India's centuries-old cotton traditions attract high-end designers

AHMEDABAD, India -- Indian artisans who practice embroidery and other textile disciplines honed over centuries continue to draw fashion illuminaries from all over the world. Makiko Minagawa, a designer at Issey Miyake Inc., has been making pilgrimages to the South Asian country for decades, and earlier this year when she traveled to the city of Ahmedabad, I tagged along, eager to discover the secrets of India's cotton industry.

It was late February when we arrived at our destination, Vepar, a craft center where garments and other products for Issey Miyake labels are made by hand. The center is in Ahmedabad, in the northwestern state of Gujarat. The journey provided something of a sensory overload. Horns constantly beeping. Motorcycles made for one or two ferrying families of three or four. Stray dogs and cows walking in a lordly manner.