Did you know the Beauty and the Beast costumes were crafted in India?

While Disney was creating magic onscreen with their live-action retelling of the Beauty and the Beast tale, Indian artisans were weaving their own form of magic offscreen through Belle’s wardrobe.

Sinéad O’Sullivan, assistant costume designer of the movie, will have you know that doing justice to the eighteenth century aesthetic is no small feat. When it came to commissioning exquisite French floral designs for Belle’s costumes, she spread her web wide and of course, caught on to the good artisans of Bhuj, Gujarat.

As part of her commitment to the ‘Who made my clothes’ initiative, O’Sullivan shared the story of the artisan brothers Kasam and Juma who brought the beautiful Aari work alive. The fine chain stitch embroidery, native to the Kutch area, eventually made its way to Belle’s bodice in the movie.

Belle’s bodice from @Beautyandthebeast was beautifully hand embroidered by artisan brothers Kasam and Juma in Bhuj, Northern India. They used a technique called “Aari work” which is a very fine chain stitch traditional to the Kutch area of Gujarat. This style lent itself very nicely to this eighteenth century French floral design. Costume designed by Jacqueline Durran, photo credit: Simon Marks @dyptsimonmarks #beautyandthebeast #costume #whomademyclothes #disney #artisan #bhuj

A post shared by Sinéad O’Sullivan (@thecostumedirectory) on Mar 17, 2017 at 9:44am PDT

And the Indian connect doesn’t end there. Watson’s famous red cape was crafted using 12 different fabrics that were sourced from fair trade co-operatives in India. 

A post shared by Sinéad O’Sullivan (@thecostumedirectory) on Mar 17, 2017 at 9:15am PDT

How’s that for your daily dose of patriotism?