Support Originality. Boycott Hypocrisy

Anna Sui, Diane Von Furstenberg, Gwen Stefani, Anthropologie, Trovata, and many others are among the long list of designers to sue mega retailer Forever 21. Most recently the case involving Trovata has been at court. WWD reported that Forever 21 co-founder Jin Sook Chang testified in the case. A couple of interesting points were made by Chang; She alleges that she had no knowledge of the $1.5 Billion dollar profit her company had made?!?!?! She continued to play stupid by stating that as head buyer she simply looks at the designs presented to her by her team and picks the “pretty ones” How coincidental that alot of the “pretty ones” happen to be blatant and shameless rip offs of designer’s work. Don’t take my word for it though, here is a visual.

Top row: Forever 21, Bottom row: Trovata

The defense also argued that you “would need a telescope” to see the similarities…hmmmm I think its pretty fucking obvious.

There are those who argue that if designers didn’t price their items so high, that they wouldn’t have to be ripped off by cheaper retailers. To those who argue this point: I urge you to compare the quality of a designer item to that of a Forever 21 item. I assure you that there is a difference. The designer price is what you pay for original design, in limited quantities, made of high quality materials. I have shopped at Forever 21, many times annoyed by only being able to wear something 1-2 times before it began to fall apart. I highly doubt that would happen with a Trovata shirt. Also, if these up and coming designers were making a $1.5 BILLION profit maybe they would lower their prices too, but its hard enough to stay afloat in the industry with a “hot” new line coming out every season. This is the point people!!! These designers work hard to CREATE pieces that are original to them, to their aesthetic, and targeted to their consumers. It is insulting to take someone’s ideas and STEAL them. That is what Forever 21 does, it is the lazy ass kid in school that bullies the hardworking studious kid to do the work for them and take the credit.

As a consumer, who is educated on the subject, and studies fashion and design, it is also a slap in the face to see people wearing knock offs of shoes, clothes, bags, etc, that you with your hard earned money purchased from the ORIGINAL designer. Example: Friend goes on a trip to NY and comes back  with her purchase of Alexander Wang fringe wedges(they are beautiful), not even a week later, I walk past Forever 21 and what do I see? A cheap and exact copy of the wedges. WHO DO YOU THINK YOUR’E FOOLING XXI?? Sure Wang used real, quality leather while you on the other hand did the shoe an injustice and replicated it in pleather( the fringe doesn’t flow, it just sits there on its plastic throne), but the design is the exact same. The idea is the same! The reason people buy designer clothing is not just for the name or because of the price tag, but because they are  looking for quality, they are looking for originality, they are looking to stand out, to say ” I am educated, I am in the know”  In case you didn’t know, designers do not mass produce their items because they want them to be special, the designs are a part of a collection, a collection which represents a season, a mood, an idea, their inspiration for that particular collection.

Those of us “in the know” look at Forever 21, and other counterfeiters and well at least for me, I can say that I just laugh, because what else can you do. It’s a huge fucking inside joke, a joke being played on the consumers, those who don’t recognize the rip off and walk around proudly wearing their pleather “Alexander Wang” wedges from XXI. I can’t help but think, poor girl, if only she knew how cheap she looked,  if only she knew what the real deal was like. Or the girl wearing the XXI “Theory” dress with the cheap zipper and stiff cotton skirt, with the threads already beginning to fray. Innocent people being taken advantage of by the big retail bully. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Go ahead Mrs. Chang, keep playing the dumb card. Oh yeah and why don’t you get some respect for the country that has made you a dirty rich liar and learn to speak english instead of hiring a translator. Keep on spitting in our faces, rubbing it in… you’re too good? too rich? You don’t need to assimilate, you don’t need to communicate with the American’s who made you, you can just hire someone to do that for you huh? Oh and why don’t you pay your fellow immigrants fair wages to slave for you while you sit around in your comfortable air conditioned office picking out “pretty” clothes? ( see Made in L.A.) 

I stopped supporting this hypocrisy over a year ago, I strongly urge you all to do the same. Especially those of you who knowingly buy the knock offs (Tacky) 

Support individuality, support entrepeneurship, defend intellectual property. 

In short; Don’t Bite!

If you want a bargain, look to stores like Target, who collaborate with designers, shop vintage, or stop giving a fuck about being “fashionable” if you’re not willing to support designers. Or here’s a novel idea, save your money and buy the real deal!

 

Thanks for letting me rant

-LB