After Italian luxurious home Prada lifted India’s Kolhapuri sandals for its runway present uncredited, Edelweiss Chief Radhika Gupta has now known as out French trend model Dior for failing to credit score Indian artisans for its ₹1.73 crore value coat ($2,00,000 price ticket), that includes Lucknowi mukaish embroidery method.
Showcased through the Paris Trend Week in June as a part of Dior Homme’s Menswear ready-to-wear Spring Summer season 2026 assortment, the coat closely featured Lucknowi mukaishi embroidery in its sample and was presumably priced excessive for the painstaking days of handiwork concerned.
Compliant embroidery entails the usage of metallic threads — normally gold or silver — to decorate patterns into materials (predominantly silk) and create a shimmering impact. It’s typically used on beautify conventional Indian clothes.
‘World loves Indian craftsmanship — however not often credit’, says Radhika Gupta
In a hearfelt, prolonged publish on social media platform X (previously Twitter), Radhika Gupta known as out the dearth of visibility for the native artisans concerned in making luxurious model merchandise and the dearth of credit score to India and Indian craft as a supply of inspiration.
She wrote: “Another handloom, yet another headline. Dior sells a $200K coat utilizing Lucknowi mukaish embroidery. 12 Indian artisans. 34 days of labor. No credit score. No context. No point out of India.”
“The world loves Indian craftsmanship — However not often credit the craftspeople. And nearly by no means shares the worth. As a result of the branding, storytelling, and pricing energy keep elsewhere. The hand that creates stays invisible,” she added.
Radhika Gupta famous that India should take a web page out of Japan and South Korea’s playbook to capitalise on “tender energy” utilizing our native crafts.
“Tradition is tender energy. Japan did it with design. Korea did it with popular culture. India should do it with craft. From sourcing vacation spot to storytelling nation. A house of international manufacturers. The lion has to return out. And roar,” she added.
Prada admits lifting 2026 males’s sandal design from India
Notably, this incident from Dior comes solely a month after Prada confronted backlash from Indian artisans and politicians for utilizing conventional designs with out credit score in its Spring-Summer season 2026 menswear assortment.
In a letter addressed to Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Prada’s head of company social duty, Lorenzo Bertelli wrote, “We acknowledge that the sandals… are impressed by conventional Indian handcrafted footwear, with a centuries-old heritage. We deeply recognise the cultural significance of such Indian craftsmanship,” Reuters reported citing the doc dated June 27.
Speak started after fashions within the Milan present have been seen sporting leather-based sandals with a braided design — carefully resembling handmade Kolhapuri slippersrelationship again to the twelfth century.
In accordance with Bertelli, Prada is dedicated to accountable design and respecting conventional Indian crafts. The model needs to have interaction with native Indian artisans and guarantee they get correct credit score for his or her work, he stated.
It stays to be seen if Dior faces comparable strain to make amends.