Counterfeit, knockoff or inspired?

I just wanted to do a quick post to clarify the difference between counterfeit, knockoff and inspired products; and why inspired items are fantastic!

Counterfeit

This is the worst category. A counterfeit good is an exact imitation of a designer good, where the manufacturer intends to deceive or defraud the consumer usually by using the designer brand's registered trademark or logo. The most commonly counterfeited items are handbags.

Counterfeit goods are not difficult to find, especially online. Simply google 'louis vuitton' or 'louboutin' and hundreds of websites will be listed that sell counterfeit goods. The web addresses are often misleading also, such as 'christianlouboutinoutletuk' and 'louisvuittonoutlettoday'.

Knockoff

A knockoff good is an exact or very similar imitation of a designer good. Such goods do not intend to deceive the consumer, however, they may confuse them in to thinking an item is designer.

So why are knockoffs bad?

Knockoffs are unoriginal and dull! Knockoff retailers argue that they make affordable items for consumers who can not afford designer goods. Consumers that purchase such items usually fall in to one of two groups - those who don't realise that the item is a knockoff of a designer brand; and those who do realise that the item is a knockoff and purchase the item for that specific reason.

As an example, Mary Katranzou's S/S '12 collection was universally applauded by the fashion world for its innovation and creativity. As a result, many strikingly similar designs appeared on the high-street.

 

Clockwise from top left: Mary Katrantzou S/S '12, Katrantzou S/S '12, Lipsy, Denise Van Outen in Love

What I find most frustrating about these knockoffs is that Mary Katrantzou is a British designer, and both Lipsy and Love are British brands. Love and Lipsy should be celebrating and supporting up-and-coming British designers, not ripping off their designs!

Inspired

Inspired items are by far the best!

My definition of inspired items is that high street designers see what the designer brands have shown for the coming season, and think to themselves 'That's an interesting idea, how can we interpret that to give our customers an affordable alternative that is also creatively exciting?' 

Sticking with the Mary Katrantzou theme, a good example of this was H&M's take on Mary's magical S/S '12 collection.

Left: Mary Katrantzou S/S '12. Right: H&M Trend S/S '12

H&M Trend S/S '12

How do you feel about counterfeit, knockoff and inspired designs? Can you spot a knockoff straight away?

Much love, Bemsy x

Does Louboutin own the rights to the red sole?

Christian Louboutin Isolde sandals. Photo courtesy of Net-a-Porter

What do you think when you see a a red-soled shoe? My guess would be that 99.99% of you would answer - 'Bitch! She can afford Christian Louboutin heels!'

YSL Tribtoo suede pumps. Photo courtesy of Net-a-Porter

However, a battle over the red sole has been dragging on between YSL and Louboutin. YSL argue that Louboutin does not own any trademark rights to the red sole, and that preventing designers from using the China Red colour on the soles of their shoes hampers their creativity. Louboutin, on the other hand, staunchly defends its current registered trademark, stating that the red sole is a brand identifier.

I am absolutely in favour of Louboutin. They only own the exclusive right to the specific colour of red seen on their soles. Moreover, I have noticed so many bloggers commenting that the red soles of their cheap shoes are 'so Louboutin' or 'Louboutin-y'. Those who know fashion know what the red sole means.

Tribeca Lola boots. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Shoes

One such cheap shoe retailer is Tribeca shoes. Many of their shoes feature a red sole. I contacted them for a comment. They argue that:

"Christian Louboutin have lost several court cases trying to uphold their trademark on their red soles which we totally agree with as trademarking a colour on a shoe is not fair. And again we are merely retailing these items and not responsible for choosing the colour of the sole or copying any designs."

My response to their argument is - why red? If the colour of the sole is a matter of creativity, why not make it blue or green or dark purple? I think this is a clear flaw in the argument that the red sole is not a brand identifier.

(On a side note, two out of the three Judges deciding the outcome of this case have no clue about fashion. But I'm not going to get in to that just now, as it's a whole other discussion!)

What do you think?

Much love, Bemsy x

When in Rome...

You might remember that while I was in France, the French police uncovered a ring of  Hermes counterfeiters.

Bizarrely, while I was in Rome a similar thing happened - police in Milan seized over 40,000 counterfeit goods! Incredible, don't you think? The items, discovered in Chinatown, included Burberry and Louis Vuitton scarves, as well as various other accessories.

It just goes to show, both designers and law enforcement are deadly serious about clamping down on the sale of counterfeit goods.

Bemsy x

Travel Essentials #3 - Rome, Italy

Rome Essentials by emmatje

I'm going on a little jaunt to Rome with my mum and brother at the weekend. I'll be there for 3 full days, so I won't need to pack a lot. These are my essentials...

1. Dresses - I'm taking these 2 maxi dresses so I don't have to worry about covering up in the churches, etc. I'll bring the blue floral dress for an evening out, and perhaps another shorter dress for the evening.

2. Sandals - 1 pair of flat sandals as they are so comfy for walking around in all day. Then 1 pair of simple heeled sandals for the evening.

3. Cardigans - thin knitted cardigans will be perfect for covering up, day or night.

4. Handbag essentials - Sunglasses, of course; my camera for capturing the sights; a guidebook so we can make the most of our trip; and my kindle to relax with in the hotel bar after a day of sightseeing.

5. Handbag - I'm going to take an across body bag so that I don't have to worry about someone grabbing my bag while I'm gawping at the architecture. A simple suede bag will take me from day to night.

6. Accessories - as I will be keeping my outfits simple, I will make the most of being able to wear lots of lovely jewellery and hair accessories. 

Have you been to Rome?

Much love, Bemsy x

Naughty Romwe

Now don't get me wrong, I love Romwe. They have a lot of great items, and the fact that they stock new items daily is a great help when it comes to procrastinating.

There are, however, some items that I just can't bear to look at, let alone see other bloggers wearing, and these are the blatant copies of designer logos.

These examples clearly show the use of Chanel and YSL's logotypes. In my opinion, they dilute the brands and clearly infringe trademark laws, and I think it's a real shame that many well-known bloggers have bought these items. It perplexes me that bloggers are encouraging their readers to buy such items, which benefit Romwe and only succeed in harming the established brands. An alternative would perhaps be to show readers how easy it is to make your own DIY t-shirt if readers cannot afford the real thing. If you don't make money out of your DIY, and neither does Romwe, then surely this is the way forward?

I have contacted Romwe about these items, and while they were grateful for my concern, they did not remove them from their website. While the efforts of Chanel's legal team is currently focused on counterfeit handbags from China and Vietnam, how long will it be before they start clamping down on sites like Romwe?

What is your opinion on this issue?

Much love, Bemsy x

Girl Crush #2 - Daisy Lowe

Daisy, what a babe. Her rock chick style always seems to have a chic edge.

The oversized leather jacket perfectly complements the teeny tiny girly patterned dress.

Festival chic. A cute girly dress is toned down with leather ankle boots. Love her slightly disheveled look here.

Wow does she clean up good! Perfectly chic, with a hint of her rock chic style in her messy hair.

A perfectly relaxed yet stylish outfit, thanks to the cute jacket. 

So simple yet perfect. 

Here's how to recreate Daisy's style. I've tried to keep the items as affordable as possible.

Girl Crush #2 - Daisy Lowe by emmatje featuring a green dress

Much love, Bemsy x

Big win for MAC & Estee Lauder

MAC cosmetics, part of the Estee Lauder family, brought a case against a ring of cybersquatters and was recently awarded $90 million in damages by a New York court. The Chinese defendants were operating out of 112 websites and sold counterfeit MAC products.

As the defendants never responded to MAC's complaint, the residing Judge ordered that any funds in their PayPal accounts should be paid to MAC.

While this is certainly a big win for MAC, in my opinion the best outcome of this case is that the Judge ordered a permanent injunction to prevent the defendants from operating through these websites, and to stop any third-parties from providing services to the defendants in the future, such as search engines and  payment processing companies.

Not only has MAC succeeded in protecting their brand, but they have also taken a big step in protecting consumers, as fake cosmetics are not subject to the stringent tests that ensure they are safe for the skin.

Have you ever bought fake cosmetics? Would you?

Much love, Bemsy x