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| My iPhone still of the bags in the episode. |
In tonight's episode of Jersey Shore, Ron bought Sammie a white (possibly leather) quilted flap bag with interlocking chain and material straps from a street vendor. Sound familiar? It should. :) But there was no mention of Chanel.
Do you think most people buy inspired goods without knowing the design origin?
On a recent shopping trip, I was shocked to find a store selling mostly inspired pieces. The store was nestled between many high-end stores so I was thrown off a bit but I amused myself by pointing out the usual suspects: VCA, Hermès, and Chanel designs.
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Replica bags inspired by Chanel's vintage circle flap and
iconic Chanel flap pictured here from store mentioned above |
The bags pictured above (although IMO morally wrong) are not considered Chanel replicas because aside from dropping the interlocking Cs they do not (as far as I can tell) purport to be by Chanel. Yet, a bag not being a replica does not mean it is not infringing. Recently, the Kardashian Kollection for Sears had a satchel pulled from its handbag line because designer Monica Botkier found it to be a copy of her design.
Do you think these designs are altered enough to not be infringing?
Hmm... if just the quilted pattern or the chain handles then, to me, it can pass as an "inspired" piece. But when you talk about "replicating" the interlocking C's which is clearly trademark Chanel, then the manufacturer, and even the shop selling the bag, are treading dangerous waters here.
ReplyDeleteAnd regarding your last post, I actually find your writing very understandable to lay readers like me. I really appreciate how you try to make it as simple and how you avoid legal jargon. It's just that these is totally new to me, and I have to say, it really sparked my interest.
Cheers!
Wi
A Single Girl's Musings
lovely post!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Be.
I think it's taking the whole infringement thing a little far if all that's being replicated is the quilted pattern. I think it's truly an infringement if they are blatantly ripping off the chain shoulder strap, quilted design, interlocking CC's, etc.
ReplyDeleteI have mostly designer bags, but I do own 2 replica wallets I bought in China that are definitely NOT real. I bought them not because I wanted to save money, but because they were made in colours not typically offered by the authentic designers. Typically though, I don't buy replicas.
xx from Montreal,
Sarah
I Bleed Fashion
Those bags look good enough to me:)
ReplyDeletehugs,
xx
Ask Erena
http://askerena.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your comments. I would be happy to argue either way regarding whether the changes made are enough.
ReplyDeleteJust as it would be unfair to allow Louboutin or another shoe designer to be the only shoemaker with a certain color (especially a primary like red), giving Chanel full rights over any quilted bag design would not be fair to the public.
Thanks for reading
xoxo,
La Professionnelle
I work in fashion accessories as a wholesaler and see this all the time. When I first started working in this business, I would see designer inspired bags but there would always be a change in details and they would never try to claim the items were designer. Apparently this is how the industry works and it’s really nothing new! I’ve even seen pieces at Nine West that looked similar to designer shoes and even some high end designers do this to each other. Most follow the same trend reports on silhouettes and colors which is why when you see whats on the runway for a particular season you will sometimes a see a similarity in color palletes and shapes from different designers. Its not just a coincidence that every designer was thinking about colorblocking at the same time for example. The only thing is that the average consumer wouldn’t recognize this as most don’t follow fashion religiously and wouldn’t know Chanel, unless it had Chanel written all over it.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog btw :-)!!
Rachel
www.modehaven.onsugar.com