The Promise of Africa - Hands Across the Water - NYTimes.com What is the connection between Africa and Italy - apart from a link in ancient Roman history and their geographic proximity across the Mediterranean? The answer lies in the skill of human hands. And as absolute luxury now is less about branding and more about an emotional connection between humankind and product, a chain of artisans is what links the two. Italy's craftsmanship is legendary and by far the most powerful in Europe. Countries like China have tried to emulate the automated side of the "Made in Italy" industry. But that umbilical link between product and the way it is made is not simple to replicate. "Italy is a place where things are still crafted with very special care that is transmitted from father to son - not only in fashion, but in design and food," says Silvia Venturini Fendi, though in her family it is more about mother to daughter, as she is a descendant of the five Fendi sisters who built the brand. Ms. Fendi, who not only works with Karl Lagerfeld on the Fendi collections but also is president of AltaRomAltaModa, compares a designer to "an orchestra conductor," leading a team of pattern makers, fabric suppliers and hand workers. "The "Made in Italy" is such a plus for a product - it means care, attention, quality and fantasy," says Ms. Fendi, who feels that, as in music, each member of the orchestra can be both helpful and inspiring. At Valentino, with its long tradition of handwork, the white-coated handworkers are treasured by the co-creative directors Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri, who worked for years with Valentino Garavani before taking over in 2008. "In the haute couture ateliers, there have always been rules, roles and rituals that we maintain and respect," Mr. Piccioli says. "They are part of couture magic: the premieres, work tables, the "hands."" The designers say that they deliberately keep the tradition of soft clothes and tailoring because the result can be what Mr. Piccioli calls "subversive," as in the purity of a chiffon dress realized by a tailor and the romantic touch of a cashmere coat in the hands of a dressmaker. "I am convinced that the work of our ateliers is close to one of Cinquecento's art workshops," says Ms. Chiuri, referring to the studios that flourished in Italian cities during the late Renaissance. The culture is an integral part of Italian tradition and of our DNA. And the transformation of a sketch into a dress realizes an inspiration and a dream. Valentino's ateliers in the Eternal City could not be in greater contrast to groups of Kenyan women in an improvised workroom, creating traditional embroidery patterns inherited from Masai ancestors or the intricate crochet work handed down the female tribal chain. But these African women have been organized to create luxury products from designers such as Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood. So the gulf between rural, native craft and sophisticated high fashion is narrowing, as consumers look deeper into the meaning of luxury in the 21st century. The promise of Africa is that it can become both a consumer and a provider of luxury. If the touch of human hands is today the most treasured part of a fine product, why shouldn't women in Nairobi be able to respond to those desires by working with upscale brands? That is already happening in Kenya and other countries, where organized collectives enable women to work on products for international brands. This idea is not unique to Africa. India has long been a source of handwork, especially embroidery, for high-end fashion houses. But could local skills be harnessed by African designers to create quality products that are appreciated in their own countries and exported? Silvana Bottega, chief executive of the Southern African Luxury Association, says that artisanal luxury brands lack the operational infrastructure or risk-management expertise for pan-African development. That high-end handwork tends to go to retailers like Harvey Nichols in London or Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, stores that, as she put it, "seek out the rare and exotic." Ms. Bottega believes that the burgeoning elite within Africa still tends to go for international, mega-luxury brand names because they want to show off their access to global travel and their new status on the world stage. "However, with the fast growth of their disposable income, there is a parallel sense of value, with pride in Africa and each nation's development," Ms. Bottega says. There is a willingness to explore local designers who are a signature of excellence. The ultimate desire must be to harness the vast continent's skills to offer 21st-century design with individual character. That is where an African/Italian collaboration - with European know-how harnessed to traditional handwork - could produce an intriguing new take on genuinely global luxury.