In a country where wearing lipstick could still invite disapproval, Simone Tata understood that Lakmé's future depended on shifting attitudes.
Back in the early 1960s, when India, barely in its teens as an independent nation, was beginning to embrace the idea of fashion shows, mostly organised by textile mills, Simone Tata would be among those quietly watching from the audience.
She would come not for the fabrics the mills hoped would excite a new consumer.
She would come for Lakmé, the young cosmetics brand whose board she had joined in 1962.
She wanted to see whether these shows, still a novelty then, could give Lakmé visibility.
Even at that early stage, she understood that a brand needed not only products but also presence, and she would go on to give Lakmé both.
In doing so, she would give India its first indigenous cosmetics brand.
Simone Tata, the business leader who helped anchor Lakmé in Indian households and later guided the Tata Group into modern fashion retail through Westside, passed away in Mumbai at the age of 95 after a brief illness.
Born in 1930 in Geneva, Switzerland, she first came to India as a tourist in 1953.
A meeting with Naval H Tata during that visit would change the direction of her life. They married two years later, and she made Mumbai her permanent home.
Naval Tata already had two sons -- Ratan Tata and Jimmy Tata -- from his first marriage, and she would become a mother to them.
In 1957, Noel Tata, now chairman of Tata Trusts, would be born to the couple.
Simone Tata's life as a businesswoman unfolded almost in tandem with the evolution of India's first homegrown cosmetics brand.
Lakmé had been founded in 1952 by Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy -- JRD -- Tata at the prompting of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw the need for an indigenous alternative to imported beauty products, which was an expensive habit for a young nation striving to conserve foreign exchange.
The brand -- its name derived from Lakshmi through its French inflection, Lakmé -- was launched in collaboration with French firms Robert Piguet and Renoir.
Soon after joining the Lakmé board, Simone Tata became central to shaping its identity.
In a country where wearing lipstick could still invite disapproval, she understood that the brand's future depended on shifting attitudes.
She pushed for aggressive marketing at a time when Indian advertising was still tentative, positioning Lakmé as aspirational yet accessible, and building a range tailored to Indian skin tones.
Her strategy blended modernity with cultural familiarity.
The brand's first ambassador, 1980s' supermodel Shyamoli Verma, became the 'Lakmé Girl', appearing in an early advertisement that showed her playing traditional Indian instruments while styled in Lakmé products.
The message was deliberate: Beauty need not be at odds with Indian identity.
Over the years, actors such as Rekha and later Aishwarya Rai embodied this evolving image.
Lisa Ray also walked the ramp for Lakmé, adding to its fashion cachet.
By 1982, Simone Tata had become chairperson of Lakmé.
Under her stewardship, the brand grew into one of the most recognised names in Indian beauty. But the mid-1990s brought new pressures as global giants such as L'Oréal and Revlon entered a liberalising Indian market.
To strengthen Lakmé's technological and distribution abilities, she initiated a 50:50 joint venture with Hindustan Unilever in 1996.
The alliance sought to offset high import duties on raw materials, harness global expertise, and tap into HUL's vast marketing network.
Two years later, in 1998, the Tata Group exited the joint venture, selling its 50 per cent stake for Rs 200 crore.
Instead of viewing the sale as a retreat, Simone Tata used it as a pivot. She channelled the proceeds into acquiring the sole Bengaluru store of Littlewoods International and merged it with Lakmé's export business to create Tata Retail Enterprise.
Renamed Trent, the company would go on to launch Westside, a fashion retail chain that would become one of India's most prominent.
She remained Trent's non-executive chairperson until 2006, overseeing its early expansion at a time when organised retail in India was still taking shape.
Trent today operates multiple brands, including Zudio, Burnt Toast, Samoh and Utsa, and also runs the Star grocery chain through a joint venture with Tesco Plc.
The company is now chaired by Noel Tata, her son.
In a statement mourning her passing, the Tata Group said, 'She will always be remembered for her contribution to the growth of Lakmé as India's leading cosmetic brand and laying the foundation for fashion retail with the Westside chain... With her positivity and deep resolve, she overcame many challenges in her life while touching many of us deeply.'
From helping build India's first indigenous cosmetics brand to laying the foundation for one of its most successful retail ventures, Simone Tata leaves behind a legacy woven into the country's evolving ideas of beauty, aspiration, and modernity.
Lakmé itself, sold to HUL, has continued to grow, expanding to more than 1,000 cosmetic products and 400 salons, and becoming the title sponsor of the biannual Lakmé Fashion Week.
Its enduring cultural presence remains a testament to Simone Tata's early vision.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/ Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
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