Vogue aims to raise the style bar with India launch

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Vogue magazine, the style bible for fashionistas worldwide, is launching an edition in India this month which is set to give the country's wealthy jet-setters a local twist on fashion and the good life.

The magazine marks publisher Conde Nast's first foray in the Asian subcontinent and is another sign of the growing interest in Asia's third-biggest economy, which has a large English-speaking population with rising disposable incomes.

Major global fashion and luxury brands are now setting up in India -- and bringing the foreign glossy magazines with them.

"We will raise the bar because we are the ultimate style-bible," Priya Tanna, Vogue India editor, told Reuters.

"More and more confident, successful women are moving from the 'we' culture to the 'me' culture," Tanna said, adding that the Indian woman was now providing for her family and indulging herself as well.

Tanna said Vogue India will aim to create "a desire for guilt-free consumption" in women.

The magazine, priced at 100 rupees, will feature international and Indian fashion, decors, global cultures, travel and health among other issues. "The idea is to mix eye-candy with mind-candy," Tanna said.

India allows 100 percent ownership in non-news titles and has a 26 percent ceiling on news publications. Vogue publishes in India as a 100 percent subsidiary of Conde Nast International.

Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Maxim, Hello!, Time Out, OK! and others are already on the stands.