It’s a universally acknowledged truth that fashion designers hate to be copied. After all, when you’ve spent months toiling away to come up with fresh ideas there must be something very disheartening about seeing a ripped off version for £30 on the high street, right? Actually, no.
Olivier Rousteing, Creative Director at Balmain, recently joined the likes of Phoebe Philo and Stella McCartney and said that he feels kind of honoured when he sees his designs copied. 'I think it was Coco Chanel who said if you're original, be ready to be copied,' he declared in an interview with The Independent.
In fact, Rousteing went almost over-the-top in his love for Zara which, let’s face, is the copiest shop of them all. 'I love seeing a Zara window with my clothes mixed with Céline and Proenza [Schouler]! I think that's genius. It's even better than what I do!'
Rousteing has even sussed out Zara’s special way of combining the best bits from the major designers to create a whole new look. 'When I did my Miami collection and we did the black and white checks, I knew they would be in Zara and H&M. But they did it in a clever way – they mixed a Céline shape with my Balmain print! Well done! I love that.'
The moral of the story is that maybe copying isn’t quite so bad but only if you do it in a cool new way. So we chatted to some fashion insiders to get some handy hints on getting copying right…
1.Plan Ahead
Stylist and The Frugality blogger Alex Stedman does that weird fashion thing where you buy your winter coat in August. This works equally well for picking up summer stuff in March. 'I know it's ridiculous but if you snooze, you lose,' explains Stedman. 'The best, freshest and often smallest buy drops in-stores now so you've got to think fast,' she advises for the catwalk coat search.
Equally, do your research before the shopping mish begins. 'I always go through the new season collections before they hit stores and make a note of the trends I want to buy into on my phone. Then when I'm out shopping I don't waste time getting distracted by all the ‘new in’ and just head to what I want,' says Ella of Coco’s Tea Party.
Internet Stalk
'This is one time when it's ok to be an internet stalker,' advises *The Guardian’*s Helen Seamons who can always be relied upon to have snapped up the best of Zara before it’s sold out and become urban legend. 'Keep your eye and browser firmly on zara.com and sign up for e-mail updates. Then swoop when the limited edition catwalk homage pieces drop,' she says. But a word of caution: 'Exercise some restraint and don't go for the literal copies of the catwalk headliners, aside from being morally questionable those in the know will know it's not the original.'
Don’t Go to the Obvious Place
The only thing more obvious than a catwalk copy is the very catwalk copy touted by the most exposed high street stores. So study your most beloved shows then see how lesser known shops have interpreted them. Seamons recommends a look in & Other Stories. 'It’s great for bagging something you won't see on every other woman in your work place/local, with only one UK bricks and mortar store its stock feels more exclusive.'
Don’t Dismiss the Sale Rail
Stedman recommends thinking beyond one season pieces to stuff which is a continuing trend. 'For instance, the Kurt Geiger velvet slip-on trainers went into the sale but will look great with your next season wide leg slouchy trousers,' she advises.
Seamons adds that 'there are plenty of carry through trends every season, search the sale sections of designer websites instead and the chances are you will bag a 70% off bargain.'
It’s all about the styling
Contrary to popular belief, trends aren’t always just about a particular kind of pattern or colour. 'Most trends are really reactions to styling,' says Melanie Rickey of FashionEditoratlarge.com. Take Prada’s AW14 show. 'The reason I loved that collection was because of the oversized jackets contrasted with the lightness of silky dresses and clunky shoes. So now I’m thinking about how I can recreate that silhouette.'
A final wise word from Rickey. 'Everyone would know if you were wearing a knock-off if you try to copy a whole look. It’s about taking the essence and interpreting it in an homage.' We reckon Rousteing would agree.
Follow Bethan on Twitter @bethanholt
Pictures: Jason Lloyd-Evans, The Frugality, Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.