Pictured: Tracing the impact of Indian craftsmanship on the global fashion industry

All photos courtesy of Inspired by India, Roli Books.

In Louis XIV’s France, Indian calico and chintz were so coveted that the government was forced to ban their import and sale. However, French aesthetes continued to keep them indoors, privately breaking the law. Fashion history is replete with similar anecdotes of European fascination with Indian fabrics and design. In Inspired by India, scholar and fashion journalist Phyllida Jay paints a compelling account of India’s role in global design from the 1600s to the present day. It raises concerns about the colonial exploitation and cultural appropriation that, in the early days, led to the widespread spread of Indian design. For example, she notes that, in the late 18th century, the Scottish town of Paisley became so successful in cheaply reproducing Kashmiri shawls that the soft Kashmiri motif has been better known as “paisley” ever since. .

Drawing from this complex history, Jay envisions a hopeful vision for future collaboration—a testament to which is Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s collaboration with Christian Louboutin—where “cultures can inform each other in respectful, productive, and mutually constitutive ways. , rather than exploitative”. The book is committed to redressing the omission of Indian art from global luxury narratives by positioning it—not simply as an obscure step in international supply chains or as exotic fodder for Western imaginations—but as the linchpin of some major design developments, be it in silhouette or ornamentation.

Jay writes, “…to the current pantheon of European craft traditions, we must add new countries, excavate their histories of luxury and craftsmanship, and fundamentally rethink the way we understand the global geography of craft excellence.”

Reeves Wetherell using 30 feet of embroidered Indian sari fabric and matching skirt, part of an article, in the 1948 edition of Life magazine, about white society women wearing various national dresses from around the world. A concept that would raise reasonable concerns of appropriation and cultural insensitivity today.