You can’t reinvent the wheel, but you can redesign it. Or, so we thought. A certain deliciously snarky set of Instagrammers have been holding New York Fashion Week’s designers accountable for their rampant copy-cat behaviour.
Giving credit where credit is due, the account @diet_prada, the hashtag #whodiditfirst and a host of like-minded followers have been creating side-by-side examples of designers unapologetically borrowing ideas, shapes, colours and even concepts from their colleagues.
Though fashion is generally limited to a handful of shapes - tops, jackets, trousers, skirts and dresses - we expect designers not to stoop to ripping people off. Nay that is the job of the high street. However, we know all too well this isn’t the case. Though designers are called creatives and live in the pursuit of art, sometimes they or members of their design teams don’t live up to this ideal.
The first thing you learn at university, scratch that school, is that plagiarising is frowned upon. So, what makes these designers think they can do it on a world stage and get away with it? Get your claws out, because we’re about to get catty…
1. Bonnie Cashin, 1978 v. Calvin Klein, SS18
While Bonnie Cashin’s status as a pioneer of American fashion may have been forgotten by many, that’s not the case for Calvin Klein’s designer Raf Simons.
2. Christina Aguilera v. Helmut Lang, SS18
Do you think they had ‘Dirrty’ pumping out over the studio’s speakers while Shayne Oliver designed Helmut Lang’s spring summer 18 collection?
3. Vetements, AW16 v. Matthew Adams Dolan, SS18
Though Matthew Adams Dolan’s school of oversized tailoring may have won winning reviews, it looked an awful lot like the abbreviated skirt and gigantic shirting of Vestments.
4. Dior Couture, SS17. Cinq à Sept, SS18
Cinq à Sept’s Instagram bio reads: ’The Romance of Discovery’, but it appears all they’ve discovered are the Dior archives. If it was just the tiered tulle skirt that would be one thing, but the addition of the feminine-fit blazer and slogan top is unmistakable.
5. Raf Simons, SS17 v. Rosetta Getty, SS18
Rosetta Getty tapped the annals of menswear to find an obscure inspiration for this oversized shirt printed with nude photography.
6. Philip Treacy, 2005 v. Alexander Wang, SS18
Feather-craft headwear may have amused Alexander Wang’s crowds, but those in the know understood the milliner Stephen Jones’ nod to Philip Treacy.
7. Christopher Kane, SS07 v. Fenty, SS18
This is proof that even at his graduate showcase Christopher Kane was considered a visionary. Though he referenced Versace and Alaïa, he never nicked their ideas wholesale. Fenty however…
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.