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BBC News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Prada- Kolhapuri controversy: Why luxury brands keep getting India wrong
A recent controversy surrounding Italian luxury label Prada has put the spotlight on how global fashion giants engage with India - a country whose rich artistic traditions have often suffered because of its inability to cash in on got into trouble in June after its models walked the runway in Milan wearing a toe-braided sandal that looked like the Kolhapuri chappal, a handcrafted leather shoe made in India. The sandals are named after Kolhapur - a town in the western state of Maharashtra where they have been made for centuries - but the Prada collection did not mention this, prompting a backlash. As the controversy grew, Prada issued a statement saying it acknowledged the sandals' origins and that it was open to a "dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans". Over the past few days, a team from Prada met the artisans and shopkeepers in Kolhapur who make and sell the sandals to understand the process. Prada told the BBC that it held a "successful meeting" with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture, a prominent industry trade statement also indicates that Prada may potentially collaborate in future with some manufacturers of Kolhapuri it's not clear what form this collaboration may take, it's a rare example of a global fashion giant acknowledging that it failed to credit local artisans and the craft it was piggybacking big brands have been routinely accused of drawing inspiration from Indian, and wider South Asian, traditions in their quest to reinvent and stay relevant - but without crediting the this year, spring designs from Reformation and H&M ignited a fiery debate on cultural appropriation after many said that their outfits appeared heavily inspired by South Asian garments. Both brands issued clarifications - while H&M denied the allegations, Reformation said its design was inspired by an outfit owned by a model with whom it had collaborated for the just two weeks ago, Dior was criticised after its highly-anticipated Paris collection featured a gold and ivory houndstooth coat, which many pointed out was crafted with mukaish work, a centuries-old metal embroidery technique from northern India. The collection did not mention the roots of the craft or India at BBC has reached out to Dior for comment. Some experts say that not every brand that draws inspiration from a culture does so with wrong intentions - designers around the world invoke aesthetics from different traditions all the time, spotlighting them on a global the highly competitive landscape of fashion, some argue that brands also don't get enough time to think through the cultural ramifications of their critics point out that any borrowing needs to be underpinned by respect and acknowledgement, especially when these ideas are repurposed by powerful global brands to be sold at incredibly high prices."Giving due credit is a part of design responsibility, it's taught to you in design school and brands need to educate themselves about it," says Shefalee Vasudev, a Delhi-based fashion writer. Not doing so, she adds, is "cultural neglect towards a part of the world which brands claim to love".Estimates vary about the size of India's luxury market, but the region is widely seen as a big growth from Boston Consulting Group say the luxury retail market in India is expected to nearly double to $14bn by 2032. Powered by an expanding and affluent middle class, global luxury brands are increasingly eyeing India as a key market as they hope to make up for weaker demand not everyone shares the Singhal, chairman of consultancy firm Technopak, says a big reason for the seeming indifference is that most brands still don't consider India a significant market for high-end luxury recent years, many high-end malls with flagship luxury stores have opened up in big cities - but they rarely see significant footfall."Names like Prada still mean nothing to a majority of Indians. There is some demand among the super-rich, but hardly any first-time customers," Mr Singhal says. "And this is simply not enough to build a business, making it easy to neglect the region altogether." Anand Bhushan, a fashion designer from Delhi, agrees. He says that traditionally, India has always been a production hub rather than a potential market, with some of the most expensive brands in Paris and Milan employing Indian artisans to make or embroider their garments."But that still does not mean you can just blatantly lift a culture without understanding the history and context and brand it for millions of dollars," he frustration, he says, is not focused on any one label but has been building for most memorable misstep, according to him, took place during the Karl Lagerfeld "Paris-Bombay" Métiers d'Art collection, showcased in 2011. The collection featured sari-draped dresses, Nehru-collared jackets and ornate called it a fine example of cultural collaboration, but others argued it relied heavily on clichéd imagery and lacked authentic representation of however, say no brand can afford to write off India as insignificant."We might not be the fastest-growing luxury market like China, but a younger and more sophisticated generation of Indians with different tastes and aspirations is reshaping the landscape of luxury," says Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief of online luxury store Tata CliQ the case of Prada, she says the brand seemed to have made a "genuine oversight", evident from the lengths to which it has gone to rectify its mistake. For Ms Kalra, the problem is a broader one - where brands based in the west and run by a homogenous group of people end up viewing consumers in other parts of the world through a foreign lens."The lack of diversity is the biggest blind spot of the fashion industry, and brands need to hire people from different parts of the world to change that," she says."But their love and respect for Indian heritage is genuine." The question of cultural appropriation is complex, and the debates it sparks online can seem both overblown and while there are no simple answers, many feel the outrage around Prada has been a great starting point to demand better accountability from brands and designers who, until now, have largely remained is an opportunity for India, too, to reflect on the ways it can support its own heritage and uplift it. Weavers toil for weeks or months to finish one masterpiece, but they often work in precarious conditions without adequate remuneration and with no protection for their work under international intellectual property laws."We don't take enough pride and credit our own artisans, allowing others to walk all over it," Ms Vasudev says."The trouble also is that in India we have simply too much. There are hundreds of different craft techniques and traditions - each with its constantly evolving motif directory going back centuries," says Laila Tyabji, chairperson of Dastkar, which promotes crafts and craftspeople."We bargain and bicker over a pair of fully embroidered juthis (shoes) but have no issues over buying a pair of Nike trainers at 10 times the price - even though the latter has come off an assembly line while each juthi has been painstakingly and uniquely crafted by hand," she while that continues, she says, foreign designers and merchandisers will do the change can only happen, she says, "when we ourselves respect and appreciate them - and have the tools to combat their exploitation".
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Prada forced to acknowledge Indian roots of their new sandal design after being accused of cultural appropriation
Prada has been forced to acknowledge that its new 'leather' shoes were inspired by Indian designs after the Italian fashion house was accused of cultural appropriation. The sandals, showcased last week at Milan Fashion Week, had an open-toe braided pattern that closely resembled the traditional Kolhapuri sandals made in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. In official descriptions, Prada characterized the sandals as 'leather footwear' - omitting its Indian origins. Responding to the backlash, a Prada spokesperson admitted that the sandals were influenced by traditional Indian footwear. They added: 'Prada has always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions. 'Prada acknowledges that sandals inspired by traditional Indian footwear made in specific districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka, India, were featured in its Men's 2026 Spring Summer show in Milan. 'We are committed to responsible design practices, fostering cultural engagement. 'We are in contact with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture on this topic. Made from leather and often dyed in natural colours, the traditional handmade sandals which typically cost just a few hundred rupees (around £2.50) are well suited to India's hot climate. Last week the head of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture wrote to Prada criticising the group for not crediting the artisans who had preserved the heritage of the traditional Kolhapuri sandals. Responding, Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada's head of Corporate Social Responsibility wrote in a letter addressed to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture that Prada would organise follow-up meetings with local Indian artisans to create a 'dialogue for meaningful exchange'. He added: 'The sandals are at an early stage of design and it is not certain they will be commercialized. Made from leather and often dyed in natural colours, the traditional handmade sandals which typically cost just a few hundred rupees (around £2.50) are well suited to India's hot climate. It is not known how much Prada would charge for these leather shoes but Prada's typical footwear costs customers between £600 to £1,000. This is not the first time that global brands have been accused of appropriating traditional designs without due accreditation. In 2016 Victoria's Secret was accused of cultural appropriation after Adriana Lima, Elsa Hosk and Lais Ribeiro—who are not Chinese by descent—wore Asian-inspired looks that featured a feathered dragon, a qipao-like bolero, and Chinese knot tassels. Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs caused anger when his Spring 2017 runway show featured dreadlock extensions on a cast of mainly white models including Karlie Kloss, Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Prada: Luxury label acknowledges Indian roots of footwear design after backlash
Italian luxury fashion label Prada has said it acknowledges the Indian roots of its new footwear line, days after the design sparked a controversy in sandals, showcased at the Milan Fashion Week last week, had an open-toe braided pattern that closely resembled the traditional Kolhapuri sandals made in the Indian states of Maharashtra and described the sandals as "leather footwear" but did not mention its Indian origins, prompting backlash and allegations of cultural appropriation in to the controversy, Prada told the BBC in a statement that it recognises that the sandals are inspired by traditional Indian footwear. A Prada spokesperson said that the company has "always celebrated craftsmanship, heritage and design traditions", adding that it was "in contact with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture on this topic". Last week, a prominent trade organisation had written to the brand, saying the design was commercialised without crediting the artisans who have preserved its heritage for Bertelli, Prada's head of Corporate Social Responsibility, responded to his letter saying that the sandals were "at an early stage of design", according to Reuters. He also said that Prada was open to a "dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans" and the company would organise follow-up meetings to discuss this after a city in Maharashtra where it is made, Kolhapuri sandals trace their roots back to the 12th from leather and sometimes dyed in natural colours, the traditional handcrafted sandals are sturdy and well-suited to India's hot were awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status by the Indian government in to the World Trade Organisation, a geographical indication tag credits a good or product as having originated from a certain region or place, and is considered a mark of the controversy, many artisans in Kolhapur said they were saddened by Prada's use of the design without giving due credit."These sandals are made with the hard work of leather workers in Kolhapur. They should be named after Kolhapur. Don't take advantage of others' labour," Prabha Satpute, a Kolhapuri artisan, told BBC sandals cost a few hundreds rupees in India but Prada's premium pricing angered Harsh Goenka highlighted this, saying the local artisans barely make any money for the same hand-made products. "They lose, while global brands cash in on our culture," he is not the first time that global brands have been accused to appropriating Indian traditional products without crediting their the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Gucci described a sari worn by Bollywood star Alia Bhatt as a gown, sparking in May, a popular TikTok trend was criticised for calling dupatta, a traditional South Asian scarf, a Scandinavian Kolhapur, however, some said the move had instilled a sense of pride in them."Artisans are happy that someone is recognising their work," Kolhapur-based businessman Dileep More told Reuters. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, X and Facebook
