Stitched in Silence: India’s Secret in Every Luxury Closet

Lately, the internet has been blowing up with videos of Chinese factory workers revealing the real origin of luxury fashion. From $5 USD yoga pants allegedly made in the same lines as Lululemon, to embroidered handbags that look suspiciously like Hermès—these behind-the-scenes glimpses are shaking up what consumers think they know about luxury.

They’re also striking a nerve. Because what these videos are really exposing isn’t just supply chain secrets—it’s a much bigger truth about how global fashion has always relied on invisible labor to support visible prestige.

I know, because I was there.

Over a decade ago, I co-founded a retail brand, GoTee Apparel, and manufactured our garments in some of the same factories used by globally recognized luxury and premium brands. What started as a college side project turned into a business that sold hundreds of thousands of T-shirts. But what stuck with me more than the growth metrics was what I saw behind the factory doors: rows of women and men crafting beautiful products with impeccable skill—many of which would be sold at enormous markups under foreign labels that made no mention of India.

And that’s the industry’s most open secret: so much of what is sold as “Made in Italy” or “Made in France” is in fact made—beautifully, skillfully, and quietly—in India.

India is not just a garment hub. It’s a luxury production powerhouse. Our embroidery artisans in Lucknow and Mumbai create couture-level beadwork for French maisons. Our cotton mills in Coimbatore supply the base fabrics for global collections. Our leather tanneries in Kanpur craft belts and bags destined for shelves in London and Milan.

Yet, most consumers will never know this. Because brands are allowed to repackage truth for storytelling. A final stitch sewn in Europe often legally allows them to use the coveted “Made in” tag that signals premium pricing, while the real craftsmanship—done by Indian hands—is erased.

The reason is as frustrating as it is simple: “Made in India” still doesn’t carry the luxury weight it deserves. Not because of quality—but because of perception. And that’s the narrative I believe must change.

When I was building GoTee, we didn’t cut corners. We worked with some of the top export-grade factories. Our pieces were being stitched next to those of brands ten times our price point. The difference was never in quality—it was in the label, the positioning, and the mythology that luxury brands had perfected. But standing in those factory floors, I also saw the human cost: workers earning far below what their talent deserved, with little access to benefits or protections, all while their work graced runways and red carpets.

These weren’t “low-skill” laborers—they were artisans. Generationally trained, deeply committed, and astonishingly precise. Yet in the brand’s story, they were nowhere to be found.

That’s why the recent wave of social media exposés is so important. It’s making the public question what luxury actually means. Is it price? Country of origin? Or is it the skill, time, and intentionality behind the piece? Because if it’s the latter, then India deserves its due.

 

This brings me to a question I think we don’t ask enough: What is luxury, really?

Luxury is not just about price tags, exclusive locations, or scarce distribution. True luxury, to me, is about time, intention, and care. It’s about something made slowly, mindfully, and beautifully. Something crafted, not churned. By that definition, India doesn’t just contribute to luxury—it defines it.

But we’ve never branded ourselves that way.

India has always been an origin story for global fashion—but rarely the headline. Even as our textiles have dressed royalty and our beadwork dazzles at the Met Gala, the credit is often rerouted elsewhere. That needs to change. And not as a matter of nationalism, but as a matter of truth and respect.

We need to move beyond the binary of luxury being Western and mass production being Eastern. The truth is far more layered—and India sits right in the middle of it. India doesn’t just manufacture for the world—it enables the illusion of luxury.

But here’s the opportunity: we can reclaim that narrative. We can elevate “Made in India” to mean excellence. I’ve seen it up close—factories with world-class quality control, artisans who rival Parisian ateliers, and a textile history that predates most modern fashion houses. What we need is transparency, pride, and better representation in the global fashion conversation.

This isn’t about putting down brands. It’s about rebalancing recognition. If a luxury bag takes 40 hours to embroider in Mumbai, that detail should be part of the story—not hidden behind a price tag and a European-sounding SKU.

As someone who has worked in fashion, investment, and storytelling, I believe now is the moment to reframe how we talk about India in the global luxury supply chain. Not as a backend resource, but as a front-row player. The artisans, the mills, the people—they aren’t just supporting characters in a Western luxury fairytale. They’re the authors of the beauty we wear.

Luxury is not about geography—it’s about craft. And India deserves not just credit, but celebration.

FranceGoTee Apparelillusion of luxuryIndiaItalyluxurymanufacturingWeb Exclusive