Fashion Flashback – The Copycat

Diane Von Furstenberg dress knocked off by Forever 21

(Fashion Flashback – Originally posted on 2/19/09 – It was just over a year ago when this article was originally posted, and we thought in honor of the recent Oscars and our popular new post on the fashion calendar, it would be a good time to revisit a trend that is unfortunately thriving in the fashion industry. The below post should shed some facts on the issue of knocking off and you may want to click here for more details on the topic. It is certainly a fine line, between knocking-off somebody’s work, versus using high-end fashion as inspiration for affordable , trendy items for the masses.)

Being in the midst of award season and fashion week, we all are coveting the exquisite yet ridiculously expensive fashions on display. While many of us cannot afford couture, we turn to more affordable brands to give us our fashion fix. Although there is a grave difference between making style affordable to the masses, and straight up copying another designer’s product. Many designers and brands have made a name for themselves by knocking off high-end designers. Chief among them is the brand ABS, who quickly parades their red carpet Oscar knockoffs on morning shows across the country following the Academy Awards. Recently, ABS and fashion label Faviana, débuted gowns inspired by Michelle Obama’s inaugural fashions on the Today Show. Couture evening wear is not the only garment class being copied; actually every category is subject to copycats. Stores like Forever 21 and H&M have made multimillion dollar businesses out of knocking off designer looks for less.

Many would argue, as we did here, that all fashion is in some sense copying from elsewhere. Designers, high-end and low, all get inspiration from somewhere and are influenced by what they see in their daily lives, including from fashion rivals. Next time you wander through a mall or department store, see if you can find a garment that is not in some way similar to an existing design; be it in color, fabric, silhouette, or overall aesthetic. But back to the original issue, what about those brands whose true intention is to knock off a particular item as close to the original as possible. The most common question we get is, “is that even legal?” In short, yes unfortunately, it is legal.

Unlike most products in the United States, fashion design is not protected by intellectual property law. While your trademark is protected, like the Levi’s V embroidery, Lacoste’s alligator, or Louis Vuitton’s interlocking LV, the actual garment design is not. Copyright law which protects most artistic works, has an exception for functional creations. So, if your garment is wearable, which of course it is, then it is not protected by law. There is some good news for you graphic designers, graphics like screen prints or original patterns do seem to be covered as artwork. People will often remark, if you have a great design idea you should get a patent for it. Unfortunately, patents only apply to completely new inventions, which as we mentioned above, fashion design is never completely original. This is the reason for the Victoria’s Secret patent “pending” bra campaign. Additionally, in the fast paced world of fashion, by the time the US patent office approved you, your design would no longer be on trend.

Zac Posen On 5th

Finally, we can all afford some Zac Posen! Last night Zac launched his new lower priced line at Saks Fifth Avenue in NYC. The new line called Z Spoke (not crazy about the name, sounds like a new smart phone) is a women’s sportswear collection priced from $60 to $700. His goal was to make a line that is more accessible and affordable to the average woman than his runway collection. Part of that effort is in expanding his size range to include a size 16. “It’s a dream of my life to be able to make a collection that can work for so many different kinds of women,” he told New York Magazine. “This is about dressing America.” It is nice to see a designer embracing a diverse customer base, unlike our recent issues with Eileen Fisher who feels the opposite way as you can read here. Not to mention Zac’s design ability and taste level have not been watered down at all for this collection. What do you think; will you become a fan of his new line?

Life as a Corporate Fashion Designer

Today we have another fascinating interview for you. As usual we bring you a side of fashion not usually covered by mainstream media and certainly not covered during our recent fashion week. This fashion designer (who prefers to remain anonymous) has been working in the industry for about 12 years and has been responsible for many of the big brands you see at your local mall, department store, and even mass-merchandisers. Her range of experiences makes her the perfect person to share her thoughts on working as a designer in corporate America. At the moment she works for a mid-sized company overseeing two women’s brands and a huge private label business, her team of four assistants, associates and graphic designers do about 42 million dollars of goods a year.

1) Do you feel your formal fashion education helped prepare you for working in the industry?
Yes, definitely. I attended a traditional four-year university and got my Bachelor’s degree with a major in apparel design. I was very concerned that because I hadn’t attended Parsons or FIT I would struggle finding work or even be unqualified. Surprisingly, that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. In many ways I was better prepared because the grads from those schools were so focused on couture and illustrating that they were not well rounded. I had four year of fashion like them plus cad, graphic, and Adobe classes. At that time those schools were not even teaching any computer design, so I actually had a leg up. Plus, since I have a University degree if I choose to leave fashion, I believe it gives me more options as far as other careers or a graduate school.

2) You moved here after graduation from the Midwest, do you like living in NYC, and are you glad you made the move?
Absolutely, this is where fashion is in the US. The city itself is inspiring and this particular neighborhood is so full of fashion professionals and resources. There is nowhere else you get that in such a concentrated area. The amount of opportunity is amazing here and I think if I had never tried, I would’ve always regretted it.

3) What one piece of advice, would you give to someone wanting to start a career in fashion?
Make sure you really want it, be prepared to work hard for long hours and low pay in the beginning, and get an internship. The internship is a great way to get your foot in the door, especially for your first job, after that your work history and portfolio speak for themselves. I would also say, move if you need to. For recent grads, this is before you have kids, mortgages, medical bills etc, this may be the one time in your life to pick up and move to a big city or different country and not have much to lose. Oops, I guess that is a lot more than one thing.

4) You have worked for some major apparel companies in the garment center, what would like to see companies improve on?
Quality of life for their employees, better pay for everyone but salespeople, who frankly are already overpaid, and most of all I’d love to see Human Resource departments be mandatory for apparel companies and benefits greatly improved. My last company had so many incompetent people who got away with it, while qualified people got frustrated and quit, yet the owner never even knew what was going on until employee exit interviews. There was no HR, no way to notify anyone at the executive level what was going on. The owners of many mid to large apparel companies are so disconnected; they may breeze in and out of the office a few times a week/month and not even know who their employees are. I realize this is the case in many industries and at many large companies and that is why they have HR departments. We need that too!

5) What is you day-to-day schedule like as a designer working for a large corporation?
Well, I think that would surprise most people. I would say being a senior level designer is 85% business and 15% creative.

I spend my mornings following up emails from overseas factories. Seeing where they stand, what questions they have, what problems need to be solved that day etc. Then mid-morning my samples usually arrive. The assistants go through and check/spec them and any problem are brought to me. Any samples for production and fittings are giving to me for review as well. Then I usually meet with my team and review sketches they have and give them any design direction I prepared the night before.

Then I will meet with the sales team and hear the selling reports, what’s doing well in stores, what’s not etc. They will let me now what their buyers want more of, and what styles they are looking for etc. This is probably the most stressful part of the day. Lots of yelling by salespeople of what designs they want to see, how they hate this idea but want that, why one of them believes her request is more urgent then another’s, and how they all want stuff designed and sent to the factory asap.

After this I take an associate designer with me to fit any samples that need to be fit with the technical designer and patternmaker. Then I begin to work on the sales requests and come up with a game plan. At this point I try to eat lunch while working, as it’s usually around 2-3pm. I then pass on the sales info to my assistants and start them working on new sketches and techpacks to be sent tonight. Usually a fabric supplier or trend forecaster will stop in to meet with me, which I try to get done quickly. And often around 5pm-6pm the VP or big boss will want a meeting, have a question, or need a sample review, before they leave for the day.

Then after 6pm it gets quiet with only the design and technical teams left and I can get some work done. I start checking and reviewing my team’s sketches and techpacks, making my comments and corrections as needed. Then I will start finding design inspiration for tomorrow and doing some of my own sketching and techpacking. Finally, I will follow up on all emails and go through any budget, expense, or employee paperwork that needs to be done. Finally I will head home around 9pm-10pm!

6) What do you wish people would understand about working in the fashion industry?
How freaking hard it is! It’s a business, its manufacturing; it’s much more than style and shopping. Fashion is hard work but can be incredibly rewarding as well. I wish people, students especially, would realize it is serious business. Having interns who show up thinking it is all going to be styling outfits and going on shop trips, and whine when they have to track packages or get stuck measure dozens of pre-production samples, makes me crazy! Yes, there is fabulousity, yes, there are shop trips to Europe but they are not the bulk of the business and they don’t come easily.