Embroidery is the art of embellishing fabric by applying thread in decorative patterns, often enhanced with beads, sequins, or other surface details. Unlike weaving or knitting, which build a fabric’s structure, embroidery is a surface design technique—a way of drawing with thread. It has existed for thousands of years, with examples found in ancient Egypt, China, and Central Asia, where embroidered garments were seen as symbols of wealth, rank, and artistry. In Europe, centres like St. Gallen in Switzerland and Madeira in Portugal became globally renowned for their embroidery traditions, feeding directly into couture fashion houses.

At Somewhere Never, we work with a specialist embroidery design house in Switzerland that blends this heritage with modern textile engineering. Their designs are developed using state-of-the-art machinery that can place thousands of micro-stitches with extraordinary precision. This technology allows us to create embroidery that is not only visually bold and colourful, but also technically suited for lingerie—lightweight, durable, and flexible enough to move with the body.

In our hands, embroidery becomes more than decoration: it’s a statement. Each design is unique to us, created like a work of art, transforming lingerie into something meant to be seen—not hidden away.

Embroidery is one of the earliest decorative arts, with evidence dating back over 30,000 years in the form of fossilised, hand-stitched garments and ceremonial textiles. In ancient China, silk embroidery was prized as highly as painting, while in Egypt and the Middle East it was used to signify power and devotion. By the medieval period, embroidery had become a global language of prestige: from the lavish ecclesiastical robes of Europe to the ornate suzani cloths of Central Asia and the storytelling kantha quilts of India.

In the modern era, embroidery evolved from painstaking handwork into a key element of both fashion and industry. The invention of the embroidery machine in the 19th century meant designs could be produced at scale, and later, advances in computer-aided technology made possible the kind of intricate detailing that once took artisans months to complete.

At Somewhere Never, we embrace this continuum of tradition and innovation: centuries-old craft, translated through the most advanced textile machinery, to create designs that are as technically precise as they are visually striking.

Different regions developed distinct embroidery traditions that became cultural signatures.

- China – Silk embroidery such as Suzhou embroidery, famed for its painterly detail.

- India – Rich traditions like zardozi (metallic threadwork) and kantha (narrative stitching).

- Middle East – Palestinian tatreez and Persian guldozi, both storytelling crafts.

- Eastern Europe – Hungary, Romania, and Ukraine are known for bold folkloric motifs.

- Switzerland (St. Gallen) – Renowned since the 19th century for precision embroidery, supplying haute couture houses.

Embroidery is far more versatile than many people imagine. Beyond clothing and couture, it has become a tool in design, art, technology, and even medicine.

- Home & Interiors: Decorative embroidery is still a staple in cushions, curtains, table linens, and heritage crafts — often tied to cultural identity and storytelling.

- Art & Installations: Contemporary artists use embroidery to “draw with thread,” creating wall pieces, 3D sculptures, and even political works that reinterpret a historically domestic craft in bold, modern ways.

- Medical Applications: Innovative research has produced embroidered electrodes stitched into fabric that can monitor heart activity or muscle movement. Because embroidery allows conductive threads to be precisely placed, it’s being used to make soft, wearable sensors for rehabilitation and health tracking. For example, embroidered textile patches have been trialled to detect irregular heartbeats without bulky equipment.

- Technology (E-textiles): Embroidery has entered the world of smart fabrics. Using conductive threads, stitches can carry current just like wires. This opens possibilities for garments that light up, change colour, or interact with devices. One system, called e-broidery®, even integrates LEDs directly into fabric through embroidered circuits — so light and pattern become one.

- Sports & Performance: Smart embroidered sensors are being explored in athletic wear to track breathing, posture, or motion, combining performance analysis with comfort.

From a fashion perspective, this makes embroidery one of the rare crafts that is both ancient and futuristic — it decorates, it communicates, and it now even connects us to technology and health.