Fashion Copycat yo by Amberr Espaguetis

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Coco Chanel is famous for a number of things; one of them is her famed quote, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” While the legendary designer’s underlying sentiment is accurate in theory, in practice it is not quite as simple, and with the rise of fast fashion retailers, copying appears to be at an all time high. Since a large amount of copying is completely legal in the U.S. (due to the way American intellectual property laws are framed), we do not see too many lawsuits when such copies are offered for sale. However, designers and fashion websites, alike, are not shy to call “Copy!” when the replication is egregious enough.

Chloe x Topshop Louis Vuitton x Zara Rick Owens x Zara (from top to bottom/ left to right) 2

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

FAST FASHION 1. Workers in textile factories overseas

3. How can clothing be polluting the

can make as little as $10 per month.

environment? A variety of chemicals like

Trendy items with lots of beads and

lead, formaldehyde, pesticides, and

embroidery means more labor involved

carcinogens are woven into the fabrics we put on our bodies; run-off from factories

for these individuals, most likely

leaches back into the earth, in increasing

children, but not more compensation for

amounts as demand rises (H&M increased

their craft and work.

its sales in the U.S. by $2 billion since 2000, whereas Gap’s fell roughly the same amount

2. Fashion is the 2nd most polluting

in the same time period), and long-term

industry in the world. What’s #1? Oil.

exposure can lead to health problems like

Think about it.

infertility among female workers.

Wednesday, 24 April 2013 Savar building collapse. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,130. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the building alive.It is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history.

4. Also: fast fashion is designed to be replaced quickly, not so much by desire but by need. Clothing literally falls apart, meaning that it must be discarded rather than donated or sold to consignment shops. The volume of textile waste is staggering– Americans toss 68 pounds of clothes per year on average–and with that weight comes those nasty chemicals, which decompose at an even slower rate if at all.

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"I was in the Rana Plaza garment factory when it collapsed." My name is Nazma Akhtar. I'm 23. When I was 19 I left my village and made my way to Dhaka to work in a garment factory. I came to Dhaka with my parents and two younger sisters. We had to leave because the river Dhaleshwari took most of our rice fields and my father couldn't grow enough rice to get us through the year. I started work at the Ananta fashions garment factory in Savar about 15 miles north of Dhaka. My starting pay was 2,500 taka (ÂŁ 20). My father worked as a night guard at another factory. Together we rented a small, two-room house in Savar bazaar, down the road from the factory. I had to work more than 10 hours a day, six days a week. Sometimes, we had to work on our days off, if there was an important shipment to be made. I was new and it took me a while to get to know how the circular knitting machines worked. The supervisors drove us hard. We were given targets for the day and if we hadn't completed our quota, we would not be allowed to rise from our benches. There was a line supervisor named Samad who used to abuse me when I made a mistake. He threatened to dock pay if I missed a stitch. Once I had diarrhoea and had to go to the toilet several times. He threatened to slap me. In December 2012, I joined the Phantom Tac garment factory on the fourth floor of the Rana Plaza building in Savar. There my wages improved. I was good at my job, and nimble with my fingers and feet. I worked long hours, but enjoyed the company of all the other girls who worked at the factory. We were like sisters. I always liked the look and smell of finished clothes. I didn't know which companies we were producing for, but I knew the clothes I sewed would be sold in fancy shops in Europe and America. On 23 April, we were working as usual when the factory manager asked us to come out. He said an engineer would inspect the building and we were being sent home. We didn't know at the time that a crack had developed in the wall of the building. But when I went to work the next morning, everyone was talking about it.

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I went to our floor supervisor and asked him for a day off, but he refused and started yelling at me. We had to keep working, he told me. If we missed our deadline, the buyer would cancel the order and we would have to go hungry, he said. Then, Sohel Rana, the owner of the building turned up. Rana's men shouted that all the workers should go inside and start working. Otherwise, we would be beaten with sticks, they said. We went inside and sat down at our benches. The whole floor was silent. We were filled with a strange fear. I sewed about five T-shirts, then the power went out. I heard the generators start up with a roar and suddenly the whole building started to shake. Plaster fell from the ceiling. People started screaming.We ran for the exit. But before I could reach the stairs, the floor collapsed under me. I fell and fell. I lost consciousness. When I came to, I was in hospital. I heard that fire service rescue workers had pulled me out after eight hours. My right leg is broken. Many of my friends and co-workers are dead.

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How do you make conscious decisions when you shop?

Shopping in a fast fashion store can be intoxicating. Making the fast fashion products can beâ&#x20AC;Ś toxic.

Gucci x Zara CĂŠline x Topshop 8

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(from top to bottom/ left to right)

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ZARA A while ago Zara already launched a sweater looking a lot like Acne’s (left), this time it’s even closer. You have it all, black and white, gold, “Studio” and even somekind of an adress..

ACNE STUDIO

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ASOS Was it such a good idea that they should be copied.. ? :)

Charlotte Olympia

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Chloe x Asos Prada x Mango 12

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(from top to bottom/ left to right)

Celine

H&M

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As New York Fashion Week approaches, there's no reason to cry your eyes out over missing your favorite runway shows. Feeling the latest Chanel? You'll be able to snatch up a knockoff online within days of the show â&#x20AC;&#x201D; before the originals even hit brick and mortar stores, before the real Karl Lagerfeld has even had a chance to take off his gloves.

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FASHION

DO'S FOR SURE Buy clothes made with sustainable fibers (recycled polyester, organic cotton). Ask the brands you buy from how their clothes are made—tweet at them or ask retailers when you are in stores about where, how, and who makes their clothing. Recycle clothes at thrift stores, vintage stores, or donation locations. Participate in clothing-swap meet-ups— it’s fun. Buy what you need, not always what you want. Participate in “slow fashion.” Buy clothes you love, that last, and that have an exceptional warranty policy to help you mend them over time. Wash your jeans less.

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"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different." - Coco Chanel

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Work cited Siegle, Lucy. "Ethical Shopping: How the High Street Fashion Stores Rate | Lucy Siegle." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17 May 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. "4 Facts You Need to Know about Fast Fashion." Peaceful Dumpling. N.p., 23 June 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. Herzfield, Oliver. "Protecting Fashion Designs." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 3 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. Maxwell, Kelly. "The True Price of Fast Fashion." The True Price of Fast Fashion. Bust, Apr. 2014. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.

edited by Amber Wang

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