'Our artisans lose. Sad!': Harsh Goenka slams Prada for selling Kolhapuri chappals at over ₹1 lakh

Billionaire Harsh Goenka has slammed Italian luxury fashion house Prada for showcasing Indian Kolhapuri footwear without acknowledging its origins or compensating its artisans. 

For the unawares, Prada’s recent Men’s Spring/Summer 2026 show held at the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada in Milan featured at least seven of the 56 runway looks with models walking the ramp wearing sandals with a striking resemblance to traditional Kolhapuris, complete with tan leather, thin straps, and toe rings. 

Led by co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the high-fashion luxury label even handed out leather "ring" tokens at the event, showing the toe-loop design that is a signature element of the Kolhapuri chappal. However, the Italian brand has given no credit to the original Indian artisans and called the designs “leather flat sandals”.

Immediately, Prada faced severe backlash from netizens.

Harsh Goenka condemns Prada

In a post on X, Harsh Goenka sharply criticised the international fashion brand. Sharing an image of the sandals presented by Prada, he claimed the design mimicked traditional Kolhapuri footwear, yet came with a staggering price tag of over Rs 1 lakh.

“Prada is selling products looking like Kolhapuri chappals for over Rs 1 lakh. Our artisans make the same by hand for Rs 400. They lose, while global brands cash in on our culture. Sad!” Goenka wrote, gaining support from netizens.

Prada is selling products looking like Kolhapuri chappals for over ₹1 lakh. Our artisans make the same by hand for ₹400. They lose, while global brands cash in on our culture. Sad! pic.twitter.com/Cct4vOimKs

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) June 26, 2025

About Kolhapuri chappals

Kolhapuri chappals have been handcrafted from the 12th century in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur region. It received a Geographical Indication tag by the Government of India.

This tag officially recognised these chappals to have originated across eight districts of India—Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, and Satara in Maharashtra, and Belgaum, Dharwad, Bagalkot, and Bijapur in Karnataka.

While these popular leather chappals are typically sold in India for between Rs 1,000 and Rs 4,000, the artisans earn as little as Rs 400 per pair.

Many of these artisans work in rural cooperatives to preserve the centuries-old craft, despite growing economic challenges and diminishing recognition.

The outrage

The Prada event has sparked outrage among the artisan community in Kolhapur. On Thursday, a delegation of Kolhapuri chappal manufacturers led by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dhananjay Mahadik met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, urging the state government to raise the matter with the Union Government.

“This is not merely about fashion; it is about respect for traditional knowledge and the livelihoods of thousands of artisans,” Mahadik said, assuring the delegation that the issue would be escalated appropriately.

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