India, June 23 -- The Kolhapuri chappal is now global.

But that's where the irony lies - for something so deeply desi, and hence expansive, to be considered 'global', contingent on (and only) an unassumingly entitled nod from a luxury stronghold.

Prada showcased its Men's Spring Summer 2026 collection yesterday at the Deposito of the Fondazione Prada, Milan. Introduced by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the Italian luxury house's lineup was whimsical, softly futuristic and as it goes, not for the mango crowd. But that's the whole point.

The rhetoric and debate over this however, took a back seat in the face of the detail that became the inevitable showstopper - Prada's very own Kolhapuri chappals (although we're pretty sure they won't be...