Swiss Artisans Automate to Survive

Producing the intricate, lacy embroidery used in lingerie, evening dresses, and bridal gowns is the kind of detailed labor that’s been increasingly farmed out to Asia. Emanuel Forster makes it in Switzerland.

Forster is co-chief executive officer of Forster Rohner AG, a 113-year-old company in the eastern city of St. Gallen that produces fabric that can cost thousands of dollars per yard—including material he says was used in the dress British socialite Pippa Middleton wore at her wedding in May. Forster Rohner is among dozens of Swiss textile producers that have managed to survive, and even thrive, despite wages that are among the world’s highest and a currency that’s risen 50 percent against the euro since 2008. “It’s clear that we don’t think the strong franc is great,” says Forster, a great-grandson of the company’s founder. “But our creative brainpower really comes from our site in Switzerland.”