It’s a unique intersection of three dynamic visions. In 1562, the architect of Humayun’s tomb Mirak Sayyid Ghiyath designed India’s first garden tomb with its char bagh style and dome-within-dome structure which prefigured the design of the Taj Mahal. Closer in time if not in space was Louis Vuitton, whose 250-mile journey on foot from his native French village in the remote Jura to Paris in 1835 launched a momentous career devoted to travel. Vuitton’s prescient reading of the potential represented by the growth of modern travel inspired the birth of the world’s largest travel goods brand. Walking with me at Humayun’s Tomb at this moment is Louis Vuitton’s current president Yves Carcelle, who carries the 150-year-old legacy of Vuitton close to his heart. Carcelle is a modern-day visionary himself, credited with transforming the renowned luggage brand into the world’s biggest luxury brand.

Accompanying us is Tikka Shatrujit Singh, advisor to Louis Vuitton, who played a key role in the launch of LV’s first store in India in 2003. Singh, a blue blood from the Kapurthala royal family, is holding forth on Mughal history and architecture. “This tomb belongs to the great grandfather of the builder of the Taj Mahal. The Mughals originally came from places like Uzbekistan and Afghanistan where there was little water, so a typical Mughal style monument had water channels and gardens in geometrical format. Just like this one.”

The entry to Humayun’s Tomb follows a long processional track punctuated by gateways offering magnificent views of the main edifice. Singh likens the monument’s structural design to the great imperial palaces in Beijing with one courtyard opening into another. Carcelle, an Indophile who has been travelling extensively—Mumbai, Goa, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Udaipur, Agra, Pondicherry, Chennai, Bangalore, Ananda—is mesmerised by the marvel of red sandstone in front of him. “The light is beautiful. I must bring my wife Rebecca here. She’d love this place.” he says excitedly. Singh nods in agreement “Morning is the best time to visit.” As we walk, a peacock preens its exquisite plumage and struts past, oblivious to our presence.

Fifty-nine year old Carcelle, who runs the multi-billion dollar fashion and leather goods division of the world’s largest luxury group, was recruited as the brand’s president in the early 1990s. Using a cutting-edge revamping strategy, Carcelle brought in new designers like Marc Jacobs to give a contemporary spin to Vuitton’s styling, expanded the product line and terminated franchise agreements so that LVMH regained exclusive control of retailing. Today the fashion division accounts for a sizeable chunk of its parent company LVMH’s total sales.

The visionary streak again shone bright when Carcelle pioneered the global luxury movement in India. LV was the first major group to set up shop in India with a store at The Oberoi in Delhi in 2003 shortly followed by another in Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Hotel. Despite the skepticism surrounding the opening of a luxury store in a country of starving millions, Carcelle anticipated India’s dynamic growth in the early 2000s and entered the market three-to-four years ahead of time. While doomsayers questioned whether there was a market for premium luxury in India, Carcelle saw the Indian customer as sophisticated and in the know of international trends.

When I ask Carcelle about LV’s journey in India in these four years, he reminds me that Louis Vuitton goes back all the way to the time of Indian royalty. The brand was unable to open formally before 2003 because importing leather goods was barred. As soon as the ban on import leather goods was lifted, they started to look for a location. Hotels were a logical choice being part of the mythos of travel. “LV was born with travel so we feel very comfortable in hotels, especially if they are heritage hotels. It has been a tradition to launch in hotels in new markets be it The Peninsula in Hongkong, The Oriental in Bangkok, or the The Metropole in Hanoi,” he explains.

In its initial phase, Louis Vuitton targeted people who had been shopping abroad and knew LV. Now the objective is to slowly target new customers – people who didn’t know the brand before and discovered it in India. Earlier the bane of the Indian market was its restriction on foreign companies owning shares of their company in India. But with the new law that permits foreign companies 51 per cent shares of mono-brand retail companies, things are different. “We were the first foreign company to get through the process. Today we own 51 per cent of Louis Vuitton India. This will enable us and the others to invest more heavily in the country.”

LV’s pioneering phase in India is gradually giving way to a new phase of consolidation. With the new retail law, the opening of the first luxury mall and the interest of the media, the next year will be crucial, Carcelle stresses. “People are beginning to understand that the luxury industry is creating value of excellence. But a fantastic environment is a must because we spend years developing the sense of craftsmanship among our workers, the creation of our product, the tradition which sometimes is a 150 years old. So the moment this product is put in the hands of the customer has to be magical too. That’s why we are so specific about the environment.” In addition to their two existing retail outlets in India, LV is all set to open its third store in DLF’s luxury mall Emporio on the outskirts of Delhi. Carcelle is confident of many others.

We pause a moment before the bevelled gateway to enjoy the view of the monument framed in the arch. Singh draws our attention to a striking emblem of a lotus etched within a star on the central dome. “It resembles the Star of David. The tomb was made by a Muslim, so you can see the fusion of Indian and Muslim architecture,” he observes, as Carcelle listens intently.
“Sorry, where were we?” Carcelle turns to me after a pensive pause. I ask him about Indian consumers’ preferences in LV products. LV was born with travel trunks, suitcases and city bags, so leather goods remain a key category, he says. But he is equally upbeat about the growth of new categories like shoes, sunglasses, watches and jewellery. When they find a convenient and big enough store, he also envisages bringing ready to wear. “The magical thing about LV is its ability to preserve its historical and eternal values and be permanently creative at the same time. We manufacture suitcases and trunks and wardrobes in monogram like we did in the 19th century. And we also have the most updated show bag of the season, which reflects the creativity of the house.”

In its second phase, Louis Vuitton’s focus is to develop a new generation of luxury lovers without compromising its core values of craftsmanship and exclusivity. “We believe fashion and luxury are among the world’s universal languages. We don’t ask Indian and Chinese and Americans their preferences and do specific collections for each market. By doing so we would lose the sense of a luxury brand. Instead, when we enter a new country, we like to get cultural insights and also give back to the different cultures. We approach a new location with passion but also with patience. We want to put down roots wherever we have a presence.”
Artistic and cultural exchanges like the India of the Senses Exhibition at the Espace Gallery in Paris and The Mumbai Scrapbook are a way of increasing awareness about India in France, he believes. “Through the scrapbook, we want people in France to feel the emotion of a city like Mumbai. And through the exhibition, we wanted to show there are modern artists in India with fantastic visions. We want to emphasise that India is more than just a country of cheap craftsmanship or cows in the street by showcasing its culture, history and art. Being a global leader, we consider it our duty to travel with people not only through suitcases but also through the travel of cultures.”

Our morning walk has been exactly that – a journey through cultures and time. Determined to repeat LV’s stupendous success in Japan and China in India, Carcelle is hugely optimistic about the future. “A billion Indians are waiting for us,” he grins.
As he arches his neck out from a gateway to admire the view, Carcelle resembles a conqueror surveying new horizons. It’s a striking pose that captures perfectly the aspirations of Carcelle and his global luxury counterparts as they enter a challenging new phase in the Indian market.