#RJIF2024: SOHNAA aims to be a luxury Indian brand, banking on collaborations and a global vision

Sonali Shah Sheth, Founder-Director, SOHNAA, Jewelsprings Design Centre and Sphere Jewellery, pitched her brand’s collaboration plan by drawing a parallel with the information-hungry and highly individualistic young generation that thrives digitally and believes in informed purchase decisions

It is the hour of collaboration and not competition. With that pitch, Shah Sheth introduced her luxury brand SOHNAA to the audience in a presentation titled ‘Empowering the future of retail with design excellence’. The former Head of Design at Reliance Jewels walked the audience through her early industry recognition, starting with a De Beers Award in 1998, being one of six brands chosen by the Natural Diamond Council to showcase jewellery at the Lakme Fashion Week alongside Tanishq in 2018, and a three-year stint with Reliance Jewels replete with award nominations.

Sheth’s quest to create a luxury brand called SOHNAA began during her scholarship tour of De Beers in 1998, when she saw designer stores of luxury brands across airports in England and France. “Why isn’t any Indian brand there, I thought, when Indian Maharajas and their patronage had helped most luxury brands thrive? Hailing from a family of diamond manufacturers in Surat, I realized India is full of manufacturers. Even the Make in India movement promotes manufacturing,” she said, adding that the India retail story changed with the opening of Jio World Plaza in 2023.

As global luxury brands onboard Indian celeb ambassadors, SOHNAA aspires to create a signature style of collections with gripping narratives and thematic resonance. Sheth talked about SOHNAA’s Miraas signature collection, inspired by Turkish art, which has a commonality across its statement pieces, keepsakes, red carpet adornments, workwear, bridal jewellery, solitaires and tech accessories. The brand also does high-end bespoke bridals.

Sheth pitched her collaboration plan by drawing a parallel with the information-hungry and highly individualistic young generation that thrives digitally and enjoys a fast-paced life full of informed purchase decisions. “Youngsters are looking for hyper-personalization with virtual try-ons and stylist-driven dressing unheard of 10 years ago. As more high-end luxury brands eye India, jewellers need to shed the discount game and level up with collaborations, in which SOHNAA gets a dedicated display inside the partner showroom where in-store inventory supervision and staff training is managed by SOHNAA,” she explained. The latter becomes crucial to manage the brand experience and language.

Sheth also discussed multi-level brand discovery through pop-ups, discovery kiosks, hoardings, travel retail, personal shopping assistance, strong brand communication, and powerful PR as part of SOHNAA’s collaboration offerings.