(shirts in top row are Forever21 bottom row is Trovata)The fashion sites are all abuzz about Trovata’s lawsuit against Forever 21 for copyright infringement. Now let me say this copying off someone’s paper in class, stealing from the store is wrong, but the essence of most fashion is “the trend” we tend to see many top name designers with similar looks for a season in different fabrications i.e. The Harem Pant, Big Shoulder Pads, Leggings, Ripped Jeans etc. In the case of Trovata and Forever 21 well the picture is worth a thousand words, and as much as I want to slap Forever 21 for straight up knocking a look off on the hand I just can’t. While there may be a moral issue here and Forever 21 is clearly in the wrong in that reagard legally I think they are home free. The copyright laws are clear they protect orginal prints and graphics ( so you t-shirt designers please have rights!).It’s also clear there is nothing orginal about various striped fabrics or mismatched buttons ( it's been done!). What's really making me angry and is just as bad as Forever 21 "stealing" a look is how designer companies like Trovata steal from the consumer. IT'S THE SAME MATERIAL people! I'm unwilling to accept the arguement that some people use to defend design houses "they don't use sweat shops" or "they pay a fair living wage" ( the fact is a lot of more exspensive brands do use sweatshops) because companies like American Apparel don’t use sweatshops and have living wages and do so without marking up the price of a product 500%.
photo cred:Courtesy Photo
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