It wouldn't be a surprise if other companies stole these designs. It's a common industry practice. Big brands rip off little ones all the time, the most prolific offenders being fast-fashion companies whose entire business model revolves around copying trends and bringing them to market quickly.
Forever 21, for example, has imitated everything from a phone case made by an LA indie brand to a popular feminist tee to Instagram-famous swimwear to a coat from a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist — and these are just examples from 2017.
Zara has an extensive theft list of its own, stealing ideas left and right. It copied $795 Balenciaga sneakers as well as Kanye West's coveted Yeezys, and was called out for copying pins from illustrator Tuesday Bassen as well as replicating sandals by designer Aurora James of Brother Vellies.
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H&M also has its own controversies. The company put Gosha Rubchinskiy’s signature gothic font styling on its t-shirts, hoodies, and socks. So does Urban Outfitters, including a long legal battle it won against the Navajo Nation, who sued the brand for using the Native American tribe's indigenous patterns on merchandise like underwear and flasks.
And it's not just the affordable fashion brands that are doing the copying, you can find similar cases in luxury fashion too. Like Gucci's 2018 cruise collection, which included a jacket that was a near-exact replica of one by 1980s Harlem couturier Dapper Dan.
As Chavie Lieber pointed out in Vox, brands are able to keep copying one another because of outdated legal policies. Unlike music, drama, literature, and art, fashion is not — and never has been — adequately protected under American copyright law, meaning it's hard to stop those who duplicate clothing designs without permission.
When copyright laws were being written in 1976, “we were largely a nation of manufacturers rather than designers,” lawyer Doug Hand, who represents companies like Rag & Bone, Phillip Lim, Rodarte, and Cynthia Rowley explained.
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In Europe, the situation is very different. The continent is filled with classic fashion houses (for context, Chanel and Prada were founded in the early 20th-century while Burberry and Lanvin in the 1800s), as well as centuries-old textile companies that produced original designs. As a result, countries like France, Scotland, Italy, and Germany have long had extensive copyright laws that explicitly protect fashion.
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But original ideas in the fashion industry might also be somewhat rare due to the fact that companies are busy focusing their efforts elsewhere.
Last year, for example, Ralph Lauren collaborated with the global gaming platform Roblox in a bet that people will buy virtual outfits to dress up their avatars just like they buy for themselves in real life. And it paid off. The company attributed some of its strong third quarter earnings to these virtual investments and the younger generation of shoppers it has attracted.
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The gaming market was about USD 173.70 billion in 2021, and other companies like Nike, Adidas, and Vans World are now hoping there's room for even more growth, and that gaming becomes just one component of a more far-reaching metaverse.
As the virtual world expands, they hope more people will dive into computer-simulated online communities that replicate the real world.