PARIS – Kering is expanding its sustainability-minded Generation Award to India.

The move reflects the strengthening ties between France and India as they celebrate the Franco-Indian Year of Innovation, and prepare for the implementation of a historic trade agreement between the European Union and India that promises to wipe out around 4 billion euros a year in duties on European products.

Kering has partnered with Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), the luxury and premium lifestyle retail division of Indian industrial giant Reliance Industries that is the local partner of brands including Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Valentino.

Marie-Claire Daveu, chief sustainability and institutional affairs officer at Kering, and Jaspreet Chandok, group vice-president Reliance Brands Limited, signed a memorandum of understanding at Kering headquarters in Paris ahead of the first Indian edition of the award ceremony, due to be held at the Embassy of France in New Delhi on Oct. 13, ahead of the next edition of Lakmé Fashion Week.

Launched in China in 2018 before being expanded to Japan and Saudi Arabia in 2024, Kering’s Generation Award initially honored start-ups focused on sustainability in the fashion space and encouraged new thinking about the way the fashion industry produces clothing and uses resources. It was extended to the jewelry sector in 2024.

The Indian edition will collaborate with the R|Elan Circular Design Challenge, in partnership with the United Nations in India, to identify start-ups that propose circular initiatives having a direct impact on resource protection.

“Expanding the Kering Generation Award to India is a natural and strategic next step in our mission to support visionary impact start-ups that are shaping the future of luxury,” Daveu said in a statement.

“India is not only a massive and rapidly growing market for the luxury sector, but also a thriving hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. We are convinced that empowering the region’s most promising entrepreneurs at the intersection of fashion, beauty and innovation will accelerate the breakthrough circular solutions needed to transform our industry,” she added.

Chandok said the future of luxury would be shaped not only by creativity, but by the ability to innovate responsibly.

“India is home to exceptional talent reimagining materials, technology and circular business models, and this partnership with Kering provides an important global stage for those innovators,” he said.

“We are proud to bring together Reliance Brands’ experience in building fashion ecosystems with Kering’s leadership in sustainability to champion solutions that can influence the future of the industry,” he added.

French and Indian luxury players have been stepping up their cooperation in preparation for the free trade agreement, or FTA, between the European Union and India, which is expected to come into effect in late 2026 or early 2027 after a framework was concluded in January, capping almost two decades of negotiations.

The deal is expected to double exports of EU goods to India by 2032 by eliminating or reducing tariffs on 96.6 percent of merchandise — the biggest tariff reductions that India has ever granted to a trading partner.

French luxury association Comité Colbert in July signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reflecting the French sector’s hope that India’s burgeoning middle class, estimated at 400 million people, will help European luxury brands to emerge from a prolonged slump.