Friday, April 27, 2012

Dip dye jeans: Overseas designers being inspired by each other

If you have been following my posts (you HAVE been following my posts, haven't you?), you would remember how much I dislike copying (or the "inspired by" concept). 

I have grown to accept it at the "fast fashion" level - but when a designer is inspired by another designer, it get to me. 

I am not talking about how every season trends emerge and many designers show similar themes. After all, everything starts with the fabric mills & most designers are using similar mills, so there have to be some similarities (aka: trends). 

Nor am I talking about a designer looking though their archives and being inspired by the house's earlier work.

What I am talking about is when a designer does something unique in their collection and that unique aspect is copied by another designer a few seasons later.

Witness:

Dries Van Noten - Womens SS 2011




The ombre jean - a white jean that is dip dyed a blue denim color at the hips & above.

Now this trend didnt take off in a huge way on the high street - a bit, but not much.

I saw it more frequently at the various fashion weeks.....








and again.....






Dries also did it in sleeves of jackets .....



at fashion week with an Hermes agenda....TDF....







So all is fine with the world, until now, when I saw a Saks 5th Avenue promotion for:

3.1 Phillip Lim mens pants for SS 2012.

Witness:


Yes, different, but same & produced with sufficient time after Dries so that we know whose design came first.

Phillip Lim's provided the following information about the pants:

"They start out as simple ivory cotton trousers with a tab waist, but Lim dip-dyes them to create an ombré effect that begins blow the knees and gradations to solid black. Lim took inspiration for the collection from California’s skateboarding culture. It’s not a far cry from his Huntington Beach upbringing." 

They are AU228 on the Saks site.

He even has a matching ombre shirt....
This is AU228 on the Saks site.



This annoys me and so this post was to vent some stream.  ggggrrrr.

Val not a happy camper.



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