Do artisanal collaborations really help the artisan?

livemint.com:

soof patch embroidered on the back of the white jacket by artisans in Gujarat’s Palanpur, at a London party. Each of the 80 pieces was global, with an India signature. At its heart, the show, titled Legacy Of Deft Hands, served yet another reminder of what has long been known: Indian artisans have the skills to create work that can be as much part of daily wear as haute couture around the world, and all they need is guidance of homegrown designers to create global designs.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the 2 May show was a question: How do these collaborations help the artisan? “Since I started work 15 years ago, I’ve been making the same motifs," Rajrupa Mondal, 49, tells me in Hindi, over a call. A textile designer from West Bengal’s Bholpur city, Mondal has been working on the wax-resist dyeing technique of batik for the past 15 years. For the past year, she’s been working with Shah as part of the Grassroot project.

“Now, I am learning different designs; they are more fun and modern. If more young people wear our work, we will get more recognition." As part of the Grassroot initiative, Jade pays the weavers by the metre. Artisans, or the karigars, have long remained faceless and voiceless, restricted to the “manufacturing" side of fashion.

Things started to take a turn last year after the India Dior show that put the Indian artisan in the spotlight. (The show was a tie-up between the French luxury brand and the Mumbai-based Chanakya atelier, where Jade’s Swali is the artistic director.) Talking about artisans and their work became an easy way to gain social currency. In doing so, artisanal collaborations have become a big flex for fashion brands, elevating them from being seen as purely commercial ventures.