I recently walked into a Coach boutique to browse the new merchandise. There were key chains for $35 and tiny wallets you could barely fit a driver’s license in for $200. All I could think the entire time I walked around was that I could get this off a corner stand downtown for 20 bucks. That’s the lure of the knockoff: it looks the same, but you can buy it and still be able to pay your rent. The Council of Fashion Designers of America, however, cannot stand that the $1,000 dress someone designs can be remade and sold at a department store for a fraction (albeit a huge fraction) of the price. To correct this infringement upon their hard work, the council introduced a bill to Congress that, if passed, would patent or copyright original clothing by designers. If the bill is passed, companies and manufacturers would be prosecuted for producing replicas of high-end clothing and selling them at chain stores for a cheaper price.
Unfortunately the problem with this bill is the murky water between what is considered an exact copy of a clothing item and what is considered an item that was simply “inspired” by another designer. The council also cannot produce any evidence that knockoffs are damaging designers’ sales. I’m sure we all agree that there are enough people buying $1,500 Prada bags and $450 Manolo Blahnik shoes that revenue will keep the mansions paid for and the yachts afloat.
New Yorker magazine explains how knockoff items are actually helping the fashion industry: “In fashion, it’s copying that serves this function, bringing about ‘induced obsolescence’. Copying enables designs and style to move quickly from early adopters to the masses. And since no one cool wants to keep wearing something after everybody else is wearing it, the copying of designs helps fuel the incessant demand for something new.”
I understand the frustration; it’s like staying up until 5 a.m. to finish a research paper only to have your roommate swipe it while you’re asleep and take credit for it. And some of these items aren’t just similar to more expensive styles; they are exact copies.
For example, while browsing a fashion magazine, I spotted a giveaway contest for a $750 sweater. Later, I walked into a popular clothing store inside the mall, and what was the first thing I saw on one of the many display tables? The exact same sweater, in four different colors, selling for $22.80.
Designers of these knockoffs have absolutely no shame in telling you that they are indeed taking original ideas. On an online article for the International Herald Tribune, Seema Anand, owner and “designer” of Simonia Fashions, was quoted as saying, “If I see something on Style.com, all I have to do is e-mail the picture to my factory and say, ‘I want something similar, or a silhouette made just like this.” Her factory then manufactures the item and can deliver it to stores months before the original, more expensive version.
So to support or not support the designer labels? That is the question the Council of Fashion Designers of America is posing to us. If, like most people, you have bills on top of bills and not a lot of money to spend on that Kelly bag that totals about three months’ rent, you could care less.
I personally own a few designer items that may have set me back, but I still have no problem choosing a $30 fake over a $300 original. Fashion designers should consider the knockoff game their personal fuel to produce better, hotter styles.