The World of Fashion: Steal, Sell, Survive

2285 Words10 Pages
Fashion is a culture of copying. Major companies like H&M, Zara, Topshop, and Forever 21 steal clothing designs from companies and designers such as Donna Karen, Lanvin, Proenza Schouler, Rag & Bone, Rodarte, Thakoon, Zac Posen and more. The unfortunate truth for fashion designers is that their designs are always being copied, and it is completely legal to do so. Designers are copied, mostly by fast fashion companies, but sometimes even by other fashion designers. According to James Suroweicki, a scholar who studies the wisdom of crowds, a cooperation problem “involves the challenge of getting self-interested, distrustful people to work together, even when narrow self-interest would seem to dictate that no individual should take part” (Suroweicki). The issue of plagiarism in the fashion industry is clearly a cooperation problem because all designers partake in plagiarism at one point or another. They want copyright protection, yet, their designs are based on another designer’s work whether they realize it or not. Johanna Blakley, the Deputy Director of the Norman Lear Center, who studies how “our entertainment interacts with our political, commercial, and social habits” (Ted.com), shares a thought-provoking story of a well-known designer: “I heard this amazing story about Miuccia Prada; she is an Italian fashion designer. She goes to this vintage store in Paris with a friend of hers. She’s routing around, and she finds this one jacket by Balenciaga. She loves it. She’s turning it inside out. She’s looking at the seams. She’s looking at the construction. Her friend says, “Buy it already!” She responds, “I’ll buy it, but, I’m also going to replicate it.” Now think about this, doesn’t that sound like plagiarism? Most of the world would say, “Yes, that is plagiarism!”, however, in fashion the line of plagiarism is very fine. A designer might get called out on it;

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