(sourced from vogue.co.uk)
Creating individual and fun designs made with quality materials lead to copycats making cheaper versions. Cheaper versions lead to the general public favouring the copycat over the original designer. The original designer then ends up, understandably, incredibly angry. This is exactly what happened to Sophia Webster, an individual and intriguing shoe and bag designer (one of my recent favourites), who won Best Emerging Accessories Designer at the 2013 British Fashion Awards.
It is only understandable Webster then took to Instagram and posted an image of Nasty Gal's copycat bag writing: "Nice Try @NastyGal #COPYCAT #SpeechBubbleClutch #SWHQ".
Look at the picture above. Left to right, left to right, left to right... On the left is Sophia Webster's original calfskin embroidered bag costing £340; and on the right is Nasty Gal's $48 bag featuring fake leather.
Whether or not one would choose a fake over the real is all down to one's own tastes. However, in my own opinion as an artist and as an appreciator of fashion, I choose the real version. Designers are ripped off all the time by high street brands, but never to this blatant level.
I'm with Webster on this one.
Ruby
I think she should be flattered that someone else copied her. That must mean that her designs are great and wearable and people like them and want to buy. All great designers are copied all the time. Have you paid attention to Zara's collections lately? I still don't know my opinion on this one because i love the original bag but i would never buy it because i can't afford it so for me it is great someone else is making a version that i can wear...Everyone likes a Chanel or a Prada bag and there are plenty copicats everywhere. But they are not loosing costumers (i think) because their target public is so different from the one that goes to Zara or Nasty Gal or any other cheaper brand.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point and no, I don't think she is losing customers but her anger is really due to the fact that bag was her hard work and to see such a blatant copy out there in the shelves where she gets no reward for it must feel like a slap in the face. And yes, I have seen Zara's collections recently and yes there are obvious influences from a range of designers, specifically Dolce and Gabbana's lace slips I thought but I believe that is less of a blatant copy... Thanks for your comment :) x
DeleteGreat work will always be copied, the trick is to be the best....and to keep being the first again and again...
ReplyDelete