&w=3840&q=100)
Prada explores collaboration with Indian footwear artisans after sandal row
Reuters MUMBAI/MILAN
By Dhwani Pandya and Elisa Anzolin
Prada is looking to collaborate with "artisanal footwear" makers in India in a partnership, it said on Friday, two weeks after the Italian luxury group triggered a controversyby debuting ethnic sandals resembling 12th-century Indian ones.
After viral photos from a Milan fashion show drew criticism from Indian artisans who make the sandals named after the historic city of Kolhapur in Maharashtra state Prada was forced late last month to acknowledge that its new open-toe footwear was inspired by ancient Indian designs.
The furore even saw sales of Indian sandals boom, with sellers and artisans seeing the controversy as a way to promote the heritage craft by tapping into nationalist pride.
Prada said in a statement to Reuters that it held talks remotely on Friday with the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, which represents 3,000 Kolhapuri sandal artisans, and discussed potential opportunities for future collaboration.
"The next step will be for Prada's supply chain team to meet a range of artisanal footwear manufacturers," the company said.
The Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce said that Lorenzo Bertelli, son of Prada's owners and head of its corporate social responsibility, joined the talks on Friday.
The chamber of commerce said that during the talks Prada said it aimed to launch a limited-edition "Made in India" Kolhapuri-inspired collection of sandals in partnership with Indian artisans.
India's luxury market is small but growing, with the rich splurging on designer fashion, top end sports cars and pricey watches.
Prada does not have any retail stores in India, and its products are usually reserved for the super rich who shop overseas.
The sandal scandal left the social media abuzz for days with criticism and sarcastic memes, with Indian politicians, artisans and the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce demanding due credit to Indian heritage.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
8 minutes ago
- First Post
India, China delegations meet to discuss border issues, normalisation of bilateral ties
The two sides discussed measures aimed at 'advancing effective border management and sustaining peace and tranquillity,' building on understandings reached during the 23rd round of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks held in 2024 read more A man walks inside a conference room used for meetings between military commanders of China and India, at the Indian side of the Indo-China border at Bumla, in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, November 11, 2009. Reuters File India and China held the 34th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on Border Affairs (WMCC) in New Delhi on Wednesday (July 23), in a fresh bid to sustain momentum on de-escalation efforts along the Line of Actual Control. The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary (East Asia) Gourangalal Das, while the Chinese side was headed by Hong Liang, Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to a statement released by India's Ministry of External Affairs, both sides reviewed the situation in the border areas and expressed satisfaction with the 'general prevalence of peace and tranquillity,' noting progress toward 'gradual normalisation' of bilateral ties. Push for phased disengagement and SR-level talks The two sides discussed measures aimed at 'advancing effective border management and sustaining peace and tranquillity,' building on understandings reached during the 23rd round of the Special Representatives' (SR) Talks held in Beijing in March 2024. That round saw National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agree to a phased withdrawal at remaining friction points like Depsang and Demchok. The WMCC talks also prepared the ground for the 24th round of the SR Talks on the India-China boundary question, which is expected to be held in India later this year. The SR mechanism functions as a higher-level political dialogue to resolve the boundary dispute. Meeting follows two high-level ministerial visits The timing of the meeting adds to its significance, coming after two important bilateral exchanges this year. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar travelled to Beijing in January 2025, followed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's engagement with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers' meeting in April. India and China have maintained multiple layers of engagement to navigate ongoing tensions in eastern Ladakh. While large-scale disengagement has been achieved at some points, talks remain deadlocked at several locations. With inputs from agencies
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
8 minutes ago
- Business Standard
End to misconceptions about processed foods' health impact: Chirag Paswan
Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on Wednesday stressed on the need to correct false narrative that processed food are bad for health. The Food Processing Industries Ministry has set up a committee in this regards, he added. Addressing a press conference to announce World Food India event, Paswan said that the level of food processing is still low in the country and there is a huge scope for growth in this sector. He said this sector can boost farmers income and also provide huge job opportunities to youth. Paswan spoke about "misleading advertisements" that brand processed food as "bad". False narratives are being set that processed food losses nutrients value, he added. Paswan said there is a growing demand for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook foods because of nuclear families and working couples. Food regulator FSSAI ensures the safety of food products, he added. Paswan announced his ministry will hold flagship conference 'World Food India 2025' in the national capital during September 25-28 to showcase investment potential in this sector and realise the vision of making the country a global food hub. This will be the fourth edition of World Food India. The event will be held on September 25-28 at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital. Industry body FICCI is the national event partner. He also launched a dedicated website and a mobile app for this upcoming event. The event will see participation from many countries. Food Processing Secretary Avinash Joshi said, "Our sector has demonstrated remarkable growth over last decade, now it contributes almost 1/5 of agri product export in the country. Yet we recognise that substantial untapped potential remains." He said the World Food India platform would help in realising this potential. Joshi noted that the earlier editions were successful and now the ministry intends to scale it further. He said the event will bring together a diverse array of participants, food processors, equipment manufacturers, packaging solution providers, logistic firms, technology developers, academia, startups, retail innovators, state and central government bodies and international delegates. He said one of the major highlights would be CEOs' round table. More than 100 CEOs from India and overseas will engage directly with policy makers. The theme of World Food India will be based on five pillars -- Sustainability and net zero food processing; India as a Global Food Processing Hub; Frontiers in Food Processing, Products and Packaging Technologies; Food for Nutrition, Health, and Wellness; and Livestock & Marine Products - accelerating the Indian rural economy.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
8 minutes ago
- Business Standard
The EV revolution throws up new challenges for govt, auto sector
The growth of EVs offers some challenges to both the Indian automotive industry and, more broadly, the government Business Standard Editorial Comment Mumbai Listen to This Article Foreign-owned electric-vehicle (EV) companies are expanding their footprint in India with remarkable swiftness. Vietnamese carmaker VinFast has begun accepting reservations for its VF6 and VF7 models. It has reportedly signed deals with dealers for physical showrooms in 27 cities in India. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's Tesla has finally entered India and is taking orders from its Mumbai showroom for Model Y. The two companies, however, seem to have slightly different strategies. Tesla has chosen not to invest in a local factory, which might have allowed it to avoid paying tariffs on the imported Model Ys. As a result, the car is
