Speeding Towards SuccessThe main culprit behind the lack of creativity or the temptation to copy is the superfast pace that you need to maintain while churning out new clothes, in order to keep customers interested. This is not copying. For example, it’s unfair to label Payal Singhal a copycat just because she used the same fabric like the French label Antik Batik. Now, Instagram’s self-appointed fashion police has made it their business to spot the copycats and their bootleg creations.. You can’t piggyback on your mentor’s success to achieve recognition. Everyone is inspired by so many things, like what they learnt at fashion school, crafts, design techniques, patterns, weaves. Some fashion houses, however, resort to blatantly plagiarising the designs of others. A sweatshirt with the slogan “Airplane Mode,” which was “designed” and modelled by Shweta was part of The Laundry Room’s collection way before MxS even launched. It’s the pyramid effect; you create something and it trickles down to the masses. There are no strong laws regarding intellectual copyright and I feel there is a complete disregard to creative work.Malaika in an Amit Agarwal outfit inspired by Versace (left) courtesy: Diet SabyaSpotting a CopycatSo, are designers drawing a bit too much inspiration from each other?
And is it fair to use the word copycat in front of many an esteemed name? Narresh Kukreja, of the swimwear brand Shivan&Narresh, says, “It’s plagiarism if there is an effort to copy a certain designer or a look. And a freedom of expression for people who feel like they can express freely without being judged for their lack of a token fashion degree,” say the team behind Diet Sabya.Nupur Kanoi worked with Anamika Khanna and their aesthetics are similar says Lata, but Nupur has her own sense of design and a very strong customer base.Another brand outed as a copycat is MxS, a collaboration between designer Monisha Jaisingh and actor Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter Shweta Nanda. While someone is copying your old designs, you will be churning out something new,” advises Narresh. It’s their interpretation and use of these techniques that matter.Guardians of CreativityThe good news is independent voices like Diet Sabya and Diet Prada are proving to be guardians of creativity and originality. If it’s a copy, the assistant must be pulled up,” says Narresh. The only common factor is perhaps the fact that they all source their fabric from the same place in India. Sometimes this can be tough on designers.Are these accusations fair? “If one designer is doing choodi sleeves, it doesn’t mean another can’t do it since this technique has been around since the Mughal era,” says Tina Tahiliani, executive director of the famous designer store Ensemble and designer Tarun Tahiliani’s sister. She says, “Often assistants leave the designer they worked with and come up with a similar look at half the price. I feel the fault also lies in our law.”There must be some unhappy designers out there who would like to have a word with this anonymous team for labelling them copycats?Gauri Khan in a Falguni and Shane Peacock outfit inspired by Abu Sandeep’s designs“No one has directly reached out to us yet end-off ashion, zara. You can’t accuse a designer of copying if they are adapting to certain techniques or embroideries that have been around forever.
“Mine is such a strong signature look that it’s a no-brainer that the retail chain has clearly ripped off my designs.An Anupama Dayal print copied by a brandThe Assistant FactorOne of the main reasons two rival collections look similar is because one designer either learnt or interned with the other, and now has the same ideology. “We can safely tell you that a lot of research goes into finding the correct source. We need to support the person who has come up with the original design, not an upcoming designer with four tailors and no overheads or investment. In fact, many of the slogans screaming from MxS’ sweatshirts gave you a sense of dejavu because you had seen something similar on clothing from different brands earlier on. You really can’t blame two people for liking the same stuff. But the evolution of the outfit can be a natural flow from each design house keeping their past collections or sensibilities in mind.Designer Rahul Mishra too had an issue with highstreet chain Vero Moda and accused them of ripping off his designs.(Photo: Diet Sabya)Diet Sabya concentrates on the Indian fashion industry and is constantly accusing big names like Manish Malhotra, Shane & Falguni Peacock, Anju Modi, Sonaakshi Raaj, Payal Singhal and many upcoming designers of ripping off prints, styles and the look of their national and international counterparts.Ravina in a Ranna Gill outfit inspired by Jenny Packham. It was, however, shocking to see Diet Sabya posting a picture of Deepika Padukone in a white evening gown by Lebanese designer Zubair Murad next to an identical gown by Manish Malhotra. I sent the brand a legal notice but am still waiting to hear back.What is the definition of originality in the fashion world? High- street brands like Zara, Mango, Vero Moda, W and H&M are known to draw inspiration from designer labels. The problem is when there is no logical evolution to a designer’s present collection. Rahul was Rajesh’s assistant for many years and parted on good terms with him. Every month you need to create new collections to keep getting customers to your stores. Narresh explains this demand. Lata Madhu, owner of the boutique Collage in Chennai explains this theory. We don’t want to make mistakes, so we make sure to cross-check. Photograph courtesy: Diet SabyaRe-invention is the biggest strength of fashion.
I feel our outrage is suppressed by practicalities, so we don’t pursue these cases.She continues, “Anamika Khanna has made the cape relevant again and now many designers are doing their own interpretations of it.Karan in a Shantanu-Nikhil outfit inspired by Anju Modi designs: Photograph Courtesy: Diet SabyaDesigner Anupama Dayal, who is known for her bright, Polyester Knitted Fabric factory happy prints that are a hit with actors likes Sonam Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, was understandably upset when she discovered an Indian retailer mass producing her work. Now, both continue to do a lot of appliqué work and pin-tucks and neither has a problem with the other.”Designer Rahul Mishra too had an issue with highstreet chain Vero Moda and accused them of ripping off his designs. I haven’t even got an apology. While they refuse to reveal their identity, the team behind @dietsabya says they don’t just label anyone a copycat. Why? The use and style of the fabric is completely different in each of the labels. When you spot this effort to look similar, then it is a copy.On a daily basis, these accounts compare the work of each and every popular design house and point out how A’s collection looks identical to B’s collection, if not the current line, then say from two years ago. Shraddha in a Sonaakshi Raaj outfit inspired by AADNEVIK In the fickle AND fast-paced world of fashion, designers need to innovate, reinvent and evolve.“You will never have this problem of imitations affecting your business if you constantly keep innovating. Certain trends are predominant so designs can be similar.THE ASIAN AGE. Designers from the world over send their teams or come in person to choose their fabrics from certain markets in Delhi and Mumbai.”Kareena Kapoor-Khan in a Manish Malhotra jacket inspired by Top Shop; Photograph Courtesy: Diet SabyaAnamika was just clever enough to rediscover and reinterpret it first. An image of Karan Johar wearing a Shantanu & Nikhil ensemble was put up next to an Anju Modi creation which came out months later looking almost the same.Tina too believes in this. “We retail both Rajesh Pratap Singh and Rahul Reddy.” But their work remains very similar. If you can’t keep evolving, then you eventually run out of business.
Deepika in a Manish Malhotra outfit inspired by Zuhair Murad; Photograph Courtesy: Diet SabyaThe same account even posted a picture of Shah Rukh Khan’s wife Gauri Khan wearing an anarkali by designers Shane and Falguni Peacock which looked like something designers Abu Sandeep would do because the style was a signature look of the latter. International design houses have more of a conscience. It’s not one or two pieces but an entire collection that has been ‘inspired’. What’s the best part of outing these copycats?“Inclusivity. But what can one say about designer labels churning out collections that are not just inspired by, but are a complete rip off of their famous counterparts?The birth of the online fashion police — Instagram acc- ounts like DietSabya has expo- sed the lack of imagination that most designers seem to suffer from.In another instance, Deepika was again pictured wearing an ‘original’ by Alberta Ferreti whereas Lisa Haydon was wearing, for all practical purposes, the same dress by Deme By Gabriella. One must ask their assistants where a certain idea is coming from, what is the thought process. “If they were blatantly ripping off her look, then that would be a copy and we would never stock such designers at Ensemble,” says Tina. “Speed is very important in the fashion industry. When the People Tree sued Dior over copyright infringement over a handmade block print design, Dior settled out of court amicably.There will always be a market for imitations. Ditto for Indian label Pero using the same prints as Australian resort label Zimmermann, which currently enjoys the status of one of the hottest brands of the moment.”HighStreet HeadachesIt’s not fellow design houses copying each other that give designers heartburn, but the highstreet labels that ripoff high end styles, mass produce them by the thousands and make a lot of profit on them.”It’s just a coincidenceIn certain cases, even if the print is identical, both creations are still originals. We’ve been getting immense love (and some hate) from the industry, but love triumphs hate, right? Or, was it the other way around,” he adds. We all have design teams and assistants who also design but it is the responsibility of the main designer to check every piece.In an industry like fashion which is driven by current trends, it’s obvious that all design houses will be adopting similar hit looks.