Maybe you personally don’t care that someone is making money off of your design, without your permission. Maybe you’re just happy someone noticed your work. However, most people are upset by this, and want more than to only be noticed. Especially given the time and money spent developing this design they were hoping to work towards supporting them financially, their livelihood. Instead it is being used by a larger and/or more known business that is making more money off of it than you are because it is more well-known. No one is buying your more expensive design, the one that is designed by you in the first place, but they are buying the more inexpensive design on a t-shirt from this well-known company. Maybe you don’t care about that. Then again, maybe you do.

If you do, you are not alone. This is a situation that is happening regularly in today’s fashion industry. It is a battle of plagiarism in clothing design, a mostly virtual battle of who has the right to use a structural and/or print design and who does not. Conflicts of this type is occurring not only in the U.S., but in countries around the world including Europe, Japan, Vietnam, and more.

 

One such instance involved Isabel Marant and the indigenous people of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. In an Isabel Marant spring-summer 2015 collection, a blouse being sold was a cause of frustration to the peoples of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca. The blouse resembles very closely if not exactly cultural, historic design, which becomes especially noticeable when paired side by side. In its place of origin, the “huipil” sells for 300 pesos ($16.335 US dollars), while Isabel Marant’s shirt sells for 4,500 Mexican pesos ($245.013 US dollars). (6) (8)

 

Walford’s blog is just one of the many written works of his displayed for the public. His audience are those who are interested in fashion, history as it pertains to fashion in particular. His blog displays his opinion, but still comes across as a formal, professional, well-informed read. The blog includes many articles that seem to be of valuable, accurate information, his opinions aside. The posts all seem to be very well written, with moments that encourage a chuckle out of the reader. His posts certainly hold life and character, keeping the more serious and/or factual and historical information interactive and interesting. Walford’s writing on plagiarism in cultural fashion plagiarism greatly helped me in my developing my assignment. The KTZ Shaming Page on Facebook’s information was of great help to me as I had wanted to include in my research places where fashion “battles” on social media are taking place, and that page is yet another actual, real, example I came across in my research.