Is originality in fashion lost with the consumeristic cycle of recurring trends?

By Saloni Dhruv
09 February, 2023

Is originality in fashion lost with the consumeristic cycle of recurring trends?

By Saloni Dhruv
09 February, 2023

With consumerism and capitalism having designers and brands into a chokehold, where is the space for originality in fashion?

Imitation, it is said, is the best form of flattery. The fashion industry is not new to the idea of imitation, especially with ready-to-wear collections. Coco Chanel famously said,“If you want to be original, be ready to be copied.” Incidentally, in 2015, Chanel was accused of plagiarising a small Scottish knitwear designer Mati Ventrillon for copying her designs. In 2021, Instagram account @dietsabya slammed designer and content creator Sonaakshi Raaj for wearing an outfit that was very similar to the Jean Paul Gaultier dress that Bella Hadid wore at Cannes in 2021. Last year, American fashion brand Ralph Lauren was called out by Beatriz Gutierrez, the wife of the president of Mexico and head of a cultural affairs commission, for plagiarising indigenous designs.

While Instagram accounts like @diet_prada and @dietsabya are dedicated to calling out copycat designs, has the concept of ‘originality’ blurred into the idea of ‘inspired from’? We spoke to three designers to understand what it means to be ‘original’ in the times of cyclical trends.

Is ‘originality’ a myth?

In an interview with Vestoj magazine, Miuccia Prada spoke about lack of authenticity in the fashion industry. “Authenticity is an original thought, a concept or idea. For a fashion designer it would be someone who invented something that other people go on to copy. But nobody actually cares about authenticity anymore, about who did something first, second or third. Today we have a copy of a copy of a copy. As a concept, it’s not relevant anymore,” she said.

With the exception of couture, where the goal is not to sell but to showcase the extent of a designer’s creativity, much of what we see on ready-to-wear runway collections and on shelves has already been done and sold several times over. This raises the question if originality has taken a backseat as the two big Cs—consumerism and capitalism—have the designers and brands into a chokehold. While the industry moves towards a technologically-charged future with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and innovations, fashion’s hold on the past is very strong.

fashion

While Instagram accounts like @diet_prada and @dietsabya are dedicated to calling out copycat designs, has the concept of ‘originality’ blurred into the idea of ‘inspired from’? Image: Instagram.com/dietsabya

fashion

While Instagram accounts like @diet_prada and @dietsabya are dedicated to calling out copycat designs, has the concept of ‘originality’ blurred into the idea of ‘inspired from’? Image: Instagram.com/dietsabya

Is ‘originality’ a myth?

In an interview with Vestoj magazine, Miuccia Prada spoke about lack of authenticity in the fashion industry. “Authenticity is an original thought, a concept or idea. For a fashion designer it would be someone who invented something that other people go on to copy. But nobody actually cares about authenticity anymore, about who did something first, second or third. Today we have a copy of a copy of a copy. As a concept, it’s not relevant anymore,” she said.

With the exception of couture, where the goal is not to sell but to showcase the extent of a designer’s creativity, much of what we see on ready-to-wear runway collections and on shelves has already been done and sold several times over. This raises the question if originality has taken a backseat as the two big Cs—consumerism and capitalism—have the designers and brands into a chokehold. While the industry moves towards a technologically-charged future with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and innovations, fashion’s hold on the past is very strong.

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