After Prada Controversy, Piyush Goyal Says ‘India Will Get Due Credit For its Design’ | India News

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. (File Image)

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said India will receive its rightful recognition for unique cultural products following the recently signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom. Citing the recent controversy over luxury fashion brand Prada’s alleged use of Kolhapuri chappal designs, Goyal said the government is actively working to protect and promote India’s cultural heritage globally.

“When a global brand used the design of our Kolhapuri chappals, the Commerce Ministry immediately took action on it. Going forward, when the Kolhapuri chappal is exported, India will get the due credit for its design. It is India’s GI product,” Goyal said.

He added that international interest in Indian goods is growing. “Many global brands are expressing their desire to associate their names with India’s products and sell them in global markets. The Kolhapuri chappal can have a business potential of Rs 8,000–10,000 crore in the international market,” he said.

Goyal’s comments come in the wake of the Kolhapuri chappal row involving Italian fashion house Prada, which showcased sandals resembling traditional Indian footwear in its Spring/Summer 2026 menswear collection in Milan.

“The sandals in question are broadly described as ‘leather sandals’, and there has been no suggestion—direct or indirect—that they originate from the GI-designated region or replicate the traditional Kolhapuri manufacturing technique,” Prada said in a statement issued in early July.

The fashion brand had earlier received a Rs 500 crore legal notice from LIDKAR, a Karnataka government-backed entity that co-owns the GI tag for Kolhapuri chappals. The notice accused Prada of “selling, advertising, marketing GI-registered goods… without proper authorisation or permission, which seriously violates GI rights of my client, and attracts civil and criminal offences.”

In a June 27 statement, Prada acknowledged inspiration from Indian footwear but maintained that it had not used the Kolhapuri name or employed traditional methods.

“We acknowledge that the sandals featured in the recent Prada Men’s 2026 Fashion Show are inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuries-old heritage. We deeply recognize the cultural significance of such Indian craftsmanship,” a representative from Prada said in a reply to Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA).

“We are committed to responsible design practices, fostering cultural engagement, and opening a dialogue for a meaningful exchange with local Indian artisan communities as we have done in the past in other collections to ensure the rightful recognition of their craft,” Prada’s group head for corporate social responsibility, Lorenzo Bertelli, had said, as quoted by PTI.

Later, a team from Prada also met the artisans and shopkeepers in Kolhapur who make and sell the sandals to understand the process.

Prada is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada.

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