As India moves into the global luxury spotlight, Chanel has named Indian film star Ananya Panday as its first Indian brand ambassador.
In just six years, the 26-year-old actress has become one of the biggest stars and style icons of her generation. The daughter of actor Chunky Panday and reality TV host Bhavana Pandey, she has won critical acclaim and commercial success for her performances in Call Me Bae (2024), Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (2023) and Gehraiyaan (2022).
Panday’s appointment was widely anticipated by industry experts after she walked the Chanel Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show in Paris. Her frequent appearances in Chanel at events such as the BoF Mumbai Gala, her frequent recommendations to her 25.9 million Instagram followers and her recent covers for Vogue India and Grazia India are a sign of her budding relationship with the brand.
Chanel was one of the first luxury brands to enter India in 2005. Since then, it has quietly established a strong presence in the country – opening a fashion boutique in New Delhi, seven fragrance and beauty stores in cities including New Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bengaluru, three retail outlets in airports and an e-commerce business launched last year.
“Ananya represents a generation with evolving tastes, a strong sense of identity and a curiosity to explore the world,” Chanel told BoF exclusively. “Her values resonate with Chanel, making her the perfect person to represent Chanel.”
Panday said the brand embodies “the essence of personal liberation, allowing people to boldly embrace their individuality with timeless elegance.”
Partnering with an “It Girl” like Panday highlights the brand’s commitment to solidifying its presence in the Indian market while appealing to a younger generation of shoppers. Annual luxury spending by Indian consumers is expected to roughly triple to €25 billion to €30 billion ($28 billion to $32 billion) by 2030, according to Bain & Company.
Panday, who is also the face of Swarovski, was previously the face of Jimmy Choo’s Indian advertising campaign, and has also endorsed multiple brands including Lakmé, Beats and Timex.
While luxury brands like Sonam Kapoor (Dior), Alia Bhatt (Gucci) and Deepika Padukone (Louis Vuitton, Cartier) have partnered with Indian actresses in recent years, Panday is the first actress of her generation to ink an ambassadorial deal with a legacy brand like Chanel.