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif chose Tiffany as each other’s wedding bands. While Kaushal sports the Classic platinum ring, Kaif wears a Tiffany Soleste, with a striking cushion-cut centre sapphire surrounded by brilliant diamonds.

Tiffany Soleste, with a cushion-cut sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

Tiffany is also banking on celebrity backing to ride into India’s subconsciousness. Realising the potential of the market, Tiffany & Co., which is in India in partnership with Reliance Group, recently launched an Indian e-commerce site, tiffany.co.in, which features a full range of Tiffany’s iconic collections. It allows the jewellery brand to cater to demand from most of India (there is only one Tiffany retail store in India, at The Chanakya in Delhi). Besides buying those gorgeous rings, you can book diamond consultations with in-house experts, in-store private appointments, services of personal shoppers, and wish-listing favourite jewels.

Tiffany’s diamond jewellery that has found a permanent spot in the jewellery closets of most celebrities – from Audrey Hepburn to Beyoncé  –  now has new patrons in Indian actors and the country’s elite.