Exclusive | HOLII: A Blend of the traditional with the contemporary

HOLII is a partnership between Future Ventures and Hidesign. Since it’s inception in 2009, Holii  has always offered a unique range of bags and accessories which combine aesthetic Indian designs with high standards of Hidesign. The brand has a large fan following and is bringing luxury in women’s everyday lives.

 

 Some time back  Holii unveiled its  new logo and embarked on a new journey . Creativity has always been their USP and this new logo reflects their vibrant and diverse outlook. A contemporary look has been given to the logo keeping in mind the core value of their brand and that is creativity. The new logo depicts a peacock with flowing curves. The style is seamless with smooth lines representing the bird in all its elegance. This logo intends to represent the brand which is Indian in thought but international in looks.

 

Adgully interacted with Gilles Moutounet, CEO, Holii to talk about their journey so far,the need for a  new logo, creativity, and their international ambitions for the future. Following are the excerpts from the interview:

 

 Gilles spoke about their new logo animatedly since he and his team are very enthusiastic about the new look and they intend to reach out to much larger audience through it. Gilles Moutounet quoted , “The new Logo is aimed at giving a new contemporary look and feel to the brand and it is a small part of the many changes which we have put into action recently. The new logo comes along with the evolution of the brand and is part of a fully revamped product line and brand philosophy.” 

 

The peacock, India’s national bird has been associated with the brand. He expressed his views on this and said, “The peacock has been associated with Holii since the beginning. The former peacock was already part of our brand identity but we have realized that the association was not always clear to some customers. With the new logo the association is much stronger since the peacock comes within the letter “O”. Yes the peacock is part of the Indian culture and as a brand inspired by India, we always thought that the association would be good for the brand. All Indians share a strong affinity and respect with the peacock and we thought that having the peacock as part of the brand identity would definitely bring a sentimental and affective element which is important for the brand and its development.” He also went on to add that not many brands manage to get the affective element in their personality and that is where Holii makes the difference in the long run.

At first glance we realized the logo embodied the essence of merging of tradition with the contemporary.Commenting on our observation  Gilles said, “This is definitely the message we want to convey and I am glad that you can figure it out. There is definitely a sense of fusion with this new logo. Not only fusion of tradition and contemporary but fusion between East and West as well. Holii takes its inspiration from India but styling it in the modern Indian idiom for a strong indo-chic appeal with a very "now" look that is our USP and that gives our product an edge.

 

According to Gilles the new logo represents the evolution of the brand and the brand philosophy has been completely revamped.

 

 Elaborating on the fact  how the new avatar of brand  Holii can help it in surging in uncharted territories   and make  them  realize their international ambitions,Gilles  said, “We have realized that Holii as a brand has managed in a short time to stand out in the market and has acquired a strong brand equity. Moreover because the name Holii itself is still very universal it gives the possibility for the brand to expand to new categories. The brand doesn’t have to restrict itself to bags and accessories but on the contrary expand its aura to new ones. So we have decided to capitalize on this. Looking at the Indian market dynamics, we have decided to launch an apparel collection early 2013. The arrival of the new logo has been planned accordingly, keeping this project in mind as well. Its contemporary look will definitely stand out as well, when applied on garments.” 

 

He went on to say that looking at a lareger plan, Holii has the possibility to become a lifestyle brand with international ambitions. Here again they have made sure that the logo had an international appeal as well and the colour chosen is used as a bridge between Indian and western sensibilities.

 The core value of their brand is creativity. When asked to elaborate more on their core belief on creativity and how that will be a differentiater in the market place we were told , “Creativity is certainly being able to always come with something new and always reinvent itself. It has always been part of the Holii progressive stance and that starts with the new atypical look. Not like any other brand we believe all our products have a story to tell with that strong indo-chic and modern appeal we spoke before. As a company Holii wants to inspire creativity of the modern India that is the envy of the world.  All our products are made with intricacy, colour, grace and have a soul of their own.”

 

 In a competitive market we wanted to understand the strategy and planning process in developing the new look .Gilles said "the whole team had  strategized  and planned  for months to create  the new identity. Idea for a change came after analyzing the brand’s values and aspirations for the future."

 

 It is the understanding of the Indian consumer which has helped Holii to come out with innovative offerings which are affordable and help customers to lead a better quality of life.