Super-Rich Indians and Their Extravagant Spending

Bangalore: Many wealthy Indians indulge in extravagant shopping in order to stand out from their peers. While many in India are able to splurge, many are also restricting themselves to affordable luxury due to a slowing economy. However, the super-rich continue to be the spendthrifts. Here are a few instances of the most bizarre shopping done by the rich, as reported by Vijaya Rathore for The Economic Times.

Shahnaz Husain shreds into pieces Louis Vuitton bags to make gowns:
Shahnaz Husain, the beauty care diva tears up into pieces many brand new Louis Vuitton bags in order to stitch up her gowns. Expensive brands and products allow the rich to be differentiated from the rest. Husain said "I always buy two identical LV bags. One is cut into pieces to design my clothes - I use them as patches on the sleeves and collars. In the last 30 years, I have bought several hundred bags. LV is a magnet and I feel drawn to it,” as reported by ET. An LV handbag in India would cost above Rs 50,000. The LV collection in Shahnaz’s wardrobe is crafted at her bungalow in South Delhi, and most of the gowns she dresses in are designed by her and stitched by an in-house tailor.

Abraham Koshy, professor of marketing at IIM-Ahmedabad says it is a way of the rich in reassuring not only others, but also themselves that they have arrived in life and such people have the financial power to do so. But Koshy says that many of them look for bizarre ways to differentiate themselves from the crowd. He says "If everyone can buy an LV, how am I any different?"

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