‘What we have is unique’: the Indian craftsmanship behind global luxury fashion

Generations of artisans from Mumbai to Lucknow have shaped the world’s most coveted designs. Plus, the gen Z memes giving classic Bollywood a new life

The zardozi embroidery on a Dior dress, the T-strap leather sandals at a Prada show, the mirror-work technique used on a Fendi bag – for decades, the skill of Indian artisans has been an invisible force behind some of the world’s most coveted fashion.

Now, that work is beginning to claim its own place in the spotlight, and the Mumbai-based textile and embroidery atelier Chanakya International is at the forefront.

Chanakya marked its 40th anniversary this month, celebrating with three exhibitions that trace its journey from an embroidery powerhouse to a present-day craft and cultural institution. The person steering it is 49-year-old Karishma Swali, whose father set up the group’s operations in the 1980s.

“What we have as a country is unique,” she tells me of India’s rich textile and craft heritage. “It’s unparalleled in many ways, and it’s the only place where we continue to practise it.” During the Renaissance, she says, France and Italy had established and varied traditions. “But what we have in India today is [what] other parts of the world have lost.”