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Saturday, 22 August 2015

Are Designer Replicas Fair Game?

Whilst trawling through the pages of SheIn, a very familiar dress caught my eye. A full-skirted, brightly striped dress adorned with children's drawings jumped out at me. It was an exact replica of a dress featured in Dolce&Gabbana's recent advertisement in British Vogue's September issue with a comparatively minuscule price tag.

 Confusion followed by "how?" followed by "should I?" ensued. I was incredibly tempted to purchase the reproduced dress for about 60 seconds and then I started to think about how this dress had originally come into being. Hours and hours of designing, sourcing, altering, checking, market research and advertising had culminated in D&G producing this dress. Then SheIn had swooped in and nicked it. 
Although legal as long as they don't claim that the dress is D&G, it still feels wrong. Dresses such as this are works of art, and deserve to be admired and respected, not replicated in cheap materials for mass consumerism. 

 The average person can't afford a wardrobe bursting with authentic designer items, hence the black market for fake designer items is rife globally. A holiday in Europe isn't complete without a handsome local approaching you to offer 'Prada' handbags for €50. It has been estimated that losses to designers as a result of fake handbags total $70 million.
A street seller in Barcelona sells counterfeit designer handbags
If you can't afford to buy a designer item, the best option is to buy second hand. My treasured sites are BuyMyWardrobe, William Vintage, Hardly Ever Worn It, Naughtipidgins Nest, Style Sequel, and The Little Black Dress Agency. They require a bit of time to sift through the many pages, but you can find some real designer gems for more realistic prices! I've got my eye on this MSGM boucle jacket, and these Prada shoes, and this Prada shirt, ooh and those Mulberry bags on Naughtipidgins... I could be gone for a while! 


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5 comments:

  1. Kate22 August 2015 at 14:36

    I fully agree with your words about reproduced clothes! Wearing replicas is like saying: 'No respect to art in fashion.'
    Thanks for the great picks of your tresure sites. Heading over to check them out right now ;)

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  2. Sophia Nunez22 August 2015 at 21:19

    I hate going through online stores and shopping malls and seeing exact designer replicas. Inspiration and imitation are two very different things, one creative and the other plain lazy and greedy. There is always that period upon discovery of "it's so much cheaper!" but it's just not worth it, for the original designer's sake. Great post!
    Sophia
    plaidismyfavouritecolour.blogspot.com

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  3. Stephanie23 August 2015 at 16:56

    Great post!! I do shop a lot on shein. But I pick things that are cute to me or inspire me. Their midi skirts are really really cute.

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  4. Unknown23 August 2015 at 17:00

    Thanks for sharing these great resources for second hand designer items. I'll definitely check them out.

    www.doreensstylediary.com

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  5. Unknown9 September 2015 at 08:29

    It does feel kinda wrong, huh? But then, people might actually want one particular item and can't get that at any kind of second hand store. But you are so, so, so right... That's how designers live, it's like stealing their bread. Still, designers could make some of their products, maybe, just a little bit affordable. It's a messed up world, everybody wants everything, and that's just impossible, right? :))

    Hey, just in case you wanna check up my blog, here's mine! :D
    Andrei | www.TheMetropoliteen.com

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