What’s the big deal with the Kolhapuris at the Prada men’s show?

The Prada men’s spring/summer 2026 show took place in Milan last night, and for footwear, among the holiday-ready plimsolls, loafers, and flip-flops, was something a little more unexpected: leather Kolhapuri chappals. That’s not all. The show’s invite included a leather ‘ring’ that looked like the toe loop of said chappal.
The brand has always been lauded for their ability to bring poeticism to the everyday. On the runway, the Kolhapuris were styled with micro shorts, track pants, and polo-neck knits. Questions remain about much they will retail these Kolhapuris for, if at all. If The Row’s $650 flip-flops are anything to go by, it won’t be cheap.
This is just the latest in a series of incidences where fashion brands have been called out for using Indian techniques and styles without giving them due credit. Unfortunately, this phenomenon has become a pattern over the last few decades and an essential aspect of how the fashion business today works.
Most recently there was the Scandinavian Scarf, where white women on TikTok were accused of wearing thin chiffon stoles in the manner of a dupatta and calling them European scarves. Or when the Internet pounced on Reformation for selling a skirt and top set that resembled a lehenga choli from 2000s-era Bollywood.

More like this