History Is Being Written In Real Time— By Us

“More and more, I believe creatives must balance being students of history while recognizing that history and culture are not static—they are living and evolving. History is being written in real-time—by us. The question is: where do we choose to place our agency?”

Aditi Mayer, a self-described storyteller and environmentalist, founded The Artisan Archive, a project that promotes artisanal excellence, sustainability, and ethics in fashion. Here, she tells us why decolonizing fashion is important.

How does your identity and heritage shape the way you approach storytelling?

My heritage gave me the tools to understand that there are alternative systems that are possible that can honor a balance in our relationship to land, labor, and fashion.

I always talk about the role of “craft” in my work, rather than “fashion.” Fashion, as we know it today, is usually focused on the end product—often erasing the backstory and makers.

Craft is different—it’s not just about the final product but the social and ecological traditions behind its making.

In India, each region carries distinct craft traditions—its own fibers, natural dyes, embroidery, drapes, and silhouettes, all shaped by the local climate. In that process, there are hyper-local systems that are created that link farmers to spinners, spinners to weavers, weavers to embroiders, embroiders to tailors, and more. It’s an interconnected and interdependent system.

Now, while India no doubt boasts an extremely rich tradition around craft, it’s by no means the only one. And that’s why my new platform, The Artisan Archive, is about building that archive of craft and artisan traditions all around the world.

I love the idea of the cultural iceberg, which is the idea that there are tactile, tangible elements to a culture like fashion or food that we can see and celebrate, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath them lies a deeper world of history, ecology, and tradition.

Craft traditions reveal a region’s ecology, its people’s relationship to land, creation, and beauty. In many ways, it’s a key part of facilitating a relationship with the environment right?

And that’s why it’s inherently tied to the work of sustainability.

The Artisan Archive is a platform you founded dedicated to honoring discredited ways of knowing, archiving living traditions, and recognizing craft as a climate solution. In an industry often driven by fast fashion and mass production, how can storytelling—especially through photography—help reframe traditional craftsmanship as a vital part of sustainability and cultural preservation?

Archiving living traditions is a fight against erasure. By documenting these ways of knowing, we create space for alternative worldviews—ones that call us to steward, protect, and honor our planet.

This is especially important because these artisan traditions hang in the balance of being lost. The rapid rise of mass production and fast fashion in the last generation has meant we have to consciously choose to revive and maintain these traditions.

PhotoVogue celebrates the power of imagery– how do you see photography as a tool for activism and storytelling?

You know, coming from the world of environmental advocacy, the golden question in these spaces is often: how do you make people act? How do you make people care?

And I think that’s where the role of storytelling—and emotionally driven responses to art—are key.

We can argue that feelings of climate doom reflect a society that hasn’t yet familiarized itself with alternatives—the tools, knowledge, and movements already working toward a different future.

Visuals have that power—whether it’s awareness derived from documentary photography, or perhaps the awe derived from fine art photography.

More and more I’m drawn to the power of beauty; I believe there is a paradigm shift that occurs when we’re not acting from a place of fear or pain, but abundance and a ruthless commitment to a future of beauty for all.

How do you balance aesthetics with activism in your work?

While aesthetics isn’t the end all be all, I think there is a space for beauty in inspiring the collective. Art and visuals have always had a key role in movements through time and history—from the anti-colonial paintings of Nandalal Bose in the Indian independence movement that visually articulated the call for swaraj (self-rule), the bold visuals of the Guerrilla Girls in feminist activism, to Emory Douglas’ revolutionary artwork for the Black Panther Party.

Aesthetics, in my opinion, serve as gateways for individuals to discover the work being done in movement spaces, and at its best— inspire involvement and action. So that’s the key— aesthetics being the conduit for action; aesthetics should serve in tandem with community building, grassroots initiatives, resource redistribution, and more.

Much of your work focuses on decolonizing fashion. How do you ensure that the voices of marginalized communities remain central in sustainability conversations?

There’s a well-known understanding in the climate world that those least responsible for climate change are the most vulnerable to its brunt—with the framing in mind, I think we need to remember that frontlines communities are also the solution bearers. They’re often the ones still championing traditional ecological knowledge, stewarding their land, and contributing the least in emissions.

So rather than looking at marginalized communities purely from the vantage point of their vulnerability, we need to center the solutions that come from their localized knowledge systems and worldview at large.

Much of your work focuses on decolonizing fashion. Sustainability is a major topic in both fashion and photography. What role do creatives play in shifting industry narratives?

Think of it this way—colonialism at its core was about limiting our imaginations in terms of how the world should operate. Colonialism set the precedent to look at Earth as dead matter to be mined, rather than something to live in reciprocity with.

One of my mentors, Dr. Vandana Shiva, once told me, “Decolonization means the colonizer’s agenda must be challenged with another imagination.”

So creatives are inherently linked to the radical work of expanding our imaginations—and in that process, our worldviews, our understanding of solutions, and our familiarity with communities who have already been doing the work.

More and more, I believe creatives must balance being students of history while recognizing that history and culture are not static—they are living and evolving.

History is being written in real-time—by us. The question is: where do we choose to place our agency?

This piece, written by Elisa Pervinca Bellini, was originally published on Vogue Italia .

Photographs by Simrah Farrukh.