The fashion industry has been undergoing a reckoning in recent years, one in which questions of appropriation or appreciation have become defining parameters when taking inspiration from cultures, communities and crafts. So many things that would have passed unnoticed even 10 years ago, now seem problematic: be it white models dressed up as tribal gopis on Paris catwalks, or brands appropriating the aesthetics of handmade block prints for mass-produced fast fashion. But the reduction of Indian communities and their symbols to “exotica” are products of a relatively recent history that belies the complexity of the country’s role in global fashion and luxury for millennia.
Today, the idea of European savoir-faire dominates the global geography of luxury. So, it is all the more ironic then to realise the extent to which Indian textile traditions and forms of dress have shaped the contours of this luxury — notably through histories of trade in textiles and, more recently, the role of Indian embroidery in luxury supply chains.
History shows that the superior artistry of our textiles came with associations of a place with a superior order of life. Fine textiles from the courts of Shah Jahan, descriptions of which were relayed through 17th century travellers, are believed to have helped fuel Louis XIV’s absolutist ambitions and vision for Versailles. But the sheer depth and scope of India’s contribution to global fashion began in Roman times and accelerated between the 16th and 18th centuries — playing an essential role in transforming ideas of gender, body, comfort and leisure in Europe and America.
