Did Prada ‘steal’ Indian sandal designs without giving credit?

New Delhi, India — When models sashayed down the ramp astatine Milan Fashion Week past week, Harish Kurade looked astatine them connected his smartphone successful awe, sitting successful his colony successful confederate Maharashtra state, much than 7,000km (4,350 miles) away.

Models were showcasing a caller enactment of open-toe leather sandals, designed by Prada, the iconic luxury manner house. However, successful India, the visuals raised a furore among artisans and politicians aft the Italian elephantine failed to recognition the past Maharashtra roots of its latest design.

“They [Prada] stole and replicated our crafty work, but we are truly happy,” said Kurade successful a chirpy tone. “Today, the world’s eyes are connected our Kolhapuri ‘chappals’ [Hindi for sandals].” Kolhapur is simply a metropolis successful Maharashtra aft which the sandals are named.

After facing backlash, Prada acknowledged that its caller sandal designs “are inspired by accepted Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuries-old heritage”, successful a missive to the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce.

While Kurade is chuffed astir the centuries-old sandal-making trade from his colony perchance gaining planetary exposure, different artisans, politicians and activists are wary of taste appropriation and fiscal exploitation by Prada.

So, what is the contention about? And what are artisans successful Kolhapur saying astir Prada? Can it alteration thing for the workers down the archetypal sandals?

What did Prada measurement into?

Prada showcased the classical T-strapped leather flats astatine the Spring/Summer 2026 menswear postulation astatine Milan Fashion Week.

In its amusement notes, the Italian marque described the caller scope of footwear lone arsenic “leather sandals”. The notes made nary notation of immoderate Indian connection, contempt its uncanny resemblance to Kolhapuri sandals, which are wildly fashionable crossed India and often worn connected peculiar occasions, specified arsenic weddings and festivals, on with accepted Indian clothing.

Outraged, a delegation of Kolhapuri sandals manufacturers met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis connected Thursday past week to registry their protest.

Showing his enactment for the delegation is Dhananjay Mahadik, a subordinate of parliament from the state’s Kolhapur district, belonging to the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Mahadik told reporters that the sandal makers and their supporters are successful the process of filing a suit successful the Bombay High Court against Prada.

Mahadik besides wrote to Fadnavis, drafting “urgent attraction to a superior infringement connected Maharashtra’s taste individuality and artisan rights”, and called connected him to “protect the taste practice of Maharashtra”.

In his letter, helium noted that the sandals are reportedly priced astatine astir $1,400  a pair. By contrast, the authentic Kolhapuri sandals tin beryllium recovered successful section markets for astir $12.

A exemplary walks the runway during the Prada postulation amusement astatine Milan Fashion Week’s menswear outpouring and summertime show, connected June 22, 2025, successful Milan [Piero Cruciatti/AFP]

How has Prada responded?

The Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA) besides wrote to Patrizio Bertelli, the chairperson of Prada’s Board of Directors, astir the concerns of sandal makers.

Two days later, the institution responded, acknowledging that the plan was inspired by the centuries-old Indian sandals. “We profoundly recognise the taste value of specified Indian craftsmanship. Please enactment that, for now, the full postulation is presently astatine an aboriginal signifier of plan development, and nary of the pieces are confirmed to beryllium produced oregon commercialised,” Prada said.

The institution added that it remains “committed to liable plan practices, fostering taste engagement, and opening a dialog for a meaningful speech with section Indian artisan communities, arsenic we person done successful the past successful different collections to guarantee the rightful designation of their craft.

“Prada strives to wage homage and recognise the worth of specified specialised craftspeople that correspond an unrivalled modular of excellence and heritage.”

Srihita Vanguri, a manner entrepreneur from the metropolis of Hyderabad, said that Prada’s actions were “disappointing but not surprising”.

“Luxury brands person a agelong past of borrowing plan elements from accepted crafts without giving owed recognition – until there’s a backlash,” she told Al Jazeera. “This is taste appropriation if it stops astatine inspiration without attribution oregon benefit-sharing.”

Kolhapuris, which the sandals are besides known as, are not conscionable a design, she insisted. They transportation the bequest of centuries of trade communities successful Maharashtra and the neighbouring authorities of Karnataka. “Ignoring that discourse erases existent radical and livelihoods,” she added.

What astir artisans of Kolhapur?

Kolhapur, nestled successful southwestern Maharashtra, is simply a metropolis steeped successful royal heritage, spiritual value and artisanal pride. Beyond its crafts, Kolhapur is besides location to respective revered Hindu temples and a affluent culinary bequest – its nutrient is spicy.

Its famed sandals day backmost to the 12th century, with much than 20,000 section families inactive progressive successful this craft.

The household of Kurade, who was blessed astir Prada showcasing the sandals, lives connected the outskirts of Kolhapur, and has been successful this concern for much than 100 years.

But helium said the concern has taken a beating successful caller years. “In India, radical don’t truly recognize this trade oregon privation to enactment wealth successful this immoderate more. If an planetary marque comes, steals it and showcases it connected planetary platforms, possibly that is bully for us,” helium told Al Jazeera.

He said that craftsmen similar those successful his household “still basal wherever they were years ago”.

“We person the trade and the capableness to determination ahead, but the authorities has not supported us,” the 40-year-old said.

Rather, Kurade said, authorities has made things worse.

Since 2014, erstwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian authorities came to powerfulness successful New Delhi, cows person transformed from conscionable symbols of reverence into a flashpoint for spiritual individuality and societal conflict. Cow protection, erstwhile mostly cultural, has go violent, with vigilantes hunting down Dalits and Muslims, the communities that mostly transport cows and buffaloes to trading markets wherever they are bought for slaughter.

That has disrupted a reliable proviso of cattle and buffalo hides, which are past tanned with vegetables to marque Kolhapuri chappals.

“The archetypal fell we usage for prime is restricted successful respective states due to the fact that of authorities astir cows,” said Kurade. “The proviso has touched caller lows owed to authorities connected cows – and we person been suffering due to the fact that it has go truly costly for america to support doing it with the aforesaid quality.”

Craftsmen similar Kurade judge that if they tin marque the sandals cheaper and much accessible, “people volition deterioration this due to the fact that it is what radical person loved for centuries”.

Still, Kurade said, portion Prada tin effort and imitate Kolhapuri aesthetics, it cannot replicate the intricate hand-woven plan patterns, mastered by the Dalit assemblage successful confederate Maharashtra and immoderate parts of bordering Karnataka. Dalits are traditionally the astir marginalised conception of India’s analyzable caste hierarchy.

“The authentic plan is thing which is uncommon and unique,” helium said. “Even shops successful Kolhapur metropolis whitethorn not person them.”

The existent designs, Kurade said, are inactive made successful villages by utilizing centuries-old craft.

But due to the fact that of the situation of sourcing prime hides, and faced with an progressively integer marketplace that artisans are unfamiliar with, Dalit sandal makers request help, helium said.

“People who cognize markets, who tin merchantability it ahead, are the ones cashing successful connected this. Poor villagers similar america cannot tally a website; we bash not person the selling knowledge,” helium said.

“The authorities should look into this, to span this spread – it is their work to look into this. The benefits ne'er reached the existent makers from the Dalit groups.”

Kolhapuri sandals are connected show astatine a store successful New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025 [Adnan Abidi/Reuters]

Has it happened before?

Since 2019, aft sustained advocacy by artisan groups, India has protected Kolhapuri sandals nether its Geographical Indications of Goods Act (1999), preventing commercialized usage of the word “Kolhapuri Chappal” by unauthorised producers. But this extortion is constricted wrong nationalist borders.

Prada has antecedently faced important disapproval implicit alleged taste appropriation, astir notably successful 2018 erstwhile it released the “Pradamalia” postulation – keychains and figurines that resembled racist caricatures with exaggerated reddish lips, drafting contiguous comparisons with blackface imagery. After the backlash, Prada pulled the products from stores and issued a nationalist apology.

Prada has besides been criticised for store displays that person evoked radical stereotypes, arsenic good arsenic for its usage of animal-based luxury materials similar ostrich and exotic leathers, which person drawn disapproval from biology and labour rights groups.

But Prada is not alone.

In 2019, Christian Dior drew disapproval for incorporating elements inspired by the accepted attire of Mexican horsewomen successful its Cruise collection, without ceremonial acknowledgement oregon collaboration.

In 2015, French decorator Isabel Marant came nether occurrence successful Mexico for selling a blouse that intimately mirrored the accepted embroidery patterns of the Mixe assemblage successful Oaxaca, sparking accusations of taste appropriation.

Rather than apologise, Vanguri, the manner entrepreneur, said that the “real respect would beryllium Prada co-creating a capsule postulation with Kolhapuri artisan clusters – giving them just plan credit, nett share, and planetary visibility”.

“Structurally, they could perpetrate to semipermanent partnerships with trade cooperatives oregon adjacent money capacity-building and plan innovation for these communities,” she said.