Chanakya: Threading Transformations Through Craft, Couture and Art

The first comprehensive publication on Chanakya, tracing its four-decade legacy of craftsmanship and its enduring collaborations across art and couture

Founded in 1984, the Mumbai-based textile and embroidery house Chanakya International has realized hundreds of haute couture and ready-to-wear pieces for leading fashion houses. Over four decades, the atelier has partnered with international maisons including Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Alberta Ferretti, Etro, Versace and others. Under the direction of Karishma Swali, Creative Director of Chanakya, the artistic practice is conceived as an archive of cultural ethos, where materials and motifs are reimagined as metaphors, shaping a contemporary and discursive visual language. Drawing from the house's extensive archive, this book illustrates Chanakya's pivotal role in elevating Indian heritage skills within global embroidery-based collaborations, expanding critical dialogues across textiles, fashion and art. It underscores Chanakya's practice as one of preservation and inquiry, engaging material, technique and process to shape a cross-cultural discourse.