A Shift Toward Provenance
The global fashion conversation is moving away from hyper-visible logos toward quiet luxury, where buyers prioritise material integrity and the story behind a piece. That shift favours India, which holds a long and well-documented tradition of textile and artisanal mastery.
Research suggests a majority of luxury buyers now cite heritage and craftsmanship as primary purchase drivers, and the Indian handicraft sector is increasingly credited rather than hidden.
The Handloom Inheritance
Indian textiles carry a long history of artisanal mastery. Banarasi brocades, Jamdani muslin, and Pashmina were symbols of status under Mughal patronage. The late twentieth century tilted the industry toward mass production; the current shift is back toward recognised savoir-faire.
Designers including Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rahul Mishra positioned Indian heritage firmly within contemporary luxury, demonstrating that cultural lineage is a genuine asset rather than a marketing veneer.
Attribution and Credit
For decades, international houses incorporated Indian craftsmanship while describing it as inspiration rather than skilled labour. That is changing, driven partly by institutional frameworks. Protected heritage labels for crafts such as Kutch Bandhani ensure techniques are credited to the communities that developed them.
This matters commercially as well as ethically. A craft tradition treated as an anonymous input is easy to substitute. One that is named and credited is not.
Where VVID Fits, Accurately
We are a small house, and it would be easy to attach ourselves to the paragraphs above. Here is what is actually true of us:
- Our sneakers are hand-assembled in India, in runs of 40 pairs, 8 in each size from UK 6 to UK 10.
- The Croco Edition uses croco-embossed cowhide at 1.1 to 1.3 mm, from a tannery in Agra, with soft-finish cowhide panels and suede accents.
- KOHL and DEODAR use suede uppers.
- Construction is cemented, on an EVA and TPR two-component outsole, with a 5 mm memory foam insole.
- The croco pattern is an emboss. It is not exotic crocodile skin, and no protected species are used in any VVID product.
We do not work with handloom textiles, we hold no craft certification, and we have not audited our supply chain. Those are things we may pursue; they are not things we have done.
What Limited Production Means Here
For a large brand, a limited release is a demand tactic. For a small maker it is closer to a constraint. Runs of 40 pairs reflect what a small team can hand-assemble to a consistent standard and how much leather a single hide order yields.
The upside is closer control over finishing and less unsold stock. The trade-off is that sizes sell out and restocking is slow. Both are true.
The Broader Point
The evolution of modern luxury favours cultural depth and material integrity over branding, which is a genuine opportunity for Indian makers. Whether any individual brand lives up to that is a separate question, and one best answered with specifics rather than adjectives.
Ask any brand claiming heritage craft: which craft, which community, which region, and what can be documented. We would rather answer that plainly, including where our answer is short.