The Art of Indian Embroidery and Textiles
Dior Pre - Fall Show Photo: Dolly Haorambam via: Vogue
India has been making worldwide headlines a lot recently. Dior’s most recent Pre-fall 2023 show in Mumbai featured several traditional Indian embroidery and textiles down the runway. Dior’s women's artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, used this show and collection as a love letter to Indian textiles artisans and collaborated with them to create the collection. It was a show that has been long overdue for Chiuri. It was able to make history within the Indian fashion industry and celebrated Indian craftsmanship and the Indian textile industry.
Dior’s Pre - Fall 2023 Show Photo: Indranil Mukherjee via: CNN
Models dressed in beautiful Indian attire and textiles. From looking at this show, it is clear that Indian textiles have created a name for themselves. India is predicted to grow into a big luxury sector within the next few years and Indian consumers are increasingly going to be looked at by these brands in the future. The Indian embroidery and textile industry is important not only within India but it is starting to grow influence within the global fashion industry.
Dior’s Pre - Fall 2023 Show Photo: Indranil Mukherjee via: CNN
Chanakya Ateliers is an Indian fashion house led by Karishma Swali. Swali and Dior’s Chiuri have had a growing friendship since the 90s and have worked together since Chiuri’s days at Fendi. They worked together to create the embroidery and textiles for the Mumbai shows. Additionally, Chanakya Ateliers have a school called Chanakya School of Craft that works to teach young girls on how to create Indian textiles and gives them a leg up within the Indian fashion industry. The school has created some of the runway backdrops for Dior’s couture shows in the past. They often trade ideas and give each other advice on collections and designs. Chanakya Ateliers is an excellent example of Indian Haute Couture at its finest. The fashion house uses up to 300 crafts to make their garments that are both recognizable and distinct to the brand. It is filled with skilled artisans that use centuries old techniques on textiles and garments.
Chanakya Ateliers Photo: Sahil Behal via: Vogue
Indian textiles and embroideries have a long and rich history. The first Indian textiles were developed in the 3rd century. However, the industry did not fully develop until the Renaissance period. Due to early colonization from Portugal, these textiles were able to get traded and worn by the wealthy Europeans. The textile industry saw its first big boom during Britain's rule of India and the industrial revolution. Their first textile mill was established in Calcutta in the early 1800s. These early textile industries were able to grow India’s economy and India as a whole. India eventually gained its independence in the 1940s against the British and got another big boom in popularity in the 1990s. Since then, the textile industry has grown tenfold and has been able to be a flourishing industry due to their excellent production, easy access to materials and their skilled ateliers.
Photo: Sahil Behal via: Vogue
India is able to gain a lot of agricultural resources for their textiles. There are different facets within the industry. There are Cotton Textiles, which is the processing and farming of cotton fabrics. This is the largest textile sector in India and many artisans work with cotton fabrics when creating their textiles. Woollen Textiles, which is raw wool textile production and processing. Silk Textiles, which are Indian silk textiles and one of the largest silk industries in the world. Lastly, there is the Jute Textiles, the processing and production of jute fabrics and textiles. Jute is the second largest textile production in India after Cotton. The textile industry is the second largest employer in India after the agricultural industry and is the number one employer of Indian women. It supplies over 45 million jobs to Indian ateliers.
Chanakya Garments Photo: Sahil Behal via: Vogue
The relationship with Dior and Chanakya Ateliers goes back to the history of the Indian textile industry. The Indian textile industry has often worked with the French high fashion industry since the 1800s through textile exports. Today, many Indian textile and embroidery houses work with luxury brands. However, many people do not know about this because these garments are often labeled ‘Made in Europe.’ This is another reason why the Dior show was so important to India. It gave credit where it was due.
Photo: Rafiq Maqbool via: The New York Times
The Indian textile industry is one of the most important aspects of Indian traditional fashion and is a part of Indian culture. It has become a big aspect in India's economy and the global fashion industry. The Dior Mumbai show was able to increase visibility of an industry that has helped the global fashion industry for decades and was able to work with a popular Indian atelier to create authentic Indian textiles for the runway. The Indian textile industry has grown to become the backbone of the global textile industry and is in turn, important to the fashion industry.
