Craftsmanship has become a hot topic in the fashion industry in recent years as luxury brands move to secure their supply chains and underscore the craft credentials that help set them apart from more mass market propositions.

But the emphasis on craft can sometimes come across as overly nostalgic. ‘Homo Faber,’ a sensational showcase featuring over four hundred creators that just opened in Venice, avoids this trap, focusing on craftsmanship, from porcelain to embroidery, as a form of humanism that is very much alive and kicking.

The fashion element appears in “Details: Genealogies of Ornament,” an exhibition-meets-showcase conceived and curated by “exhibition maker” Judith Clark. Set within the abandoned spaces of the Nautical School on the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, “Details” is a display of clothing in cabinets — Roberto Capucci’s abstractions, Azzedine Alaïa’s voluptuous architectures, Elsa Schiaparelli’s pop baroque — punctuated by live performances by skilled artisans.

While watching working artisans on show can sometimes feel like watching a monkey in a cage, in this case the approach worked. The set offered sufficient context, arranged as a constellation of studios and workstations, while the performance served to bring a sense of animation to age-old craft.

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Luxury Brands Have a ‘Respect Deficit’ with Indian Artisans

Brand leaders who claim that craft is the lifeblood of luxury should see worker welfare as a moral duty that aligns with their strategic business interests. But protecting the valuable skills of Indian artisans is not the same as valuing the artisans themselves.