India Beckons Western Fashion Brands — but Their Cultural Missteps Can Be Costly

Prada’s Kolhapuri sandal copies show that law alone can’t protect India’s cultural capital

The incident put the focus on the limitations of India’s geographical indicator regime in enforcing the protection of its heritage.

Commentary: Prada sandals scandal proves the power of India’s troll army

Online backlash over Prada’s footwear resembling traditional Kolhapuri sandals shows India’s growing clout, says Karishma Vaswani for Bloomberg Opinion.

How Prada sandals outraged India’s online army

The Italian fashion house drew a backlash with a menswear collection that included open-toed leather footwear modelled on a classic subcontinental design.

India beckons Western fashion brands — but cultural missteps can be costly

(CNN) — When Prada sent several pairs of brown sandals with distinctive toe rings and intricate stitching down its menswear runway in Milan last month, observers were quick to point out their resemblance to a centuries-old piece of Indian heritage.

India beckons Western fashion brands — but their cultural missteps can be costly

Prada’s sandal controversy highlights how Western labels have often struggled to meaningfully engage with Indian crafts and culture.

Bloomberg Justifies Prada Stealing Kolhapuri Chappals - The Commune

In its latest attempt to repackage corporate malpractice as cultural “missteps”, Bloomberg has published a piece that dances around the plain truth: Prada plagiarized India’s indigenous Kolhapuri chappals and got called out for it. To facilitate this, they make use of yet another brown sepoy – Karishma Vaswani. Prada shamelessly copied India’s iconic Kolhapuri chappals, retailing for a mere ₹500 ($10), and rebranded them as “luxury leather footw…