Prada’s $3,200 tote mocked in India for resembling train floor: ‘They should pay Mumbai royalties’
Prada tote bag / Courtesy of Prada
A new Prada tote bag priced at more than 4 million won ($3,200) is sparking laughter and ridicule in India for its uncanny resemblance to the patterned flooring of Indian train carriages.
The metallic silver tote, part of the Italian fashion house’s latest collection, features a simple embossed design. But social media users in India say the pattern is nearly identical to the flooring seen on public trains — a detail that has turned the high-end accessory into a viral meme.
An Instagram post from an Indian user points out the similarity between Prada’s tote bag design and the pattern of train carriage flooring. Captured from social media
CNN-News18 and other Indian media reported on Sept. 29 that the bag has become a trending topic on social media, with many mocking the steep price and unglamorous style. The tote retails for 273,000 rupees (about 4.4 million won), roughly 10 times the average monthly wage of Indian workers as of last year.
“It looks like the designer visited India recently,” one post read, while another joked, “Prada should pay royalties to Mumbai,” referring to one of India's largest cities and its financial capital.
The online backlash has fueled a wave of memes ridiculing the design. One such post received more than 8,000 likes, with users piling on sarcastic comments such as “It’s like they copied and pasted the train floor,” and “Someone in Prada’s design team is playing a prank.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.