This Quiet Swiss City Is Fashion’s Best Kept Secret

The first thing I’m told about understanding the storied fashion history in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is to not overlook my surroundings. “You can learn a lot about the textile industry here from the buildings alone,” my tour guide Ursula says when we meet in the town square on a Saturday morning in late September. I take in the Tudor-style buildings, cobblestone side streets, and massive cathedral standing before us. It’s a scene more akin to a children’s fairytale than a hub of sartorial production. At first glance, I’ll admit I’m not quite sure what she means.

You see, I’ve just come from Paris Fashion Week, where designers are showing their Spring 2025 collections. It’s the most prestigious stop on the fashion calendar and the upper echelon of the runway world. But after an hour-long plane ride and a rainy train trip, I’m transported to what feels like another realm entirely. St. Gallen — a scenic Swiss city south of Lake Constance known for its embroidery — is a cornerstone of the fashion industry. I’m here to learn why.

To make her case, Ursula instructs me to walk through the aforementioned 18th-century cathedral. Entering the echoey building, I’m taken aback by its opulence: florid crown mouldings and statues adorn the walls, oil paintings cover the ceiling and dramatic arches line the walkway. As I emerge, Ursula shows me a laminated book of designer Guo Pei’s Spring 2017 collection ‘Legend.’ The line is full of St. Gallen-made embroidery, dome-like headpieces and skirts embellished with illustrations — all inspired by the empty church I just meandered through. And therein lies her point.

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Photography courtesy of launchmetrics.com/spotlight

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St. Gallen, she explains, has been a centre of textile production since the 13th century. The city helped to pioneer a specific type of embroidery known as “chemical lace” — a design made on paper which is then dissolved to reveal a lace-like effect. It was among the top textile producers in the 20th century, but after two World Wars and waves of technical innovation, it never fully recovered. Still, St. Gallen embroidery holds a specific cachet in the fashion world. It’s been worn by Michelle Obama, Amal Clooney and Queen Elizabeth. It appears on the highest-profile runways season after season. And despite the diminished output, it’s a staple of the most creative designer collections.

Why is this under-the-radar destination such an influential player in the fashion world? Below, my findings on the secrets of St. Gallen’s lasting textile legacy.

Embroidery is embedded in the culture

Embroidery is inherently superfluous; it performs no practical function. It won’t repel water like rubber or warm you like wool. Instead, its purpose lies solely in its intricate aesthetic: the more you stare at it, the more you see. It’s been passed down through generations as a status symbol, but it’s intensely laborious to produce. Historically, the women making embroidery are anonymous, underpaid and overworked. The weight of that dichotomy pulses through the streets of St. Gallen.

As Ursula shows me around, the architecture really does point to the town’s textile industry — from bay windows that signalled the wealth of linen merchants to a building with five gold head statues representing continent textile trading in the 1800s. Even the hotel I’m staying at, The Einstein, once operated as an embroidery factory.

This legacy is even more evident at textile museum, which is a staple of local culture and home to more than 5,000 examples of historical lace. Here, I read about the generations of labourers producing this fabric. The process of embroidery — long written off as women’s work — was instrumental in supporting the economy during the war-torn turmoil of the 20th century. Pouring over pages of patent design books dating back to the 1900s, I’m reminded that each stitch and threaded spiral comes from a woman’s fingers as an act of caretaking and community support.

Major designers visit St. Gallen for inspiration

The first thing I see when I enter the headquarters of Forster Rohner — one of the main textile producers in St. Gallen — is a coffee table stacked with books of runway looks. Valentino’s Spring 2022 hot pink spectacle. Marc Jacobs’s ode to retro fashion for Spring 2020. Balenciaga’s silent-auction-themed couture show for Fall 2023. Each uniquely impactful collection has sourced its embroidery from St. Gallen. And the company’s archives, with books dating back to 1883, are a source of this history.

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Photography courtesy of launchmetrics.com/spotlight

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Because Forster Rohner’s runway records are so extensive, high-profile designers visit yearly to gain inspiration — and there’s plenty to go around. My guide, Luisa, opens up a book plastered with embroidery cutouts next to respective final products. There are velvet floral doilies made into ‘50s-era skirts and feather-like stitches turned into opulent collars. For decades, the city has produced embroidery from all different materials (think: packaging cord, cashmere, yarn) for brands like Balenciaga, Dior, Prada and more.

I think back to something I had read at the textile museum: that despite developments and globalization, St. Gallen is still considered the “mecca” of embroidery for designers. I ask Luisa why she thinks it has prevailed. “It’s our heritage,” she says. And it’s a heritage of hard work.

Textile producers are devoted to bringing runway details to life

At the time of my visit, the viral Victoria’s Secret 2024 revival fashion show is just weeks away. The brand enlisted Forster Rohner to help create its collection, a months-in-the-making process that had every faux feather and sequin hand-sewn. The job of an embroidery designer is all about the details, and the workspaces reflect this. One office is lined with fabric scraps, heart appliqués, bows and printed-out cartoon animals. In this space, the Forster Rohner designer draws lingerie ideas by hand, and then transfers them to the computer before having them made on embroidery machines. From the first sketch the final product, one design can take days to create.

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Photography courtesy of Natalie Michie

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Unused designer embroidery is available for purchase

Want a piece of Valentino embroidery? You can get it at the Forster Rohner outlet. (Sort of.) The textile producers have an exclusivity clause with fashion houses that lasts approximately two to six years, but after that, the left-over embroideries created for brands are made available for purchase. At the outlet, thick rolls of embroidery line the walls, ready to be worn and repurposed. Luisa is wearing one such item: a vest made out of embroidery from a years-old Burberry show.

St. Gallen’s textile industry is all about taking its time

Throughout my visit, I learn there’s something subversive about embroidery. In a world where everything is rushed, it’s an age-old technique that relishes in a painstaking process. While Paris Fashion Week is flashy and mega-manufactured, St. Gallen is pared back and peaceful, making it the perfect hub for this intricate form of art.

By the end of my stay, I notice myself appreciating the small things, like dramatic doorway arches and scalloped shirt collars. As Ursula initially suggested, I’m challenging myself to be curious about my surroundings and the work that went into creating them. Before catching my train, I make one more stop back at the cathedral. This time, I linger in the empty, echoey pews. I stare extra long at the exquisitely decorated ceiling. I gaze in wonderment at the swirling crown mouldings that crash like waves onto the ceiling.

It’s easy to see how this environment might lead to enlightenment — or at the very least, sartorial inspiration. After my time in St. Gallen, I wonder if there’s even a difference.