Reliance Brands, Fashion Designer Rahul Mishra To Create New Brand

Reliance Brands (RBL), the brand licensing arm of Reliance Industries (RIL), has entered into a 60:40 joint venture (JV) with fashion designer Rahul Mishra to create a new ready-to-wear (pret) business.

The brand will grow “both vertically and horizontally” to cross-pollinate creativity further in the fields of accessories, footwear, home, beauty, and jewellery for a worldwide audience, said a joint statement.

It will have a global footprint with dedicated flagship stores at fashion capitals the world over in the next five years. Mishra will be the brand’s creative director.

“Joining forces with the designer, the new brand will be synonymous with excellence and creativity the world over, presenting an exclusive ready-to-wear collection at one of the global fashion weeks,” it added.

In 2014, he became the first Indian to win the coveted Woolmark Prize at the Milan Fashion Week.

“Mishra’s flawless contemporary design sense and stunningly intricate pieces have spotlighted Indian expertise in crafts globally. Accompanied with his expertise in leveraging international fashion fora to accelerate brand building and creating a global customer base, it’s the perfect secret sauce to co-create a global brand. It’s a strategic part of our ongoing commitment to nurture Indian art and culture,” said Isha Ambani, director, Reliance Retail Ventures, the holding company of all retail companies under the oil-to-telecommunication behemoth RIL.

RBL is expanding its play into the luxury and retail landscape. Last year, it entered into strategic partnerships with investments in Manish Malhotra’s eponymous brand.

It also has equity investments in fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore’s company. RBL, which began operations in 2007, has 680 stores and 916 shop-in-shops in India.

It has a portfolio of brand partnerships which includes AK-OK, Armani Exchange, Bally, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Diesel, Dune, Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, Gas, Giorgio Armani, Hamleys, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Mothercare, Muji, Paul & Shark, Paul Smith, Pottery Barn, Ritu Kumar, Salvatore Ferragamo, Satya Paul, Steve Madden, Superdry, Scotch & Soda, Tiffany & Co, Versace, Villeroy & Boch, and West Elm.

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