CELINE

Retail

CELINE proposes the French house’s entry into India’s luxury market, beginning in Mumbai through a 51:49 joint venture with Reliance Brands. Brand research and market analysis shape the strategy, and the boutique, the NMACC brand exhibition, and the launch activations are designed as one connected brand experience.

Collaborators: Komal Byretira Ganapathy · Hensi Patel · Navya Behki
Category: Luxury Retail | Brand Strategy | Experiential Design
Course: LXMT 749 · M.A. Final Project · Winter 2026 · Prof. Roop Virk

Brand Research & Market Strategy

Brand & Heritage

CELINE’s 178 boutiques worldwide, by region

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India Market Opportunity

India growth indicators: number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals from 2016 to 2028, with GDP, purchasing power and luxury market projections

Evolution of luxury in the early 1900s: power, craft and lineage

Evolution of luxury in the early 2000s: urbanization, mobility, globalization, aspiration and occasional

Survey results on craftsmanship, social media discovery, readiness for international brands and style preferences

Shift in luxury consumer alignment from display to sophistication

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Market Entry Strategy

Luxury concentration across India’s metro and tier 2 cities

Why Mumbai: highest concentration of UHNWIs, luxury infrastructure, global mindset, media and celebrity hub, and experiential luxury culture

Entry model: a 51:49 joint venture with Reliance Brands within an aggregated luxury environment

Aggregated luxury environment references in India

CELINE’s luxury archetype in India: globally mobile, experience-driven women consumers

CELINE’s luxury archetype in India: globally oriented, design-conscious men

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Retail Design

Boutique Concept

Mood Board

Retail mood board: vertical timber fins with glass edges above a pale stone stair

Retail mood board: gallery-style boutique with pale stone walls, brass shelving and a black marble block

Retail mood board: boutique with a black and white veined stone wall, glass display case and carved timber volumes

Materials

The space feels calm, precise, intellectual, monumental yet silent, and gallery-like — almost museum-grade.

Floor Plan

The floor plan is organized along a clear axial spine, creating a calm and intuitive journey through the store. Distinct zones for men, women, and VIP are carefully balanced within an open, gallery-like layout where negative space enhances both materiality and product. Back-of-house areas are discreetly integrated, ensuring a seamless and refined customer experience aligned with CELINE’s architectural discipline.

Retail Visualizations

CELINE boutique entrance with a backlit light-box ceiling, black and gray granite and product display

Men’s capsule space with a straight, centred view, recessed display niches and sculptural plinth

VIP room with honed stone walls, black stone plinths and an ivory bouclé sofa

Entrance: A recessed backlit LED light-box ceiling with a clean black frame and subtle track spots, inspired by CELINE’s Summer 2026 show ceiling, gives the entry a minimal, gallery-grade glow.
Men’s Capsule Space: A straight, centred view guides customers through the store. Recessed niches turn merchandise into curated artifacts, and negative space is treated as a design element, not an absence.
VIP Room: Intimate and comfortable without feeling enclosed, with honed limestone or travertine cladding, black stone plinths, an ivory bouclé sofa, and Rathin Barman’s sculpture as the focal art moment.

Art & Product Curation

Retail Experience

CELINE Art Project — Rathin Barman

CELINE Art Project: a red sculpture with arched facades on concrete plinths by Rathin Barman

CELINE Art Project: a red framework sculpture resting on a stone mass

The artist installing slender brass-toned elements for the CELINE Art Project

Product assortment: leather goods, accessories, ready-to-wear, shoes, beauty and fragrance, and special edition — Leather goods · Accessories · Ready-to-wear · Shoes · Beauty & fragrance · Special edition

Exhibition Design

NMACC, Mumbai

An immersive brand exhibition at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai, introducing CELINE’s world of understated French minimalism.