A recent controversy involving Italian luxury brand Prada has highlighted the complex relationship between global fashion houses and India, a nation whose rich artistic heritage has often been undermined by a lack of economic recognition.
The issue arose in June when Prada’s Milan runway show featured toe-braided sandals closely resembling the Kolhapuri chappal, a traditional Indian handcrafted leather shoe. The sandals, named after Kolhapur, a town in Maharashtra with centuries of shoemaking tradition, were not credited as such, leading to public criticism.
In response to the growing controversy, Prada issued a statement acknowledging the sandals’ origins and expressing interest in “a dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisans.”
Subsequently, a Prada team met with Kolhapur artisans and shopkeepers to gain a deeper understanding of the shoemaking process.
Prada informed the BBC of a “successful meeting” with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture, a prominent industry trade group.
The statement also suggested a potential future collaboration between Prada and Kolhapuri footwear manufacturers.
While the specifics of this collaboration remain unclear, it represents a rare instance of a global fashion giant acknowledging its failure to credit local artisans and their craft.
Many major brands have been routinely accused of drawing inspiration from Indian, and broader South Asian, traditions in their quest to innovate and maintain relevance, often without proper attribution.
Earlier this year, spring collections from Reformation and H&M sparked debate over cultural appropriation, with critics noting the apparent influence of South Asian garments. Both brands issued statements, with H&M denying the allegations and Reformation citing inspiration from an outfit owned by a collaborating model.
Just weeks ago, Dior faced criticism for its Paris collection featuring a houndstooth coat that appeared to incorporate mukaish work, a centuries-old metal embroidery technique from northern India, without acknowledging the craft’s origins or India itself.
The BBC has reached out to Dior for comment.
Some experts argue that not all cultural inspiration is driven by malicious intent, with designers often showcasing aesthetics from various traditions on a global stage.
In the competitive fashion industry, brands may also lack the time for thorough consideration of the cultural ramifications of their choices.
However, critics emphasize that any appropriation must be rooted in respect and acknowledgement, especially when powerful global brands repurpose these ideas for high-priced sales.
“Giving due credit is a part of design responsibility; it’s taught in design school, and brands need to educate themselves,” says Shefalee Vasudev, editor-in-chief of Voice of Fashion. Failure to do so, she adds, constitutes “cultural neglect towards a part of the world which brands claim to love.”
Estimates of India’s luxury market size vary, but the region is widely regarded as a significant growth opportunity.
Boston Consulting Group analysts predict that India’s luxury retail market will nearly double to $14 billion by 2032. Fueled by an expanding affluent middle class, global luxury brands are increasingly targeting India as a key market to offset weaker demand elsewhere.
However, this optimism is not universally shared.
Arvind Singhal, chairman of consultancy firm Technopak, suggests that the perceived indifference stems from the fact that most brands do not yet view India as a significant market for high-end luxury fashion.
While high-end malls with flagship luxury stores have opened in major cities, they often experience limited foot traffic.
“Names like Prada still mean nothing to a majority of Indians. There is some demand among the super-rich, but hardly any first-time customers,” Mr. Singhal says.
“And this is simply not enough to build a business, making it easy to neglect the region altogether.”
Anand Bhushan, a Delhi-based fashion designer, concurs. He notes that India has historically been a production hub rather than a potential market, with many prominent brands employing Indian artisans for garment production and embroidery.
“But that still does not mean you can just blatantly lift a culture without understanding the history and context and brand it for millions of dollars,” he adds.
The frustration, he says, is not directed at any single label but has been accumulating for years.
He cites Karl Lagerfeld’s “Paris-Bombay” Métiers d’Art collection in 2011 as a particularly memorable misstep, featuring sari-draped dresses, Nehru-collared jackets, and ornate headpieces.
While some lauded it as an example of cultural collaboration, others criticized its reliance on clichés and lack of authentic representation of India.
However, others argue that no brand can afford to dismiss India as insignificant.
“We might not be the fastest-growing luxury market like China, but a younger and more sophisticated generation of Indians with different tastes and aspirations is reshaping the landscape of luxury,” says Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief of online luxury store Tata CliQ Luxury.
In Prada’s case, she believes the brand made a “genuine oversight,” as evidenced by its efforts to rectify the mistake.
For Ms. Kalra, the issue is broader: brands based in the West, often managed by homogenous teams, tend to view consumers in other parts of the world through a foreign lens.
“The lack of diversity is the biggest blind spot of the fashion industry, and brands need to hire people from different parts of the world to change that,” she says.
“But their love and respect for Indian heritage is genuine.”
The question of cultural appropriation is complex, and the debates it ignites online can be both excessive and illuminating.
While simple answers are elusive, many believe the outrage surrounding Prada has provided a valuable starting point for demanding greater accountability from brands and designers who have largely escaped scrutiny until now.
It is also an opportunity for India to reflect on how it can better support and promote its own heritage.
Weavers spend weeks or months creating individual masterpieces, often working in precarious conditions with inadequate compensation and without the protection of international intellectual property laws.
“We don’t take enough pride and credit our own artisans, allowing others to walk all over it,” Ms. Vasudev says.
“The trouble also is that in India we have simply too much. There are hundreds of different craft techniques and traditions – each with its constantly evolving motif directory going back centuries,” says Laila Tyabji, chairperson of Dastkar, which promotes crafts and craftspeople.
“We bargain and bicker over a pair of fully embroidered juthis (shoes) but have no issues over buying a pair of Nike trainers at 10 times the price – even though the latter has come off an assembly line while each juthi has been painstakingly and uniquely crafted by hand,” she says.
As long as this continues, she says, foreign designers and merchandisers will continue to act similarly.
Real change can only occur, she argues, “when we ourselves respect and appreciate them – and have the tools to combat their exploitation.”
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