Diet Prada Is The Instagram Account Calling Out Copycat Culture In Fashion
Who owns an idea? Well, it depends on who you ask. As a visually-led industry that trickles down from the top, discussion about intellectual property theft and copying in fashion can tread us through some uncomfortable waters. On the other hand, a creative process that’s limited to insert-trend-copy-and-paste is a nail in the coffin for an original design. In the past 12 months alone, serial offender Gucci has been accused of stealing alien designs, snake logos, tiger motifs and a jacket design from Dapper Dan. Is it fair that Gucci has also been one of the most hyped brands of the year with an equally huge boost in revenue and profits? While theft in fashion is not a new concept, access to decades of online archives has allowed some eagle-eyed fashionheads to call out this copycat culture and hold idea-thieves accountable. Diet Prada began in 2014 as an anonymous Instagram account publicizing these instances and engendering a much-needed debate from their followers about where we draw the line. With originals on the left and the accused plagiarist on the right, Diet Prada is the online authority on who’s ripping off who. The freefall discourse that lives in internet comment sections has people making cases for both sides, and it’s seen Rihanna’s core fanbase turn ugly when Diet Prada noticed a very sus similarity in some art direction for Fenty Beauty. Read more at Highsnobiety.
