A chappal of two cities: The £300 Paul Smith surprise

Madeeha Syed

The Peshawari chappal that Paul Smith were selling, without crediting the design to Pakistan. Photo from Paulsmith.co.uk
Updated 2014-03-10 19:43:24
Every single Pakistani man has owned a pair of these sandals at some point in his life. If not on a daily basis, then the Peshawari (or Charsadda) chappals are paired with traditional kurtas and worn on formal occasions such as weddings and, well, Eid. It is as much of a part of our national identity as is the chicken tikka in our traditional cuisine. Everyone knows what it is, has worn it, and its love spans through all of the country’s provinces.
This love and admiration for the Peshawari chappal is shared by none other than celebrated English menswear designer Sir Paul Smith who replicated the design as his own, in the market for a whopping £300 — 20 times the cost of the same chappal in Pakistan if bought from an upscale store.
The only bone of contention is that he decided to call them ‘Robert’.
Yes, that’s right, ‘Robert’.
Initially there was no mention of Pakistan, Peshawar or even Charsadda, or any credit given to the region where the design originates from. But in all seriousness, Mr Smith, ‘Robert’ is the best you could come up with?
Understandably, Pakistanis online are in an uproar. Some laugh, some are completely outraged, others are simply hurt. There is even a petition on Change.org demanding that the designer change the name of his sandals to ‘Peshwari chappals’. At the time of writing this, the petition had gathered close to around 50 signatures.