On June 25, as India’s GI-tagged Kolhapuri chappal featured in Prada’s Spring/Summer 2026 show in Milan, it made headlines for all of the flawed causes. The place was the credit score? In Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, over 10,000 artisan households have been crafting these chappals by hand for generations. Well-known for his or her use of vegetable-tanned leather-based, intricate braiding methods of the toe loops, and use of indigenous designs, additionally they obtained the GI tag in 2019. However has this tag ever stopped a luxurious style label from cultural appropriation? In 2023,
Louis Vuitton launched a spread of silk scarves resembling Banarasi brocade and quick style main Zara has been infamous for utilizing Indian textiles and prints on their attire.
An artisan at Aprajita Toor. Photograph: Particular Association
Because the information went viral on social media, in Kolhapur, Dileep Extra — who hails from a household that crafts Kolhapuris — took to Linkedin to vent. ‘India’s iconic #handcrafted leather-based sandal, reimagined and now promoting for over ₹1 lakh a pair. Sure, the identical design that’s been handcrafted for generations by artisans in #Kolhapur…However there was no point out of India. No nod to the artisans. No acknowledgment of the cultural roots’, he wrote. With a Ph.D from IIT Bombay, Dileep returned to his roots as a third-generation entrepreneur and kickstarted Korakari in 2014 and works with over 200 artisan households from Kolhapur.
A design at Aprajita Toor. Photograph: Particular Association
Whereas these artisans, he says, are “far-off from the information of the Prada runway”, Dileep, 47, says credit score is due. “Prada ought to have given the artisans credit score and acknowledged that it’s a GI-tagged product. Their description of the sandal used on the runway is obscure however the whole aesthetics (look, design, and so on) is that of an authentic Kolhapuri,” he says, “When such manufacturers recognise the craft and its makers, even artisans really feel proud.”
An artisan at Korakari. Photograph: Particular Association
How do they make a Kolhapuri chappal?
Making ready the bottom
Leather-based choice: A thick leather-based cover is chosen.
Entrance layer: The leather-based material is minimize to form for the higher.
Vanvat: A skinny cotton or leather-based lining is added inside for consolation and end.
2. Sole meeting
Layering: Two or extra leather-based soles are minimize and joined collectively.
Kala mitti utility: A conventional black mud sticky paste (kala mitti) is utilized quickly to carry the layers in place.
Hammering: The only real is hammered completely to toughen the leather-based and compress the layers.
3. Stitching the only real
The joined soles are stitched by hand across the edges utilizing a robust white thread.
4. Chaprega (adorning the floor)
Artisans create back and front designs utilizing punches and hammers.
Small steel instruments are used to stamp conventional patterns like elephants, birds, and geometric borders.
5. Making the strap and toe loop
Leather-based Slicing: Skinny leather-based strips are dyed, softened, and minimize into form.
Folding and lining: The strap is folded for energy, typically with internal reinforcement.
Punching the toe gap: A toe loop is connected and stitched firmly.
6. Last meeting
The higher strap and toe loop are stitched and stuck to the only real.
Further hammering and edge smoothing is finished for end and luxury.
Sharpening and colouring
The chappals are polished in pure or dyed colors equivalent to brown, tan, mustard, and so on.
Tightly-knit neighborhood
Dileep explains how regardless of having a excessive demand — each domestically and internationally — the Kolhapuri chappal faces resistance from first-timers. “They’ve a tough sole, and take time to regulate to 1’s ft,” he says, including that he overcame these challenges by crafting variants with cushioning, and in addition introducing extra colors equivalent to reds and blues to maintain them “stylish”. At Korakari, near 10,000 pairs are made each month, and in addition bought on-line. “Manufacturers equivalent to FabIndia, Myntra, and Amazon additionally supply from us.”
At Korakari, near 10,000 pairs are made each month. Photograph: Particular Association
Rajkumar Jaisinghrao Powar, 47, additionally a 3rd technology artisan from town, has had his unit because the Fifties. Not like Dileep, he has saved his enterprise native and provides to tales in Pune, Mumbai, and Nagpur. “Working with massive manufacturers requires massive investments, and dealing with a set value which isn’t ultimate when artisans are concerned,” says Rajkumar, who has 14 artisans in his unit. In a day, every artisan can craft as much as three pairs, and these are bought anyplace between ₹1,000 to ₹6,000, relying on the approach and design.
A conventional shoe maker making a standard vibrant footwear and slippers in Native Market.
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Getty Pictures
“The Kolhapuri chappal is legendary world-over. Prada may need imitated the design, however nobody can craft the precise form and design like our artisans. It’s unimaginable,” says Rajkumar. The Senapati Kapshi variant, for example, is thought for its intricate handwork and its value can go as much as ₹5,000. “Just a few individuals are conscious of this design and worth it. If we get customized orders, we attain out to the handful of artisans who make the Senapati Kapshi and place orders,” he explains, including that January to July is the height making season because the monsoon season between August and November makes it tough to work with leather-based.
A design at Korakari. Photograph: Particular Association
Modern upgrades
Over time, to maintain the craft related and edgy, various designers and types have given the Kolhapuri chappal a up to date spin. One of many firsts was Aprajita Toor, who launched her footwear label of the identical title in early 2012. Her “obsession” with Kolhapuris, she says, began at dwelling. “My mom had Kolhapuris in actually each color, like a rainbow had walked into her wardrobe. I’d slip into them as a child, strutting round like I owned the world. Clearly, the style bug bit early!” says the designer who has crafted variations of the normal chappal into slip-on sliders, wedge heels, stacked heels, and pencil-thin soles with a spread of gildings.
Footwear at Chappers. Photograph: Particular Association
“Legacies don’t want reinvention, they want evolution,” she says, including that her method has at all times been rooted in “respect for the unique type, however with an eye fixed on the now”. “We launched cushioned insoles for modern-day consolation, refined the silhouettes, and pioneered using various heel varieties, all whereas preserving the soul of the craft. It wasn’t about redesigning custom, however about letting it evolve with the instances that speaks throughout generations,” says Aprajita, who works with over 60 artisans in her Mumbai unit, and retails her creations upwards of ₹4,000.
An artisan at Aprajita Toor. Photograph: Particular Association
Pune-based Harshwardhan Patwardhan, 33, labored in his household’s transport enterprise for a 12 months earlier than launching Chappers in 2015. “Whereas I used to be learning Enterprise Administration in Nottingham, UK, I used to put on conventional Kolhapuri chappals and to my shock, individuals at all times complimented them. That surprising consideration sparked an concept: why not reimagine these traditional Indian sandals for a contemporary, world viewers?” says the entrepreneur who has reimagined these classics with glossy silhouettes, vibrant colors, and tech enabled customisation. “We’ve launched cushioned insoles and ergonomic footbeds, one thing conventional Kolhapuris didn’t supply. For sturdiness, we’ve bolstered the soles with high-grade rubber that may stand up to city put on and tear.
Umesh, an artisan at Chappers. Photograph: Particular Association
Early days concerned Harshwardhan travelling to Kolhapur to fulfill native artisans, learning leather-based craft, and sourcing supplies from locations like Dharavi in Mumbai. “Impressed by the Make in India motion, I examined the essential early prototypes myself, by strolling lengthy distances in them to make sure their sturdiness,” he says, including that every pair is made on order. Right now, he works with over 50 artisans; half work at his in-house manufacturing unit in Pune. “Some artisans are from Kolhapur, some from inside components of Maharashtra like Parbhani, Nanded, and some from inside components of Bihar and UP,” he explains.
Customisation is on the core of the model, as he says it “not solely retains the craftsmanship alive but in addition makes each pair really feel like a mirrored image of the wearer’s character”. Harshwardhan has launched touchscreen kiosks at their shops in Pune and Nashik so individuals can design their very own footwear on the spot. His creations are priced upwards of ₹1,999 and go as much as ₹25,000.
An artisan crafting footwear at Pushkar.
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Getty Pictures
Making a shift
Given, a majority of artisans in Kolhapur make money working from home, this can be a largely unorganised sector. As Dileep factors out, “Many artisans are caught in debt traps, and there’s no business chief to set requirements or work as a reference level.”
Harshwardhan provides that educating artisans the best way to navigate design software program, handle on-line orders, and even use smartphones for communication took time and persistence. “Handcrafted merchandise are, by nature, time-intensive and distinctive. Scaling up manufacturing whereas preserving that handmade appeal was a fragile balancing act. Initially, even convincing prospects that Kolhapuris could possibly be each modern and cozy wasn’t simple. It took storytelling, design innovation, and plenty of footwork actually to shift that notion,” he says.
An artisan at Korakari. Photograph: Particular Association
As for his or her runway second, Harshwardhan felt “a mixture of pleasure and frustration”. “On one hand, it was nice to see a bit of our heritage stroll the worldwide stage…these sandals, born within the lanes of Kolhapur and formed by generations of artisans, had made it to Milan. That’s no small feat,” he says, including, “However then got here the sting: no credit score, no context, no point out of India or the artisans. It felt like I’m watching another person inform the Kolhapur story, however leaving its title out. Why not collaborate with artisans and inform their tales? Share the highlight, that’s how we flip a runway second into actual cultural recognition.”
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