Who really creates the value behind luxury – the brand whose name appears on the product, or the craftspeople whose knowledge and skills made it possible? Recorded at The Luxury Conversation 2026, this panel brings together Bidisha Sinha, Charos Kamalova, Yiran Duan and Timur Kamalov with conversation curator Dr Kelly Meng to examine the people, cultures and generations of knowledge behind luxury craftsmanship.

Moving beyond luxury’s traditionally Eurocentric narrative, the conversation explores craftsmanship across China, Uzbekistan, India and the wider global luxury landscape – and asks what happens when traditional cultural knowledge encounters the commercial power of international luxury brands. From artisans whose names never appear on the products they help create to brands seeking the appearance of local authenticity without necessarily understanding its cultural origins, the discussion examines the complicated relationship between craft, authorship, cultural appropriation, commercialisation and recognition.

The panellists also challenge the idea that traditional craftsmanship should simply be preserved unchanged. Instead, they explore craft as living knowledge: something continually shaped by communities, materials, migration, technology and changing cultural influences. At the centre of the discussion is a fundamental question for the future of luxury: should craftspeople simply supply luxury brands – or should they be recognised as the co-creators of luxury itself?