Why luxury brands continue to be wrong

A recent dispute related to the Prada Italian label has made attention to how global fashion giants interact with India – the country, the rich artistic traditions of which have often suffered from the inability to earn on them.

Sale got into trouble in June after his models went on the runway in Milan The sandal that was Baked on the leg, similar to the kolhapur of the ChappalHand -made leather shoes in India. Sandals are named after Kalhapur, the city in the western state of Maharashtra, where they were made for centuries – but in the collection, it did not mention what caused the reaction.

As the dispute grows, she sold a statement stating that she had recognized the origin of the sandals and that it was open to “a dialogue for a significant exchange with local Indian artisans.”

Over the past few days, the Prada team met artisans and shopkeepers in Kolhapur, who make and sell sandals to understand the process.

Prada said the BBC that he had a “successful meeting” with the Maharashtra industry, industry and agriculture, a well -known industry trading group.

The statement also shows that Prada can potentially cooperate in the future with some Kolhapuri shoe manufacturers.

Although it is unclear what form this cooperation may take, it is a rare example of a global fashion giant, who admits that it could not count the local artisans and crafts on which it was put.

Many major brands are regularly accused of getting inspired in Indian and wider South Asian, traditions in their desire to rethink and remain relevant – but not counted by the source.

Earlier this year’s spring designs from the Reformation and H&M fired a fire discussion on the appropriation of culture After many said that their meetings were very inspired by South Asia’s clothing. Both brands issued explanations – while H&M denied the allegations, the Reformation stated that its design was inspired by the outfit that was owned with which it collaborated for the collection.

And only two weeks ago, Dior was criticized after the long -awaited Paris collection, which presented the gold and ivory, which many note that Mukai’s work was created, centuries -old metal technique with Northern India. The collection does not mention the roots of the craft and India.

BBC turned to Dior for comments.

Some experts say that not every brand that attracts inspiration in culture does it with the wrong intentions – designers around the world cause aesthetics of different traditions, setting them on a global scale.

In a very competitive fashion landscape, some claim that brands also do not have enough time to think through the cultural consequences of their choice.

But critics point out that any borrowing must be backed up by respect and confirmation, especially if these ideas are transformed by powerful global brands that will be sold at incredibly high prices.

“By giving a proper credit-this part of the design responsibility, it teaches you in a design school, and brands should be taught about it,” says Shafali Vasudev, a fashion writer in Delhi. Without doing this, she adds, “the cultural neglect to the part of the world, which the brands claim that they love.”

The estimates vary depending on the size of the Indian luxury market, but the region is widely regarded as a great growth opportunity.

Analysts with Boston Consulting Group say Expected to almost double up to $ 14 billion By 2032, world luxurious brands operating in an expanded and wealthy middle class are increasingly looking at India as a key market as they hope to compensate for weaker demand elsewhere.

But not everyone share optimism.

Arvind Singal, chairman of the Technopak Advisory Firm, says the main reason seemingly indifference is that most brands still do not consider India a significant market for luxury high-end fashion.

In recent years, many high -end shopping centers have opened in big cities with flagship luxury shops – but they rarely see significant falls.

“Names such as PRADA still mean nothing to most Indians. Among the super rich, but it is unlikely for any customers who are for the first time,” says Mr Singal.

“And this is just not enough to create a business, which makes it easy to neglect the region.”

Anand Bhushan, a Delhi fashion designer, agrees. He says that traditionally India has always been a production center rather than a potential market, and some of the most expensive brands in Paris and Milan used Indian artisans to make or embroidery.

“But this still does not mean that you can just brazenly raise culture without understanding history and context, and branding it for millions of dollars,” he adds.

The disappointment, he said, is not focused on one of the labels, but has been building for years.

According to him, the most memorable wrong step took place during the collection of Charles Lagerfeld “Paris-Bomba” Métiers D’Art, demonstrated in 2011. The collection featured sari-drapes, jackets with neruly color and decorated hats.

Many called this a great example of cultural cooperation, but others claimed that it was largely relying on the cliché and lacked the real representation of India.

Others, however, say that no brand can afford to write off India as insignificant.

“We can not be the fastest luxurious market like China, but the younger and more complicated generation of Indians with different flavors and aspirations remake the luxury landscape,” says Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief of the Tata Cliq Luxury Luxury Store.

In the case of Prada, she says the brand seemed to have made a “real supervision” that was manifested from the length to which he went to correct his mistake.

For Ms. Kalra, this problem is wider – when the brands based in the West and manages a uniform group of people, ultimately viewing consumers in other parts of the world through a foreign lens.

“The lack of diversity is the largest blind place in the fashion industry, and brands should hire people from different parts of the world to change it,” she says.

“But their love and respect for the Indian heritage is true.”

The question of the appropriation of the culture is complicated, and the debate it causes on the Internet may seem covered and open.

And although there are no simple answers, many feel that the indignation around the sedation has become a great starting point to demand the best responsibility from brands and designers, which still have been largely restricted.

It is also an opportunity for India to reflect on ways to support your own heritage and raise it.

Weavers have been working for weeks or months to complete one masterpiece, but they often work in unstable conditions without proper reward and without protecting their work in accordance with international intellectual property laws.

“We do not take proud of ourselves and attribute our own artisans, allowing others to walk throughout,” says Ms. Vasudev.

“The problem is also that in India we just have too much. There are hundreds of different methods and traditions – each of it is constantly developing a catalog that has been coming back for centuries,” says Lila Tibji, chairman of the warrior who promotes crafts and masters.

“We trade and fight against a couple of fully embroidered Juthis (shoes), but we don’t have problems with the purchase of Nike trainers 10 times more than the price – although the latter left the conveyor, while each Juti was painstakingly and uniquely made by hand,” she says.

And as long as it continues, she said, foreign designers and merchandisers will do the same.

Real changes can only happen, she says: “If we respect and appreciate them – and there are tools to combat their exploitation.”