Fancy a designer toothpaste?

When you think Chanel you think bags perfumes apparel mdash all luxury galore Yet the luxury dream of fashion lovers worldwide took a kooky turn when Chanelrsquos creative director Karl Lagerfeld collaborated with Coca Cola to come up with oneofakind bottles for Coke LightModels pose with designer Manish Arora in his creationsDesigner dream just a cola awayA trend that is gaining much ground on home turf as well the idea behind such designer collaborations is to reach out to new customers and add a dash of glamour to their productKarl Lagerfeld stands with his designs for Coca Cola PICAFPA few years back designers Wendell Rodricks and Narendra Kumar teamed up with the retail chain Westside to create an affordable precirct line that carried the designer tag as a bonus And offlate fashion designer Rohit Bal too had heads turning as he collaborated with womenrsquos wear brand Biba for one such collection While high street brand HampM hasnrsquot entered Indian shores yet shopaholics the world over rejoiced when they announced their association with luxury label MarniJoining the line is designer Manish Arorarsquos precirct line for online shopping portal Myntra ldquoWe have a multitude of brands for wide choices Strategic partnerships with Bollywood celebrities and designers is one way for us to offer aspirational brands and provide access to the same to people across the length and breadth of the country Both Bollywood celebrities and fashion designers define trends and are aspirational to Indian shoppersrdquo says Vikas Ahuja CMO Myntra Other than making designer wear more accessible Ahuja tells us that such partnerships help them stand out from the crowd and offer something that is not available anywhere elseNot just pocketfriendlyConsider yourself mistaken if you think the trendrsquos spread is only limited to clothes India has seen a wide variety of products following this route Though not all collaborations are easy on the pocket with each association designed for different audiences Vu Technologies came up with the worldrsquos first designer TV embellished in Swarovski crystals in collaboration with designer Tarun Tahiliani Devita Saraf CEO tells us ldquoVu technologies endeavoured to redefine the concept of luxury viewing experience for the discerning customer Being the worldrsquos first designer television it helped us to create a unique brand positioning Since Tarun understood the brand incredibly well he helped highlight the quality and the uber luxury aspect of Vu for a niche customer baserdquoDesigner beauty thisOne of the most successful campaigns and frontrunners of this concept is cosmetic brand Lakmeacute that launches a limited edition collection every season in association with a designer and takes the idea a step further with the fashion week in the cityManish Malhotrarsquos design for DuluxPurnima Lamba Head of Innovation at th ecompany tells us ldquoBeauty and fashion rely on trends The products that are a result of our collaborations with designers have helped us explore a younger audience which is aware of the trends in the industry and follows them And trends change every season neons were in two seasons ago and it isnrsquot the same now Hence we need to innovate constantly and the designers help us get a sharper perspective of the season with their point of view which in turn helps us come up with our productsrdquoThe selection processBrands have their own identities and so do designers Hence a lot goes through in choosing the name of the designer to work with in order to attract new customers and not alienate the existing ones Home linen brand Portico New York has worked with three designers with different sensibilities for variety in their products ldquoEvery designer has their own unique signature style and the right kind of associations can add a lot of value to the brand stature and personality Manish Arora adds his quirky signature sensibilities yet for special collections like the luxury bridal trousseau Neeta Lulla makes the cut Nishka Lulla brings to fore a very fresh perspective with her favourite bohemian style in unique colour mixes ideal for the young home fashionista for whom the style statement of her home is as important as her ownrdquo informs Arun Bhawsingka CEO Creative PorticoNeeta Lulla with her collection for Portico New YorkJewellery brand Amrapali mdashknown for its ethnic jewellery mdash wowed stylistas the around the world when they launched a supremely edgy collection in association with Arora ldquoEven if we innovate every season Amrapali can be very ethnic and traditional in its designs So when Arorarsquos team approached us for the collaboration we had to think since we hadnrsquot done one before After the talks we decided to experiment with enamelling which is very traditional but in a way that was never seen before The customers today are well read and do their own research and this collection helped us gain new grounds in both India and abroadrdquo says Tarang Arora from AmrapaliThough designers help in creating limited edition and exclusive products for various brands we hope that the trend isnrsquot overdone so much that it loses its lsquoexclusiversquo charm