Prada admits lifting 2026 men's sandal design from India; netizens react, ‘After getting Kolhapuri chappal treatment'
Prada, the luxury fashion powerhouse, recently accepted Indian influence in its Spring-Summer 2026 menswear collection displayed during fashion show in Milan. This comes after the Italian luxury fashion brand faced backlash from Indian artisans and politicians for using traditional design without acknowledging its roots.
In a letter addressed to Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Prada's head of corporate social responsibility, Lorenzo Bertelli wrote, 'We acknowledge that the sandals... are inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuries-old heritage,' Reuters reported citing the document dated June 27.
A week ago, models wearing leather sandals with a braided design featured in the Milan fashion show. The footwear design closely resembled handmade Kolhapuri slippers, dating back to the 12th century.
The statement issued by Lorenzo Bertelli, son of Prada's owners, further notes that the sandals are at an early stage of design and it is not certain they will be commercialized, but Prada is open to a "dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans."
Looking ahead to follow-up meetings in this regard, the luxury fashion brand stated, 'Kolhapuri chappals inspiration for footwear featured in our Milan show,' PTI reported.
A Prada spokesperson also issued a statement admitting that the footwear's inspiration came from India and noted that the company has "always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions".
Netizens strongly reacted to Prada's acknowledgement, as one user stated, 'Luxury giant Prada finally admits its 2026 men's sandals were inspired by Kolhapuri chappals after getting a Kolhapuri chappal treatment on social media.' Another user quipped, "I have a pair of size 9 Kolhapuri chappals, originally purchased from Kolhapur(none of that cheap #Prada ripoffs) with the red "turra" on top. It has touched the haloed grounds of Pandharpur and Alandi too. Sparingly used. Make 2005. Price 1.2 lakhs only. No brokers please."
A third user commented, 'The subtle racism in naming Roman sandals from their origin but hiding the Indian origin of the Kolhapuri chappals. Even now they call them 'inspired' but not what they actually are. These are Kolhapuri chappals.' A fouth user replied, 'Congratulations to Kar Kolhapuri chappals artists on your victory.'
A fifth user remarked, 'indians didn't know how to market kolhapuri chappals. There are a lot of such things that are a pride of India and before anyone robs them they need to be brought to light.'
Outraged by lack of acknowledgement, a number of users vented out on social media, including RPG Group Chairperson Harsh Goenka, who stated, "Prada is selling products looking like Kolhapuri chappals for over ₹ 1 lakh. Our artisans make the same by hand for ₹ 400. They lose, while global brands cash in on our culture. Sad!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Naseeruddin Shah stands firmly with Diljit Dosanjh amid Sardaar Ji 3 row, says ‘Jumla Party was waiting to attack him': ‘These goons want to put an end to…'
Diljit Dosanjh has received support from veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah amid his Sardaar Ji 3 controversy. The actor took to his Facebook account to post a strong message, accusing political parties of creating this situation against the actor-singer. He said people were just waiting to attack him and now they have found their chance as his latest film stars a Pakistani actor. Naseeruddin Shah wrote, 'I STAND FIRMLY WITH DILJIT. The dirty tricks deptt of Jumla Party has been awaiting a chance to attack him. They think they've got it at last. He was not responsible for the casting of the film, the director was. But no one knows who he is whereas Diljit is known the world over, and he agreed to the cast because his mind is not poisoned.' He claimed people who are opposing Diljit simply want every Indian to cut ties with their Pakistani friends and family members situated in the country. 'What these goons want is to put an end to personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan. I have close relatives and some dear friends there and no one can stop me from meeting them or sending them love whenever i feel like it. And my response to those who will say 'Go to Pakistan' is 'GO TO KAILASA' ALSO READ | Ram Kapoor's daughter Sia Kapoor scored 97% in ICSE, heading to Columbia: 'I scored 47%, how can my daughter be in Ivy League?' Diljit Dosanjh received severe backlash for starring Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in his film Sardaar Ji 3. The backlash took a serious turn when Diljit shared a trailer of the film on his social media handle, followed by a song teaser featuring Hania Aamir. This didn't go down well with many including cine bodies AICWA and FWICE, who wrote letters to the makers of Border 2 as well as Prime Minister and Home Minister of India to take strict actions against the Punjabi actor-singer. They also requested the makers of Border 2 to remove the actor from the film. ALSO READ | 'Sardaar Ji 3' row: BJP backs Diljit, calls him 'national asset, global ambassador of Indian culture' Meanwhile, Diljit told in a interview with BBC Asian Network that he signed the film in February, much before the Pahalgam attack. 'The producers have invested a lot of money in the film and when they decided to release it in other countries sans India, I have to support them,' told the singer.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Kuberaa Box Office Collection Day 11: Monday blues hit Dhanush-Rashmika's movie, mints THIS amount
Kuberaa Box Office Collection Day 11: Kuberaa, starring Dhanush, Rashmika Mandanna, and Nagarjuna Akkineni, crossed the ₹ 80 crore mark at the Indian box office on Sunday, Day 10, thanks to the weekend rush. However, Monday blues hit the movie, causing a significant fall in its earnings. Kuberaa hit the big screens on Friday, June 20, in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Tamil. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the movie earned ₹ 48.6 crore during the first weekend and ₹ 11.45 crore from the second weekend. In the Hindi-speaking belt, the movie faces key competition from Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par, which was also released on the same day and has earned ₹ 122.88 crore in 11 days. According to Sacnilk, Kuberaa was catapulted to ₹ 80 crore by its weekend. However, early estimates for Monday show a concerning downward trend for Kuberaa. The movie has earned only ₹ 34,00,000 so far on June 30. With this, the movie's total earnings now stand at ₹ 80.79 crore. However, these are just early estimates from Kuberaa's Monday earnings. The numbers will be revised later to include evening and night show collections. Kuberaa saw an overall 14.10 % occupancy on June 30. For the Tamil version, the occupancy was as follows: The numbers for the evening and night show are yet to be released. Mahbubnagar, Warangal, Vizag, and Kakinada recorded the highest footfall for the day. In Tamil, the movie witnessed an overall occupancy of 13.23%. Kuberaa follows the story of a beggar who undergoes a dramatic transformation. The film touches upon themes of greed, ambition, moral conflicts, and more faced by the cast, ultimately leading to redemption. The screenplay of the film is co-written by Chaithanya Pingali.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Kannappa leaked online: Vishnu Manchu claims 30,000 pirated links taken down
Piracy continues to plague Indian cinema, with the latest target being Vishnu Manchu's mythological drama 'Kannappa'. After a promising start at the box office over its opening weekend, the film has now fallen prey to piracy, prompting the actor to urge fans to support cinema the right June 24, actor-producer Vishnu Manchu, expressing his disappointment on X, wrote, 'Dear movie lovers, 'Kannappa' is under attack from piracy. Over 30,000 illegal links have already been taken down (Sic).'advertisementHere's the post: Appealing to fans not to watch pirated versions, he added, 'Piracy is theft — plain and simple. We don't teach our children to steal. Watching pirated content is no different. Please don't encourage it. Support cinema the right way. Har Har Mahadev.(sic)'This is not the first time a major Telugu film has faced a piracy leak. Ram Charan's 'Game Changer', Naga Chaitanya's 'Thandel', and Mohanlal's 'Thudarum' have all suffered similar fates. In fact, an HD print of 'Game Changer' reportedly surfaced online on its release day and was even screened on a local television channel. The film's team later tracked and arrested those budgets and stakes rise, piracy poses a growing threat to the the trailer of Kannappa: Meanwhile, 'Kannappa' collected an estimated Rs 23.75 crore over its opening weekend, including Rs 7.25 crore on Sunday alone. The film features a star-studded cast, including Prabhas, Mohanlal, Akshay Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Mohan Babu, R Sarathkumar, Brahmaji, Brahmanandam, Madhoo, and Preity Mukundhan. It tells the story of Kannappa, a tribal warrior who becomes one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva.- Ends
