India has the potential to win the fiercely contested battle for luxury supremacy; it won’t be France or Italy. The writing has been on the wall for generations; we are not a dark horse in this race.
When I was opening my store in New York in 2022, a journalist attempted a few hard-hitting political and social questions about India. When she raised the subject of child labour and exploitation, a topic fraught with dangerous connotations in the West, I had enough. Looking her straight in the eye, I asked at what age a child is first made to pursue sports in their country in hopes of becoming an Olympic champion. At 13 years old, Marjorie Gestring made history as the youngest Olympian from the US to win gold.
The West views adolescent dedication to sports as skill development. Yet in India, when a family decides to engage their child as an apprentice so that by adulthood they have honed their skills to become a master craftsman, we often see it through the lens of exploitation and child labour. The endgame, however, is the same for the athlete and the artist—glory, economic stability, and a life of dignity.
Indians could do much better at the Olympics compared to more developed nations if there was an adequate support system to start training people young. Too often hunger replaces a zeal for excellence; duty to family is greater than personal glory. Such is not the case for craft. If there was an Olympics of craft, I’m sure India would produce hundreds of Nadia Comanecis. We start early, and there is a clear path to gold, literal and figurative. In this regard, the West starts a decade later.
I have been around the world and have seen the best in global luxury products and ateliers. I can say without hesitation that Indian craftsmanship is unparalleled. We do not have cheap skills, but cheap labour, producing cheap products due to narrow-minded business decisions. Greed for a top line, an insatiable quest for faster, higher volumes, and unsustainable practices have reduced craftsmanship to a commodity. This will be India’s undoing.
Many countries have great economies, but a select few have craft and culture. There may be things that China can do today that India cannot; yet, through craft, India has the competitive advantage. We have preserved and celebrated our traditional skills, ensuring their continuity. When craft and culture skip a generation, they never return.
By the time India turns 100, the demand for luxury goods will be driven by craft and authenticity. Many giants in the industry will have fallen, consumed by a greed of scale and the resulting mediocrity. New heroes championing craft will rise. Luxury brands will have to define themselves with craft provenance and not with influencers and marketing. This is India’s biggest opportunity. I maintain India is a first world country in terms of culture, wisdom, and sophistication. The problem has always been how Indians perceive India.
I tell my human resources team our blue-collar workers are unparalleled heroes; the problem is with the white-collar employees. We need to mentor and inspire white-collar business leaders and managers to help the blue-collar rise to their fullest potential. Idealism is a necessary pillar for a business as long-term as luxury.
Today, global luxury brands are silently and stealthily setting up factories in India. Companies with the strongest craft base will wear the crown of glory in luxury’s future. If we do not learn to respect and preserve what is ours, we will be giving away the Kohinoor that adorns the crown once more.
The author is Founder of Sabyasachi. Views are personal