Indian crafts are older than most luxury brands, and yet, somewhere between the artisan's hands and the international runway, the origin story disappears.
Western luxury brands have repeatedly taken "inspiration" from centuries-old Indian crafts and everyday Indian life, rebranded them under a foreign label with a sky-high price tag, and walked away with the profit.
The artisans, the communities, and the cultures that built these traditions are given no credit.
Here are five times it happened:
Ralph Lauren’s Bandhani Skirt
Ralph Lauren's Summer 2026 collection features a printed cotton wrap skirt priced at ₹44,800, described on the brand's website as "inspired by traditional Bandhani tie-dye techniques."
Bandhani is not just a pattern—it is one of India's oldest textile arts, with roots tracing back to the Indus Valley Civilisation. Artisans in Gujarat and Rajasthan create it by hand-tying thousands of tiny knots individually onto fabric before dyeing it, a labour-intensive process that can take days.
The craft holds deep cultural significance, worn during weddings and festivals across the region. Ralph Lauren's listing makes no mention of India, the states it comes from, or the communities that have kept it alive.
Jumkhas that became ‘Vintage Earrings’ in Paris
Just weeks before the Bandhani skirt went viral, Ralph Lauren models were seen in the Paris Fashion Week runway wearing earrings that were immediately identified as jhumkas—the traditional bell-shaped hanging earrings that have been worn across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh for centuries.
Jhumkas are not a passing trend; they are seen in ancient temple sculptures, worn at every major celebration, and passed down through generations of families.
Ralph Lauren's show notes described them simply as "vintage earrings." No mention of South Asia. No mention of India.
Prada’s Kolhapuri Chappals
At Milan Fashion Week in June 2025, Prada debuted sandals in its Spring-Summer 2026 menswear collection that bore a near-identical resemblance to Kolhapuri chappals — a handcrafted leather sandal that has been made by Dalit artisan communities in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, since the 12th or 13th century. The craft holds a Geographical Indication tag awarded in 2019.
A single pair can take up to two weeks to make by hand, using locally sourced buffalo hide and traditional vegetable dyes. Prada initially listed the sandals as "leather flat sandals" with no reference to their origins. After the internet recognised them instantly, they faced criticism. The brand eventually acknowledged they were inspired by traditional Indian footwear — but only after the public pressure.
Dior’s $200,000 Mukaish Embroidery Coat
At Dior's Fall 2025 Couture show in Paris, new creative director Jonathan Anderson debuted a coat that quickly became one of the most talked-about pieces of the season.
It was covered in Mukaish embroidery—a centuries-old metallic thread craft from Lucknow, developed during the Mughal era, in which artisans hand-twist fine gold or silver wire through delicate fabrics to create a shimmer.
Twelve artisans spent 34 days making that coat. Dior's show notes, press materials, and listings mentioned none of this—no names, no city, no country, no craft. The coat was celebrated around the world. The people who made it were not.
Nordstrom’s $48 ‘Indian Souvenir Bag’
The American luxury retailer Nordstrom converted a plain Indian jhola—a simple cotton cloth bag commonly used for grocery runs—to a $48 "Indian Souvenir Bag". That comes to a little over ₹4,400 a bag!
Nordstrom described it as a "must-have for any traveller or lover of Indian culture," with printed Hindi text, with names of local snack brands like "Ramesh Special Namkeen" and "Chetak Sweets"—as exotic, charming design details for an American audience. In India, these bags are available for just ₹50–100, or sometimes even given for free with larger purchases at local stores.
Five instances. Five different objects—a skirt, a pair of earrings, a sandal, a couture coat, a grocery bag. All taken from India, all resold without credit, all profitable for someone who had nothing to do with making them.
For centuries, the logic has been the same: take from India, rename it, and sell it back to the world as something fresh and new. The crafts are still here. The artisans are still working. The traditions are still alive. All that keeps going missing, every single time, is the acknowledgement that India was there first.
