Mumbai: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court, demanding that the Italian Fashion House Prada compensated Kolhapuri Chappal artisans to allegedly compete to mimic their design in their latest unveiled summer collections.
Kolhapuri chappal is already preserved as a geographical signal (GI) under the geographical signal of the Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
According to the pilot, Italy-based Fashion House Parda has recently released its spring/summer collection showing its ‘toe ring sandals’, which are misleading, stylistic and culturally derived from a GI-category ‘Kolhapuri Chappell’, allegedly at a price of more than 1 lakh rupees per pair.
On July 2, 2025, an intellectual property rights advocate Ganesh S Hingmyer filed a pilot.
During an international fashion event held at Milan, Milan, Italy, a spring/Summer Main Collection in Italy, on 22 June 2025, during an international fashion event held at the International Fashion Event, there is a concern of “wrong Bayani, Cultural misuse, unauthorized commercialization” Kolhapuri Chapel “. Prohibition and loss of disadvantage, which are prohibited for unaccounted commercialization of GI-tagged products, which are prohibited for unaccounted commercialization, which are traditional The community associated with it has caused significant damage to it, especially in the state of Maharashtra, “Read the pilot.
After a large -scale backlash for the work of Indian artisans, Prada shared a statement that admitted that its latest summer wear collection “was inspired by Indian artisans”. However, the petitioners claim that the fashion brand (PRADA) has not released any “disadvantages”, “compensation” and “cited measures” for Maharashtrian artisans.
“Kolhapuri Chapel is a cultural symbol of Maharashtra and has special public emotions with it. The brand has privately admitted that its collection is” inspired by Indian artisans, “however, this acceptance has come out only after facing widespread backlash on various social media platforms. Or massive public.
The petition also wants a direction for the government to protect Indian traditional designs and to prevent international companies from violating geographical signal products.
“PIL aims to protect the rights of the affected communities and the people of India, which is from such activities imposed by the international brands /institutions. The concerned government must be directed to follow the enforcement of GI and establish strong policies /mechanisms related to the security of GI rights.”
It further read, “The petitioners say, the current PIL wants a direction for government institutions and officials, which gives appropriate relief to protect the rights of the manufacturers/ manufacturers of Kolhapuri chappal and to protect the cultural heritage, economic interests and intellectual property rights of indigenous artisans.”
The petitioners have also demanded public apology from Prada. The hearing of the case can be held in the Bombay High Court.
