On the back foot

Walking a mile in another's shoes is not always a good thing. The fashion brand, Prada, may be realising this. At a recent fashion show, Prada had models wear footwear that looked suspiciously like Kolhapuri chappals — India’s open-loop-toed, T-strap sandals dating back to the 13th century that are stitched without nails, dyed using natural ingredients, and polished with natural oils.

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These footwear are unique to parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka and have had a Geographical Indication tag since 2019. While Prada did not call the sandals with its brand logo Kolhapuris, it was clearly the same footwear. Traditional artisans in India thus rightfully protested against Prada’s blatant attempt at cultural appropriation. Given the backlash online, the fashion brand later reached out to the Maharashtra Chamber of Com-mer-ce, Industry & Agriculture, acknowledging that its sandals were indeed ‘inspired’ by Kolhapuri chappals and offered a “dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans”.