Minimal Outrage

A lifelong fan on Kholapuri sandals of which I have owned several over the years, I was very disappointed that the design was used by Prada without proper attribution. Yet, this would hardly be the first time, the art and artistry of India has been misappropriated by the West. I love wearing my cotton and silk kurtis, made in India by local artisans, uninfluenced by what the western eye would find "chic".

I am just happy to wear the clothes that are familiar and comfortable to me, there is novelty just being myself while far away from home. I find it both amusing and frustrating to see Indian inspired designs in the local department stores. Nothing about it  feels warm, open and accepting. They had to emasculate what is bold and bright about the spirit of India until it turned bland enough for local levels of tolerance. This is a form of misappropriation and has been going on forever. Prada decided to take things several steps further and hence the outrage.

..designer Aprajita Toor succinctly puts it, “Fashion isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about ancestry. What’s often missing on global platforms is context, credit, and collaboration. If our heritage adorns international ramps, let it do so with its head held high, its story intact, and its people acknowledged.”

The same reaction is warranted every time, fashion is "borrowed" from India and taken through a full western sanitization process to make it acceptable to the world. But we never express such outrage and take the death by thousand cuts as destiny. To add insult to injury, many of these western adaptations find their way back to India and turn into local staples to the great detriment of what is traditional to India. Then comes the LV Kanjeevaram sarees, following a long line of western logos plastered on random articles of clothing made in India. I wish we'd do better than just copy and paste, add a side of phulkari to the Burberry plaid.