Indian women may wear Western dress during the day but for weddings and other formal occasions they often prefer to wear six-yard (five and a half metre) saris, reflecting the strong pull of tradition. "This is part of our effort to connect to India's culture and to the tradition of elegance of Indian women," Bertrand Michaud, president of Hermès India, told AFP. "It is not a marketing tool, we won't make a fortune with them," he said.

There are a total of 28 saris to the offering, with one line priced at 300,000 rupees ($6,120) and a second priced at 400,000 rupees ($8,158). The sarees are designed by Sunita Kumar, wife of former Indian tennis player Naresh Kumar along with Hermes' in-house designers. Each sari is created in Paris and made of a variety of fabrics, from cashmere to twill silk.

The company's sari launch comes after Hermès recently sought to bolster its presence in India by opening a flagship store, one of its biggest in Asia, in Mumbai. It already has two outlets in New Delhi and the western city of Pune. Most global luxury brands in India are tucked away in five-star hotels or malls but Hermès chose to open its Mumbai store in a renovated colonial era street-level building.

"We want to be part of Indian life," Michaud said.