The appreciation of skilled craftsmanship is what connected Swali to Chiuri, who was head of accessories at Fendi when Swali first met her shortly after joining Chanakya International. ‘Since then, there hasn’t been a single season we haven’t worked together,’ Swali recalls. Chiuri, who joined Dior as the creative director of womenswear in 2016, describes her relationship with Swali as ‘a source of continuous exchange for ideas and projects relating to embroidery as a central design element and process rather than a superficial technique.’ As a testament to this enduring relationship, Dior presented its pre-fall 2023 collection, with clothes embellished by the Chanakya artisans, at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, in front of a toran, an ornate hanging of patchwork fabrics conceptualized by the Chanakuya School of Craft along with the Chanakya Atelier. ‘It was so well received in India’, says Swali. ‘It was almost like the country was celebrating with us because craft is personal for every Indian in a way.’
Swali has spent considerable time building up documentation of India’s craftsmanship, traveling state by state to record the myriad techniques that exist, from kantha, a quilting technique from West Bengal, to chikankari, characterized by fine threadwork, from Lucknow. ‘I decided to dedicate my time to really being able to decode craft, to be able to innovate within it and find perhaps a new language that is more contemporary but always rooted,’ Swali explains. The Chanakya School of Craft, which is supported by Chanakya International’s luxury textile business, extends this mission. ‘I realized that crafts hadn’t been institutionalized and it became important to tell a story in a way that had appeal beyond the fashion sector,’ Swali says.
