'Luxury is not something to show off'

Luxury is not something to show off about,” says Monica Garg, director, International Luxury Academy (ILA), who has won the Samaj Ratan Award. “Most of the people have not yet learnt the true meaning of what is luxury. It is a lifestyle.”

To make people more aware of the concept and introduce the true essence of luxury, Garg started ILA that offers luxury image consultancy services and helps students explore and learn about the luxury industry. 

“Image consultancy is fairly common in Delhi nowadays. But what we have come up with is the idea to have luxury image consultants who specialise not only in image but also in luxury brand management. They can have high-end clients from all over the world, their fashion styles, and the desired image of clients.”

She adds, “Luxury image consultancy can transform a person completely, like a 360 degrees make over. One can see changes in themselves and even people around them can see it. They become the best version of themselves from inside as well as outside.”

Professional training is also given where fundamentals such as marketing, branding, pricing, business strategies and consumer behaviour are imbibed in the course to make students able to handle the market.  These can open scopes for students in companies, consulting firms and various industries in fashion, luxury and lifestyle. The knowledge and hands on job experience will enable them to creatively deliver solutions in the field of brand management, marketing, communication, event planning, retail, visual merchandising and e-commerce.

Garg is trained in brand management, styling, fashion and etiquette management and specialises in image enhancement for women and has also conducted various workshops in New York and China. “I realised there is a need here and came up with the idea of combining the two concepts image and luxury to create the luxury image consultant.”

Though Garg admits that one cannot judge a person depending on his looks but “being practical, a person is judged by his looks first, which is the first impression”.
“Also, when you are dressed well even you would feel more confident and better about yourself,” she says.