If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then independent designers should be quite pleased with how they’re treated by big-name brands. With the ever-growing reach of social media, huge labels and celebrity owned brands are called out for their “originality” more than ever. From the backlash facing Bella Thorne’s recent eyeshadow palette and its similarity to indie brand Juvia, to the shocking resemblance between Fashion Nova’s cropped hoodie and that of indie brand Kloset Envy, brands just don’t seem to be able to stop copying each other.
New accusations came in the midst of this year’s New York Fashion Week. Creative Director Jeremy Scott unveiled his latest collection for Moschino Spring/Summer ’19 with the help of supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid. It immediately received rave reviews.
However, it wasn’t long before the Internet noticed something off. They’ve seen these designs before – from influencer and designer Edda Gimnes. In an Instagram post, Gimnes shared her thoughts on the situation along with side-by-side photos of her original designs next to the Moschino show.
Gimnes claims that long before this runway show took place, she shared her designs in a meeting with Moschino with hopes that she could work with them. Despite noticeable similarities, Edda Gimnes received no credit or compensation. On the contrary, Jeremy Scott and Moschino have fired back saying her designs were not used as inspiration for the collection at all!
In a couple of now-deleted Instagram posts captured by Twitter users @diorelegent and @kasandra_alexis, Scott claims that Gimnes is wrong in her accusations.
moschino via instagram story regarding accusations about last collection: pic.twitter.com/SkZzzGxRlV
— donna (@donnnnatella) September 22, 2018
Jeremy Scott responded. pic.twitter.com/XawsWawYOE
— 🪩🦂✨❤️🔥 (@kasandra_alexis) September 22, 2018
The brand followed up with an official statement posted by Paper: “Trompe-l’œil (or “trick of the eye” is a design quality in which painted objects appear three dimensional – a key part of both the Moschino collection and Edda Gimnes designs) has been a long-standing motif embedded in the Moschino DNA. Jeremy Scott’s eponymous line has also depicted sketches and doodles in collections far pre-dating this one. He continues to pay homage to Franco Moschino and was inspired by the conceptualization of a designer’s ideas coming to life on the runway in ‘incomplete forms’ ranging from the sketching and design process to the tailoring, pinning, and bolts of fabric choices draped on model forms. This collection was Jeremy’s love letter to fashion and it his and the brand’s greatest wish that it inspires future generations of young creatives to color our world with their dreams too.”
What do you think? Is this purely a coincidence or did Moschino rip off their designs from an up-and-coming designer? Let us know!