Inimitable Intricacy
Last month, Counterfeit Chic noted that -- in the absence of U.S. legal protections -- some designers manage to evade mass copyists by creating looks that are too difficult or too expensive to imitate.
Now Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan at the Wall Street Journal reports that the technique has become a trend, with this season's creative tailoring and luxurious fabrics posing a challenge to would-be knockoff artists. Deliberate diversion or bonus by-product? Apparently there's stylish strategy at work:
Graeme Black, who recently stepped down as chief designer of womenswear at Ferragamo to focus on an eponymous line, says part of his goal in creating cocoon-shaped coats and jackets with draped collars and puffy sleeves for both labels was to set them apart from mass-market styles.
How do these differences translate to actual garments? The WSJ asked an expert, who noted that while this season's celebrated leg-o'-mutton sleeve at Lanvin (left) relies on quality fabric and careful stitching to maintain volume and symmetry, the loosely woven fabric and pintucks on a similarly shaped sleeve from H&M (right) result in a limp look.
In other words, sometimes you get what you pay for.
P.S. Thanks to Chris Hoofnagle -- who has a very long memory for scholarly interests -- for the tip!
