This week the first Versace accessory boutique opened in Mumbai India. There’s something so fitting about Versace opening in Mumbai. The brand is crass, ugly, full of bling and so nouveau-riche. It lacks taste and class. Subtlety? Forget it. The point of buying Versace is so that people know you are wearing Versace. It is to show off your wealth. It is not for the discreet or the elegant.
The Versace boutique is within spitting distance of the Mumbai slums – so shockingly and starkly portrayed in Slumdog Millionaire. I am not the sort who believes that we only have one choice in our lives and we all must wear hair shirts because others are living in penury. But I do know that when India’s elite spend $250 on a tee shirt and that money could school ten children for a year, then something is surely wrong.
Versace International announced “our strong commitment to the Indian market.” Substitute “our strong commitment to donating part of our profits to alleviate poverty in Mumbai” and I might start listening.
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