Jun 23, 2025 12:48 PM IST
The Kolhapuri chappal is now global.
But that’s where the irony lies — for something so deeply desi, and hence expansive, to be considered ‘global’, contingent on (and only) an unassumingly entitled nod from a luxury stronghold.
Prada showcased its Men’s Spring Summer 2026 collection yesterday at the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada, Milan. Introduced by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the Italian luxury house’s lineup was whimsical, softly futuristic and as it goes, not for the mango crowd. But that’s the whole point.
The rhetoric and debate over this however, took a back seat in the face of the detail that became the inevitable showstopper — Prada’s very own Kolhapuri chappals (although we’re pretty sure they won’t be calling it that).
The slim build, the ring-ed toe and the skeletal frame — referring to these pairs of tan exoticism (sadly), as anything but Kolhapuri chappals, would make for yet another chapter in the growing volume of rooted Indian fashion, being colonised sans a sliver of acknowledgement.
There’s inspiration, and then there’s unacknowledged duplication. There’s a third strain to this too — a continued and problematic denial of there having been any appropriation. From the looks of it, Prada was absolutely anticipating the Kolhapuri chappals to land as chic-ly as they did. Each show invite was literally packed with a “leather ring” as a token takeaway for all the attendees. Now need we remind you that the Kolhapuri’s USP sits with that toe ring.
Magnifying this to broader global narratives, the disapproving reception of Prada’s Kolhapuri chappals feels like a Scandi scarf scandal 3.0.
We say 3.0, in acknowledgement of the infuriating back-and-forth when it came to asserting the true inspiration behind the viral-for-the-summer ‘Ibiza’ aesthetic as desi applique work and embroidery. What is the Scandinavian scarf but a dupatta? What are the Ibiza-core minis and skirts but saturated texture on western silhouettes? And what are the earthy Prada ‘sandals’ but literally Kolhapuri chappals?
Wake up babe, we’re literally living through colonisation…of fashion.
Jun 23, 2025 12:48 PM IST
The Kolhapuri chappal is now global.
But that’s where the irony lies — for something so deeply desi, and hence expansive, to be considered ‘global’, contingent on (and only) an unassumingly entitled nod from a luxury stronghold.
Prada showcased its Men’s Spring Summer 2026 collection yesterday at the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada, Milan. Introduced by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the Italian luxury house’s lineup was whimsical, softly futuristic and as it goes, not for the mango crowd. But that’s the whole point.
The rhetoric and debate over this however, took a back seat in the face of the detail that became the inevitable showstopper — Prada’s very own Kolhapuri chappals (although we’re pretty sure they won’t be calling it that).
The slim build, the ring-ed toe and the skeletal frame — referring to these pairs of tan exoticism (sadly), as anything but Kolhapuri chappals, would make for yet another chapter in the growing volume of rooted Indian fashion, being colonised sans a sliver of acknowledgement.
There’s inspiration, and then there’s unacknowledged duplication. There’s a third strain to this too — a continued and problematic denial of there having been any appropriation. From the looks of it, Prada was absolutely anticipating the Kolhapuri chappals to land as chic-ly as they did. Each show invite was literally packed with a “leather ring” as a token takeaway for all the attendees. Now need we remind you that the Kolhapuri’s USP sits with that toe ring.
Magnifying this to broader global narratives, the disapproving reception of Prada’s Kolhapuri chappals feels like a Scandi scarf scandal 3.0.
We say 3.0, in acknowledgement of the infuriating back-and-forth when it came to asserting the true inspiration behind the viral-for-the-summer ‘Ibiza’ aesthetic as desi applique work and embroidery. What is the Scandinavian scarf but a dupatta? What are the Ibiza-core minis and skirts but saturated texture on western silhouettes? And what are the earthy Prada ‘sandals’ but literally Kolhapuri chappals?
Wake up babe, we’re literally living through colonisation…of fashion.
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The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
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