India isn’t a muse; it’s time to brand the maker

In an age where the lines between inspiration and appropriation are increasingly blurred, India stands at a cultural crossroad. Our craftsmanship and heritage remain a wellspring of global luxury—yet, paradoxically, the artisans and communities who bring this magic to life are still largely unseen.

For decades, global brands have mined India for its textile traditions, handwork, and design ethos, only to repackage them for Western markets. The creativity was Indian; the credit, often not.

But that narrative is shifting. We are entering an era not just of resurgence, but of reclamation. India has always been a maker. The next decade is about becoming a recognised owner. This shift isn’t about turning branding into a buzzword—it’s about making it a tool for cultural and economic reclamation.

Why didn’t ownership happen sooner?

To truly understand why India didn’t historically claim its rightful space in global luxury, we need to look beyond fashion trends or marketing models. The answer lies deeper—in civilisational intent.

India’s relationship with knowledge and craft has always been anchored in contribution, not projection. We invented. We gave. We healed. We built. But we rarely branded.

Think about it. India offered the world everything from yoga to Ayurveda, algebra to astronomy, sculpture to spice, temple architecture to textile innovation. But none of these were ever ‘marketed’ in the Western sense.

Craft in India wasn’t commerce. It was culture. A spiritual act. A familial inheritance. Not a scalable business model.

Because of this, Indian innovation was either absorbed silently or distorted loudly. Turmeric became a $10 latte. Kolhapuri sandals, once humble symbols of regional identity, now retail at international luxury price points—rarely with mention of their origins. Indian heritage became someone else’s success story, primarily because we failed to tell it with intention and strategy.

From grievance to grounding

It’s easy to stay in the loop of cultural grievance. But the more productive, powerful shift is to move from outrage to ownership. From lament to leadership.

The call to India’s fashion, design, and branding ecosystem today is simple but profound—Don’t just borrow from India. Build with it. Brand it boldly.

But branding is only the tip of the iceberg. What lies beneath is even more critical: systems.

Systems that not only celebrate Indian craft but centre the people who preserve it. That means creating intellectual property around weaving styles, embroidery techniques, and indigenous design vocabularies.

It also means offering artisans equity, not just short-term employment. Moreover, it is time to reframe handwork as high-skill, high-value design—not as nostalgia in sepia tones.

This is not about packaging India’s craft as rustic charm or exotic flair. It’s about asserting it as a global style language—on par with anything Paris, Milan, or Tokyo has to offer. India has always had luxury. We just never named it that way, priced it that way, or sold it that way. But we can—and must—start doing that now.

Telling the right stories

What defines luxury today is no longer limited to the product itself—it’s about the story behind it. The context, the craft, and the care that go into its making.

And this is precisely where Indian brands and storytellers need to reflect and ask the harder questions. Are we merely exoticising Indian design for aesthetic appeal, or are we taking the time to explain its depth and historical lineage? Are we showcasing a motif, or are we honouring the meaning and culture it carries? Are we simply selling a trend, or are we rooted in telling a truth that stands the test of time?

Luxury isn’t created in a studio alone—it’s built in the stories we choose to tell, the details we choose to protect, and the origins we choose to acknowledge. This is where India-first branding agencies and strategy firms can lead from the front. Not with tokenism or surface slogans, but with durable templates.

This means templates that foster long-term partnerships with craftspeople, beyond seasonal campaigns and document design origins and protect them through digital IP frameworks. Make provenance a key selling point, not just a marketing footnote.

For too long, the world has viewed India through a tourist lens. It’s time they see it through a creator’s lens. The shift in perspective will not only reshape global perception—it will also reshape global pricing and power structures. If India wants to command global luxury valuations, it must rewrite the value equation—without diluting its design DNA for the West.

The power of narrative infrastructure

India’s challenge isn’t a lack of creativity—it’s a lack of narrative infrastructure. While the country overflows with design brilliance and artisanal mastery, what’s missing is the framework to tell these stories with the clarity, consistency, and confidence they deserve.

Western brands have long perfected the art of transforming history into aspiration: Chanel elevated a rural Scottish textile into the iconic Parisian tweed; Tiffany turned a simple blue box into an emblem of emotional luxury; Hermès transformed a riding saddle into a global symbol of timeless chic.

India, too, has its equivalents—the opulence of Kanjeevaram silk, the delicate artistry of the chikankari kurta, the regal richness of the Banarasi weave. What we lack is not value, but visibility. Not talent, but a template.

What’s urgently needed is a threefold shift: sustained investment in brand storytelling, the establishment of national design archives, and a bold, unapologetic ownership of

The change has already begun

Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch. Homegrown brands like Raw Mango, Good Earth, Torani, and Tilfi have already proven that Indian craft can be cool, contemporary, and commercially successful.

They aren’t just selling sarees or dupattas—they’re selling cultural clarity. They are Indian by heart and global by imagination.

But the path ahead is long. For every Torani, there are hundreds of talented artisan clusters still waiting to be discovered, supported, and scaled. India has spent 6,000 years making. Now, we must spend the next 6000 years owning—with the same creativity, but added clarity.

Building with intent, not access

If global fashion houses wish to embed Indian craftsmanship into their offerings, it must be done with intent. Not just intent for access, but intent for attribution. A seat at the table. A share in the story. And for Indian fashion brands, the goal isn’t to mimic the West—it’s to match their confidence while standing firmly on native ground.

Let the world come to India for craft. But let them come on our terms. This movement isn’t about branding a Kolhapuri. It’s about branding the civilization that invented it. Reframing Indian craft as global luxury isn’t just a market strategy. It’s a cultural reckoning. It’s a national responsibility. And it starts with storytelling that has spine—and systems that have soul.

India isn’t just a muse. India is a maker. And the world—finally—needs to know the difference.

— Anindya Ghosh, founding partner at Sam & Andy