Photography credit by Sophena Kwon, Maiwa

Global Threads: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz

March 28, 2025 ­- September 28, 2025

Step into a fascinating world of colour and discover how India’s vibrant cottons inspired global fashion trends, transforming everything from t-shirts to floral prints, with Global Threads: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz. Featuring 80 objects spanning 10 centuries and 4 continents, this original Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) exhibition showcases India's painted and printed cot­tons, revealing their enduring impact on art, science and fashion while uncovering their complicated history of labour and consumption.

With vivid textiles and innovative designs, the exhibition presents a historical, cultural and economic framework for Indian chintz from 13th century archaeological fragments to contemporary audio-visual content from today’s most prolific clothmakers.


How India’s Cotton Cloth Forever Changed Fashion and the World
By Design: A Journey Through Arts and Culture Talk Series

Join Dr. Sarah Fee is Senior Curator of Global Fashion & Textiles at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, as she delves into the objects and stories featured in the exhibition Global Threads: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz exhibition. Discover how, for thousands of years, India “dressed the world” with its vibrantly patterned, painted and printed cotton cloth coloured with natural dyes known today as “Indian chintz”.

Buy a ticket for a single talk or save by purchasing the entire series!

Learn More