A few weeks ago, at Milan Fashion Week, Prada unveiled its latest sandal collection. Among its offerings was a leather slipper bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Kolhapuri chappal—an iconic Indian craft rooted in centuries of artisanal practice. Sold in India for around ₹1,000, the traditional Kolhapuri was reincarnated on the runway with a price tag exceeding ₹85,000, stripped of provenance, credit, or context.
The backlash was swift. Prada’s silent repurposing of the Kolhapuri chappal did not appear as homage but as appropriation. It reignited an enduring question: why do global brands, with all their resources, repeatedly draw from traditional cultures without acknowledgement or accountability? At the heart of the matter lies not just fashion, but a more insidious economy—one that mines heritage, monetises memory, and recasts history as aesthetic, all while sidelining those who shaped it.
Copyright©Madras Courier, All Rights Reserved. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from madrascourier.com and redistribute by email, post to the web, mobile phone or social media.Please send in your feed back and comments to [email protected]
