Simone Tata Passes Away at 95: The Visionary Who Made Lakme India’s First Big Beauty Brand and Transformed Modern Retail

Simone Tata, one of the most influential figures of the Tata family and a pioneer of India’s beauty and fashion retail industry, passed away in Mumbai on Friday at the age of 95. She had been undergoing treatment for age-related ailments at Breach Candy Hospital. Simone Tata was the Chairperson Emeritus of Trent, mother of Noel Tata, and stepmother of former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1930 as Simone Dunoyer, she came from a wealthy French–Swiss family. She first visited India in the early 1950s as a young graduate. During her brief stint with Air India in Geneva in 1953, she met Naval Tata at an ILO conference. The two married in 1955, marking the beginning of her lifelong association with India.

Transformed Beauty Culture in Indian Middle Class

Simone Tata joined the board of Lakme in 1962, when it was merely a small cosmetics division under Tata Oil Mills. At a time when consumer goods were tightly regulated and middle-class women were hesitant about using makeup, she challenged the stigma head-on.

Her conviction was simple yet powerful: beauty is not a luxury, but a right for every Indian woman.

Across the 1970s and 1980s, under her leadership, Lakme evolved into India’s leading cosmetics brand—focusing not just on glamour but on the aspirations and affordability of Indian women. She helped reshape perceptions, making beauty products mainstream, modern, and acceptable in Indian households.

The Bold Decision: Selling Lakme to Unilever

With India’s economic liberalisation in the mid-1990s, Simone Tata took a landmark decision—selling the iconic Lakme brand to Hindustan Unilever for USD 45 million. The proceeds were used to launch a new retail venture: Trent.

Today, Trent operates the popular Westside and Zudio retail chains. Although she stepped down as Chairperson in the mid-2000s, the foundations she built—private labels, disciplined pricing, and accessible fashion—continue to define Trent’s success story.

Apart from business, she also contributed significantly to philanthropic institutions such as the Sir Ratan Tata Institute.

How Lakme Began — And the Meaning Behind the Name

Lakme was established at the request of then–Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Concerned that Indian women were spending heavily on imported cosmetics—draining valuable foreign currency—Nehru encouraged the Tatas to launch an Indian alternative.

The name Lakme was inspired by a French opera, which itself refers to Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty and prosperity.

Simone Tata became the driving force behind the brand, shaping its marketing strategy to break social taboos around makeup and empowering women to feel confident and modern.