The clothes of more than 30 top luxury brands of the world like Christian Dior, Prada, Gucci are embroidered in India. These famous brands get the special embroidery of their clothes done from ‘Chanakya International’ of Mumbai. The artisans here are preserving 5,000 years old heritage through hand embroidery. Chanakya International was started by Vinod Shah of Gujarat in 1984. Its objective was to give recognition to the entire world for the workmanship done collectively on Indian clothes. Indian embroidery is in highest demand among the most expensive designer and readymade clothes in the world. There is no comparison to its quality. This skill has been lost in western countries. India has been exporting clothes to the world for centuries. Even in the 16th and 17th centuries, muslin, silk and embroidered clothes were sent from India to many countries including France. This old heritage keeps Indian art modern even today. Vinod Shah’s daughter Karishma Swali, 49, has been the managing and creative director of Chanakya for the last 30 years. Karishma leads 2,400 artisans here. When she went to her father’s workshop for the first time in her childhood, seeing the collective work there, she realized that the result of working together is better than expected. Chanakya International was commissioned to create a large textile artwork during the Dior Fall 2023 show. In this, 1,008 masters and women together built a huge traditional Toran, which is used to welcome homes. Karishma has recently exhibited Chanakya’s artefacts at the Venice Biennale and the Vatican Library in Rome. Karishma believes that the biggest strength of this art is that AI can never replace this skill of hands. Skill – Teaching embroidery to the new generation, even AI cannot replace human art. Karishma has opened ‘Chanakya School of Craft’ for the new generation. The biggest challenge was not making the curriculum, but the lack of students coming. Karishma herself went door-to-door in poor slums and convinced women to teach her the skill for free. Then amid suspicion, only 22 women came along with their husbands and mother-in-law, who sat outside and waited. Today, 10 years later, there are 1,400 women at the school and a long waiting list.
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‘Top secret’ of top luxury brands around the world in Mumbai: Chanakya International does embroidery on clothes of Christian Dior, Gucci, Prada.
