Kolhapuri chappals to steel tiffin box: Luxury brands repackaging Indian everyday items as 'Luxe goods'

Whether it’s the familiar white-blue chappals, a grocery store paper bag, or a stainless-steel lunchbox, international brands are turning Indian everyday essentials as luxury products and pricing them outrageously high.

Leather flat sandals

Kolhapuri-style chappals made their debut at Milan Fashion Week, with Prada presenting them as "leather flat sandals" priced at Rs 1.2 lakh.

Paper clip

Part of the luxury range, the silver paper clip from the brand Gucci comes with a whopping price tag of Rs 33,000.

'Towel' Skirt

In 2023, Balenciaga introduced a 'towel' skirt for Rs 76,990, drawing widespread mockery and memes online.

Blue and white slippers

In July 2024, a video from Kuwait went viral showing the common Indian bathroom slippers being sold for Rs 1 lakh (roughly 4,500 Riyals) leaving everyone amused.

A white paper bag

Balenciaga sparked outrage (and memes) by offering a plain white paper bag, calling it a ‘knockoff deal’ in true high-fashion irony. What a normal shop sells for Rs 10, a luxury brand turned into a Rs 1,79,140 fashion statement, rebranding a simple carry bag as a designer tote.

Lunch Box 

Balenciaga came under fire for selling steel lunch box for $790 (approximately ₹68,000). Despite their intentionally simple look, the box sold out quickly.