From Prada’s “Kolhapuri” sandals to scarf dresses, Western brands are borrowing South Asian fashion without context or credit. Discover why it matters.
Loading Image & Description...
Loading Content...
Loading Image & Description...
Loading Content...
Loading Advertisement...
Loading Image & Description...
Fashion from the subcontinent is influencing the high-street and luxury runway shows like never before. However, brands are using these templates without context and credit, writes Meera Navlakha in honour of South Asian Heritage Month.
Last year, as many people will remember, LA-based brand Reformation released flowy silk dresses and co-ords in a range of colours, with the addition of thin, matching scarves. The brand then repeated the designs within its collection in collaboration with American influencer Devon Lee Carlson. This look, which sees the scarf draped at the neck, was labelled as by many online as "Scandinavian" or "European". But this drew quick criticism from the South Asian community, who condemned the repackaging of a trademark South Asian outfit to a Western ensemble. The scarf in question resembles a dupatta, a long piece of fabric traditionally worn by women throughout South Asia, sometimes draped over their shoulders and across their necks, or used to cover their heads.
Reformation’s version of this outfit was the catalyst in an ongoing debate surrounding South Asian fashion inspiration in the Western marketplace. In the past year, I’ve seen designer labels and high-street brands alike mirroring the aesthetics of South Asia in their garments. E-tailer Oh Polly followed in Reformation’s footsteps with a scarf look of its own, as did high-street fave Mango (one South Asian creator on TikTok ironically deems this the “dupatta apocalypse”). Luxury brands have used South Asian templates for recent collections, too, cementing this 'trend' of cross-cultural style.
Take Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2026 menswear show, where the designer paid clear homage to India in everything starting from the theme, which was inspired by Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited. India seeped into the textiles, the runway’s set design, and even the music, featuring a track co-produced by iconic Indian composer AR Rahman. Around the same time came Prada’s leather sandals, which models sported down the runway during the label’s SS26 men’s show. But these sandals looked exactly the way Kolhapuri chappals, worn by millions of Indians, do, causing an outcry from India and leading Prada to apologise and acknowledge the sandals are "inspired by traditional Indian footwear made in specific districts in Maharashtra and Karnataka, India." While Pharrell laid out the blueprint for his collection (although the guestlist and show's casting were perhaps not as representative of his inspirations as they could have been), people pointed out that Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, co-creative directors of the brand, failed to do the same.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLPwhjmscFg/
All of this is to say that South Asian culture is having a real moment within the global fashion scene. But the larger issue? That credit, context and even collaboration aren’t being considered. Across social media, some have deemed this appropriation. Others accuse these brands of cultural erasure. The aesthetic resemblance between these items and outfits, created by Western brands, is uncanny, as South Asians are pointing out. And while many say this is a testament to the rich history of aesthetics from the subcontinent, it is also the time for recognition to be given.
When South Asian-inspired clothes are now being called "trendy" and even referred to as "European" because of the majority of people wearing them, both the original context and culture are being dismissed. South Asia itself is vast and nuanced, with an array of countries, religions, traditions, handicrafts, and ways of living. This is often forgotten, both by the West and by the fashion industry. While workers in South Asia face gruelling conditions labouring for Western brands, these brands, in turn, fail to recognise or credit the influence of their subcontinent in their aesthetics.
These controversies are illustrating the need not only for acknowledgement, but for an uprising. For one thing, Western designers who 'borrow' or catch inspiration from aesthetics across the Indian subcontinent should explicitly say so. For another, and perhaps most importantly, Western designers have the opportunity to collaborate with or directly hire South Asian designers. The Indian fashion industry, for example, is flourishing in size and reach, as I wrote about last year. The world is increasingly seeing the wealth of talent and options coming straight from the country itself. That makes this viral discourse all the more hard to digest. As fashion industries in South Asia skyrocket, it seems like the right time to turn our heads and appreciate all that these designers offer, from authenticity to craftsmanship to art bound by history.
So the next time a ‘Scandi scarf’ catches the collective attention of TikTok, we should be quicker to identify and nod towards the roots of these designs. The West should be doing that themselves without a reminder. I don't believe that creating South Asian-inspired fashion is exactly the problem, and neither is wearing South Asian-inspired clothing designs. Erasing the political and complicated history of borrowing cultural aesthetics – and sanitising them in the process – is.
