THE GATEWAY OF FASHION

Through Chanakya School of Craft's body of work for Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri has brought Indian craftsmanship into the global conversation. For Dior's collaboration with Vogue India, she and Chanakya's Karishma Swali talk to Megha Kapoor about juggling craft and cut, and navigating the line between culture appropriation and appreciation.

- Megha Kapoor

The Gateway of India, a monument erected to King commemorate George V's first visit to India and ceremoniously welcome colonial visitors, served as the backdrop to the historic Dior fall 2023 show in Mumbai. Incidentally, the Gateway was also where India waved off the last of the British troops in 1948, cementing her independence as an independent country.

As the fashion community from across the world sat at the Gateway's feet to witness an iconic confluence of culture and couture, a symbolic duality began to take shape. A cast of elegant Brown girls with their hair in finger waves stepped out in chappals and ankle-grazing sari skirts pared back with Nehru-collared shirts and pearls. Watching them walk to the beat of the tabla layered over classical strings felt like having a front-row seat to the past and the future simultaneously, allowing us all to be cognisant of India's past as a colony while celebrating how time can evolve to foster a spirit of collaboration, partnership and friendship between cultures.