The question of intellectual property, creative plagiarism and idea theft is not just one for writers and musicians anymore, it seems to now be a topic du jour in the fashion world too.
It looks like Kate Spade might be in a bit of a pickle with her book clutches that look exactly like the work of Olympia Le-Tan. The design on both is intrinsically the same, a book that opens up to reveal a clutch interior.
In the fall of last year Alexander McQueen and Steve Madden squared off with each other over McQueen’s design for the popular Faithful bootie, a favorite of Rihanna and a bevy of other young starlets. There have been no updates on this lawsuit, however, as of this blog post.
Another high profile je’accuse involved Lindsay Lohan, whose conceptual drawings for her Sevin fashion line started to look exactly like the work of another tights designer, James Lillis, and a dress designer, Jennifer Kao — whose very dresses she even wore once! Neither designer took legal action against Lohan, but their stories and opinions did gain a little traction in the fashion blogosphere.
Recently Marc Jacobs (generally loved) went after Christian Audigier/Ed Hardy (generally loathed) for selling a bag that looks just like a bag from his line, only with ugly douche illustrations attached to it.
When big designer names like Kate Spade and Audigier (both designers whose items are in turn completely ripped off for in the counterfeit market) emerge with work strongly reminiscent of others’, what do you think that means? Is it intentional? Is it a sign they’re out of ideas? Does it make you feel differently about their brands?
(If it’s any consolation to anyone, I’m pretty sure a zombie J.D. Salinger wouldn’t want well-to-do ladies using his book as a purse, no matter who designed it. I believe the word “phony” might come up in that conversation.)
Photo via Vanity Fair/Olympia LeTan
Kate Spade is no longer affiliated with the brand. She sold it to Liz Claiborne a few years ago and the brand has moved in a different direction since. So, Kate Spade herself is not the person who actually designed these clutches.