Indian fashion designers pivot to jewellery to tailor topline boost

Designers such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Manish Malhotra are diversifying into fine jewellery, tapping rising self-purchase trends and positioning pieces as both design statements and investment ass

Indian fashion designers — from Sabyasachi Mukherjee to Manish Malhotra — are increasingly diversifying their businesses to jewellery as customers’ fashion sensibilities expand beyond traditional designs.

 

“Women are now buying a lot of jewellery on their own, with their own money, not just what their family buys for them. They also tend to see them as not just things of beauty, but as investment pieces,” Shubhika Sharma, founder and creative director of luxury label Papa Don’t Preach, told Business Standard, at the recent launch of her new high jewellery line.

 

Titled ‘The Observatory’, the collection has been designed as heirloom-worthy creations, featuring a curation of 40 handcrafted pieces, including chokers, necklaces, earrings, rings and handcuffs, in 14 karat and 18k gold.

 

Sharma is not the first to introduce a jewellery focused vertical.

 

“People often ask me how to finish a Papa Don’t Preach look. Today, I finally have an answer: with jewels that are as magnetic, as intricate, and as luxuriously crafted as the couture they stand beside,” she added.

 

Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who credits TV show Band Baajaa Bride for his eventual foray into jewellery, launched the line on Instagram in 2017.

 

“The line is now clocking ₹100-150 crore in revenue. It’s not very big, but I intend to make it India’s largest jewellery business in the next 10 years — bigger than Tanishq,” he told Business Standard last year.

 

Manish Malhotra, who expanded into high jewellery over two and a half years ago, extended this jewellery universe with the introduction of Manish Malhotra Fine Jewellery, earlier this month. The collection is conceived as a celebration of emeralds and diamonds and is defined by the house’s signature MM Armour House Cut.

 

For designers, the move is not driven by just profits.

 

“Once a designer has established a strong visual language through textiles, craft, motifs, and occasion-wear, moving into jewellery allows them to translate the same codes into objects — home and jewellery become brand extensions,” said Pareina Thapar, a professional and expert in the Indian luxury lifestyle sector.

 

“For some it's less about new business verticals, but more about creative expression, which excites them and completes the brand universe,” she said, adding that it gives designers an opportunity to invite a wider audience into the brand.

 

Someone who may not buy couture can still own a ring, bangle, or pendant that carries the designer’s signature, Thapar pointed out.

 

But not all designers launch their own lines. Some collaborate with established brands.

 

Rahul Mishra, for instance, collaborated with Tanishq Diamonds, with its ‘Radiance in Rhythm’ collection being featured in his ‘Becoming Love’ show presented at the Paris Haute Couture Week Fall/Winter 2025.

 

“A collaboration is like a creative conversation. It allows a designer to experiment quickly, borrow deep technical expertise from an established jeweller, and offer something new without building heavy infrastructure. It’s often capsule-like, expressive, and can reach both brands’ audiences simultaneously,” explained Thapar.

   

However, the Indian jewellery market is not easy to break into and requires a deep expertise in sourcing, understanding purity and certification, managing inventory risk, and building long-term trust. 

 

"In India, where jewellery is also seen as an investment, the bar is even higher. Consumers are evaluating not only design but intrinsic worth, craftsmanship, and long-term security. That means trust is built slowly and often rests on generations of jewelling lineage or very robust institutional credibility. So, the real opportunity for many designer labels may not be to compete head-on in investment-led high jewellery, but to offer design-led, culturally rich pieces that sit between adornment and heirloom," Thapar pointed out.