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April 5, 2007 | in:
Ripoff or Innovative?
I was browsing through Madonna’s H&M line (can’t help but notice the ads are everywhere) and started thinking about something she and several other celebwear designers said recently. The “inspiration” for their lines came from looking at what they had in the closet and making tweaks here and there. Simply adding chiffon on one end, lace on the other, cutting the dress a bit shorter, adding beading, what have you – all contributed to their new “lines”. But the question that begs answering is: what was in the closet prior to the “creative touches” added by (insert celebrity here)? The answer is simple: something original from (insert designer here). So the question I’m wrangling with now is, is it innovative simply to go into a closet look at something and then create a line by making it “better”? or is it just a dressed up version on plagiarism?
If someone takes something that already exists, adss or takeaway a couple of things and then sells it then it’s a ripoff. No two ways about it. It’s the same thing as taking a Shakespeare work adding a couple of lines and then selling it as an original work.
It’s not necessarily copying if you see something and create something in the vein of what you saw. If you deconstructed it and put it back together and sold it, then that’s a blatant copying.
I’d think that the designers the celebrities are copying would also have an issue with it and they don’t, so I don’t see what the issue is.
I’ve seen Madonna’s line at H&M and while it’s nothing new I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a ripoff. There are dramatically worse offenders. And you really have to look hard to see if she really did rip someone off.
Innovative. Everything Madonna has ever done is different, new and on her own terms. She’s a lighting rod for controversy. If you’re talking about the industry as a whole, that’s another matter.
How about Edun (Bono)? Don’t you think Edun’s line is creative, different and innovative?
I’ve yet to see one truly original item from Madonna’s collection to be honest with you. It’s clothes. We’ve seen them before. It’s a retread.
The trench sketch in the photo is not original but fashion has been around for eons. What really constitutes original at this stage?
I agree with Ceely.
Fashion/costume is as old as time. How could you not rip off at least one element? Designers rip off vintage all the time. Designers still have make garments that the consumer will buy. None of us will be wearing a cutting edge, avant garde couture gown to go about our daily, humble lives.