Ralph Lauren gown sparks row over uncredited zardozi craft
Ralph Lauren's New York Fashion Week gown has drawn social media criticism for describing zardozi embroidery only as 'embellishments', with no mention of India.
A deep pink evening gown unveiled by US fashion label Ralph Lauren at New York Fashion Week has become the centre of an online dispute over the acknowledgement of Indian craftsmanship.
Images of the gown, including a close-up of its embroidery, were posted on the brand's official Instagram account on September 12. The caption described the piece as "draped with shimmering silk-viscose and scattered with hand-applied embellishments".
The craft in question
The embroidery shown on the gown is zardozi, a technique that originated in Persia at least three centuries ago and later became prominent in India under the Mughal era. The brand's post did not mention India or name the craft, referring to the handwork only as embellishments.
Fashion designer Prakhar Rao Singh Chandel raised the issue in an Instagram post, pointing out that zardozi has been registered in Lucknow and six surrounding districts since 2013, with roughly 1,75,000 artisans working in the cluster.
Chandel also took issue with the wording of the post, noting that while the fabric received an elaborate description, the handwork was reduced to a single word. He drew attention to the final slide of the post, which carries a quote from Ralph Lauren about wanting every garment to carry its own history and character, and asked, "Whose history? Whose character?"
A recurring pattern, says designer
Chandel accused international labels of repeatedly drawing on Indian crafts without crediting their origins, and of apologising only after public pressure. He cited a similar episode involving Prada last year, when Kolhapuri-style sandals shown in Milan in June 2025 were described in the show notes simply as leather sandals. India was named, he wrote, two days after the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce wrote to the company's board.
"Name it when you use it. Not when you get caught," he wrote.
Reaction on social media
Comments on the Ralph Lauren post questioned the description of the garment, with users writing "Start acknowledging Indian art", "Indian embroidery inspired by Indian crafts" and "Lol literally embellishments from India. Stop stealing craft." One comment described the omission as audacity, while another said cultural appropriation had been unusually visible this year.