Madura Garments marked the Indian launch of Esprit, the international fashion brand, with a spectacular fashion extravaganza in Mumbai on Friday, 7 October 2005. The two have entered a partnership to target the growing premium retail market in India.

Madura Garments owns several premium brands like Allen Solly, Peter England, Van Heusen and Louis Philippe. And the American company is known the world over as a youthful, original and stylish lifestyle brand. Esprit offers a range of fashion products for women, men and children. The group also specialises in accessories like time wear, jewellery, fragrances, bed and bath, shoes, etc. Founded in 1968, Esprit today has merchandising arrangements in 44 countries.

Esprit showcased its apparel line for fall / winter 2005 in India with a fashion show — the Esprit Skywalk by Sports Unlimited. The Esprit Skywalk, a tradition to Esprit launches all over the world, is an unique and exciting form of vertical catwalk, combining mountain climbing techniques with synchronised dance choreography and rapid descent movements. At the launch at Linking Road, Bandra in north Mumbai, the models — flown in for the event from Germany — walked down a vertical ramp, down four floors of a building, suspended by ropes.

At the after-event party later in the evening, the models descended the 35 storeys of Hilton Towers Hotel in Nariman Point. This one-of-a-kind event was an amazing display of fashion and acrobatic skills combined with remarkable choreography. The presence of Mumbai's celebrities added the glamour quotient to the party. Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group; Thomas Grote, CEO Esprit and Peter Hammond, Regional Director, Esprit, Asia represented the corporate world. Celebrities like Prasad Bidappa, Alyque Padamsee, A D Singh, Chhaya Momaya and Prahlad Kakkar were seen enjoying themselves at the party that followed.

With the launch of Esprit, Madura Garments aims to upgrade the retail standard in India. "We are aiming at the key segments of women's wear, premium relaxed clothes and accessories, which will add to the flavour in premium retail business," says Mr. Hemchandra Javeri, President, Madura Garments. "We want to provide an international shopping experience to discerning and well-heeled Indian consumers," he adds. Says Mr. Grote, "Esprit is always looking for new markets for its expansion. We at Esprit are very excited about this new partnership with Madura Garments." Mr. Grote explains, "We live up to our customers' expectations by providing truly international retailing standards."

Madura Garments has posted a growth rate of over 20 per cent during the last few years, which has attracted many international brands for strategic tie-ups. Esprit — a lifestyle brand positioned between the premium and the super-premium retail market — was an ideal partner to enter the young consumer market with. Madura Garments plans to carry the entire range of merchandise, which will be bought from Esprit's licensees in India. Mr Vikram Rao, Group Executive President (fabrics and apparel), Aditya Birla Group says, "It is indeed an honour to be associated with an international brand of such repute as Esprit. The entry of Esprit in India will be a remarkable one."

Esprit enters the Indian market with the launch of its flagship store in Linking Road, bringing the retailing standards of Milan, Paris and London to the commercial capital of India. The brand will soon be launched in Delhi.