Move over Mumbai: Bengaluru stakes its fashion claim

Converse opened its largest Indian flagship at Phoenix Mall of Asia in June, in partnership with Bhaane Group, bringing its Converse By You customization studio to the country for the first time with locally inspired designs. Inside, the store mixes skateboarding, art and music, with an interactive skateboard installation by artist Ansh Kumar and a mural by Bengaluru artist Benson Diengdoh alongside the Chuck Taylor All Star and Chuck 70 lines. The opening takes the Nike-owned brand, founded in 1908 and acquired in 2003, from its November 2024 India debut to a fourth city, joining standalone stores in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Bengaluru's tech wealth creates India's next luxury consumer base Bengaluru’s tech and startup economy has created one of India’s densest pools of high-net-worth consumers, per fashion commentator Shreya Shrivastava. The data bears her out: Bengaluru now tops India’s 100 largest cities for average household income, according to a July 2026 study by People Research on India’s Consumer Economy and Tata Sons Research. The same study found the city’s propensity to spend is among the lowest of India’s big six, at 54.1% — earnings that have yet to find their retail outlets. This globally exposed, frequently traveling cohort already shops international brands abroad yet remains underserved next to Mumbai and Delhi, she said, making it a natural early adopter of fashion and luxury, just as it was of technology and design. The city’s fashion appetite is equally visible online. India was TikTok’s largest market outside China before New Delhi banned the app in 2020, and its short-video creator economy migrated to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — where Bengaluru’s influencers now turn shopping hauls, wedding guest looks and designer finds into daily content. The pull extends beyond malls. British tech brand Nothing chose Indiranagar’s 100 Feet Road for its first India flagship — only its second store worldwide — in February. “High streets let brands become part of a city’s culture rather than just another mall tenant. Indiranagar is premium and influential. People spend time there. For Nothing, that ecosystem matters more,” Shrivastava said. Luxury brands look beyond China as India's retail market matures Nor is the momentum confined to Bengaluru: across Asia, luxury players are looking beyond China, Japan and South Korea. China’s retail market has split between large-format discounters and landmark luxury flagships, leaving little room in between, per Savills’ Retail Trends 2026 report, released in March. “China’s [economic] slowdown has luxury brands scouting for new growth engines, but India has been on their radar for years. India’s infrastructure, consumer base, and retail real estate have finally reached the scale to absorb the kind of flagship investments brands once reserved for their most mature Asian markets. China’s troubles simply accelerated a decision already in motion,” Shrivastava said. Homegrown Indian streetwear brands challenge global fashion giants Purchasing power is only half the story. The other half is creative: Bengaluru’s design talent and homegrown labels are turning the city into a fashion hub in its own right. For Markus Winter, founder and co-CEO of Tokyo-based consumer culture and strategy agency Yuzu Kyodai, the draw runs deeper than talent. India, alongside Japan and China, holds one of the world’s richest textile heritages, he said, making it a natural destination for brands seeking centuries-old craftsmanship. Bengaluru is not alone: other Indian cities are finding their fashion footing too. Projekt Street, a multi-brand streetwear store in Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda arts district, spotlights homegrown labels and craftsmanship that challenge the notion of India as merely a manufacturing base — evidence of a national fashion market taking shape beyond any single city. Shoppers seeking alternatives to Converse and Nike need not look far. Delhi’s Banjaaran Studio draws on India’s textile traditions and hand-craft techniques for its footwear, while Bengaluru-based Comet ships its sneakers to buyers in the US, UK and Middle East. “Bengaluru’s streetwear draws from Berlin’s gritty energy, not the polish of Tokyo or Paris. And Projekt Street is where global inspiration, Indian heritage, and local craft collide in a completely fresh way,” Winter said. He drew a sharper line between the cities’ scenes. “I see ‘Indian streetwear’ as Mumbai and Delhi’s story, not Bengaluru’s. Bengaluru’s version leans techwear and is globalized, whereas Mumbai and Delhi carry their Indianness visibly. Looking at streetsnaps from the city, the difference is [even] clear. Bengaluru feels international, while Mumbai and Delhi feel proudly local," he said. Many of these labels win on cultural storytelling and small-batch drops that sell out fast. Converse has partnered with Indian designers too — New Delhi’s Kartik Research produced a run of just 30 hand-embroidered Chuck Taylors as a Dover Street Market exclusive, before collaborating with the brand on a full footwear collection unveiled at Paris Men’s Fashion Week — but those partnerships stay within its classic silhouettes. Homegrown labels design without those limits, offering shoppers what a global flagship cannot. New Delhi sneaker house Gully Labs takes the drop model further. “Gully Labs has one of the most interesting drop strategies I’ve come across. Each sneaker tells a story, and a new one lands every 60 days. It’s not about hype; it’s about narrative, like chapters in a book,” Winter added. Numbers illuminate the momentum. India’s apparel sector — serving the world’s largest population — is projected to grow 10% to 12% annually through 2030, reaching $130 billion to $150 billion and ranking among the fastest-growing large-scale markets globally, per Indian strategy consultancy Redseer. Streetwear has always mixed local with global, and Indian designers are joining that tradition on their own terms. Mumbai designer and content creator Diya Joukani, who fronted a Nike Air Max campaign in March, works traditional aari and zardozi embroidery into streetwear silhouettes. For Winter, her ability to weave global sneaker collaborations into a distinctly Indian aesthetic captures the country’s emerging streetwear voice — one positioned to shape the genre, not merely follow it. Why brand identity and storytelling win India's young consumers Not everyone sees a straight path for the independents. Indie brands still have a long way to go before matching established international players, said Murcyleen Peerzada, the Dubai-based founder of India's first designer abaya label, and for now they are focused on carving out their own market. “Indie labels are not naive. They understand they are competing with brands that have cultural weight, financial scale, and global reach. The real struggle is not customer acquisition but maintaining visibility in a market that is narrowing. What they truly need, in the end, is a story that matters,” Peerzada said. Local labels win by leaning into what global players cannot replicate overnight, she said: cultural context and a distinctly Indian perspective. Global brands, meanwhile, need more than hype to win India’s loyalty, Peerzada said: consumers value access, consistency and connection alongside exclusivity. A first drop may draw crowds, but credibility comes from showing up after the buzz dies down. “If there is a key takeaway [here], global brands no longer sell desirability; they sell commitment. Consumers buy purpose. Brand identity wins trust,” she added. Sneakers priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 ($105 to $210) have become luxury’s most attainable entry point for young professionals, Peerzada said — unlike Rs 100,000 ($1,050) jackets or Audemars Piguet watches. Collaboration sneakers from the likes of Converse and Off-White consistently outperform ready-to-wear collections, she said. Mumbai’s luxury culture, by contrast, runs more understated and discreet, she said. “So, Bengaluru is not about pricing, it is about [market] architecture, a funnel where entry-tier lowers barriers and premium feeds aspiration, just as Hermès has done with scarves leading to Birkins. Profit is built on customer lifetime value, not first-sale margins. The ecosystem is designed to grow with the consumer. Once you buy, you stay,” she said. Whether Bengaluru becomes India’s fashion capital or simply its newest proving ground, the direction is set: the country’s highest-earning households, its fastest-growing large apparel market and a maturing homegrown design scene are converging on the same city map. For global brands, the entry point is open. For India’s independent labels, the harder task — staying visible once the flagships arrive — starts now.

Move over Mumbai: Bengaluru stakes its fashion claim

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag

Upgrade to Pro

Sectors

Insights

Company

Move over Mumbai: Bengaluru stakes its fashion claim

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag