LEGALIZED STEALING
Mango have recently been taken to court by Velvetine for clear plagiarism of a bag design. The twist and sad ending to the story is that Velvetine (the victim) have been ordered to Pay Mango 6000€ damages in a counter suit!!!
The problem here is that the Fashion industry is not well controlled by copy-right laws. Because in the eye of the Law, fashion is not seen as art, it is there for perfectly legal for large brands to walk in and steal designs from much smaller designers who are working hard to make there own living and get known as designers in there own right. Although Velvetine had in fact copy-righted the design (seen here on the left), loop holes in the law ensure that the little guy can easily be screwed over by the big wigs. A familliar story im sure what with the recent & on going recession and constant cheap chinese nock-offs of branded items.
The shocking part is that velvetines attempt to save its exclusive product, was judged as vicious! ending in the counter suit by Mango.
What the heck is wrong with the world here? When stealing is ok if your rich & powerful? Small designers face enough struggle to get noticed in the ever growing fashion world. Why do ready established companies like Mango even feel the need to steel someones design? Clearly there design team leaves a lot to be desired!
As a designer trying to make it, I feel really strongly about this injustice and I can only hope that if designers pull together perhaps they can implement a change in the law meaning that if something is yours and is original you can protect it.
xoxo LLM
For more information on copy right within the fashion industry watch this lecture by Johanna Blakely who believes that no copy right leads to more creativity.
