Chanakya has long supplied Europe’s luxury houses. Now it wants to change how the world sees Indian craft

Chanakya has long supplied Europe’s luxury houses with Indian artisans for their most intricate handiwork. The report notes that Europe’s top couture brands routinely rely on Indian craftspeople for complex embroidery, metalwork, marquetry, and other skilled techniques, reflecting a decades-long collaboration. As discussions around attribution, cultural appropriation, and supply-chain transparency intensify, Chanakya intends to shift how the world views Indian craft. The piece outlines tensions between luxury brands’ appetite for novelty and the artisan communities’ needs for recognition, fair compensation, and sustainable working conditions. It highlights challenges such as opaque origin narratives and inconsistent credits in product storytelling, which can obscure the origin and authorship of highly skilled work. In response, Chanakya reportedly aims to foreground artisans in design processes and ensure clear credits, while maintaining the quality standards expected by overseas clients. The article situates Chanakya within a broader movement among Indian studios to reframe craft as a high-value, globally legible practice rather than merely a sourcing solution. If successful, the effort could influence brands, curators, and consumers, shaping how Indian craftsmanship is perceived and valued across fashion, interiors, and luxury markets.