New Delhi, May 21 -- I have spent years studying luxury brands, retail behaviour and aspirational consumers across markets, but I must admit that watching the recent frenzy around the alliance of Audemars Piguet and Swatch unsettled me.

This was not because the collaboration itself was shocking. Luxury has flirted with accessibility before. We have already seen H&M collaborate with Versace, Balmain and even Sabyasachi. We saw Supreme enter Louis Vuitton's world. Gucci has had Adidas as a partner. The industry has been moving steadily towards cultural collaborations for years.

What fascinated me this time was the intensity of the participation. Consumers camped outside stores overnight. Queues stretched across city blocks the world over....