In the realm of fashion design, the debate surrounding plagiarism really just boils down to creative inspiration versus imitation.
The precariously fuzzy line between such inspiration and chaapa (imitation) has recently come into the limelight, with the focus largely on Pakistan’s hottest selling lawn duo, Sana Safinaz. As pointed out by one fashion blogger on aamiriat.wordpress.com, one design from the fashion house’s Spring Summer 2013 lawn collection is a replica of a Spanish clothing line’s motif.
Aamir Bukhari, a 25-year-old fashion blogger, has pointed out that the designer duo’s lawn prints (marked 11A and 11B in this year’s beautifully shot catalogue) have mimicked a Zara design. He writes, “The design in question is [Spanish brand] Zara’s silk wide leg pants from last year’s collection. In Sana Safinaz’s version, the exact same design motif is used on the front of the shirt piece. Although the silk pants [are] retailed for around $90, this printed fabric retails for around $57.”
A careful examination of the Zara pants and the Sana Safinaz lawn suit in question will show you that the motif is indeed quite similar, the only difference being that the pants have used it as a print and SS have included it as an embroidered panel.
When asked about this evident duplication of the Zara design, Safinaz Muneer did not shy away from accepting the truth. “Designers get inspired by [other] designers all the time,” she said frankly. “From books to catalogues, [they are inspired] all the time. So yes, we saw these Zara silk printed pants and were inspired. Our respective designs bear embroidery which is similar to that.” We must give credit to Safinaz for being so direct, but are positively amused that the very same designer had once complained about the copying of SS designs by local textile mills to freelance journalist Maliha Rehman in an interview for Instep.
“They may be able to copy our work for now,” Safinaz had said in 2011. “But soon, we’ll have innovated and moved on to something new. Then, with no genuine talent to make them go ahead, they’ll be left with the old designs.” The quirk of fate is unmissable, especially since an SS design had reportedly inspired a Valentino design the same year, an incident the designer duo had celebrated as “a flow of fashion from east to west”. Safinaz had also clarified that the Valentino design “looks inspired by the east but is definitely not a copy”.
While the subject has again become hot with the Zara-SS hullaballoo, it is unfair to single them out. In a blog entry last year, Bukhari pointed out that other big names help themselves to designs from Western brands too. According to him, Origins’ ready-to-wear collection 2012 was lifted from Chanel’s Bombay Collection showcased in December 2011; Gul Ahmed paid “not-so-subtle homage” to the famous YSL Piet Mondrian day dress from 1965; and Khaadi has imitated the signature pattern of Italian brand Missoni. While the Gul Ahmed and Khaadi allegations made by Bukhari are quite a stretch — since versions of Mondrian’s grid-based painting designs can be found on everything from table mats to earrings; and Khaadi’s print is different to Missoni’s — the similarity between Origins’ design and the Chanel collection is apparent. In the same post, Bukhari also drew attention to one of Sana Safinaz’s lawn prints from last year, which was quite similar to a runway design from Emilio Pucci’s 2011 Spring/Summer collection.
“Established designer brands shouldn’t slack off like this — they should hire a better design team,” the blogger says, adding that he is not on a campaign against anyone. “It hurts me that they are charging so much for copied designs, and then have the audacity to put copyright disclaimers on their catalogues.”
From Ghausia Market in Karachi to Liberty in Lahore, there are a dime a dozen kaarigars tirelessly replicating the designs found in local catalogues; SS copied one single pattern and used it to make a beautiful lawn jora. Does it really matter?
When we asked the gurus of fashion, perspectives varied. “Even Zara’s print is inspired by ancient motifs,” says fashion writer Aamna Haider Isani. “This comparison just shows that Sana Safinaz are inspired by Zara. I don’t think it is a big deal at all. Plus, the international Schumer Bill for protection of intellectual content in fashion clearly states that colours and motifs cannot be patented.” Maheen Khan agrees. “Cutting-edge designs parading down a fashion runway in Paris or New York are digitally photographed and emailed off to design houses where they are reverse engineered and then mass produced at a discounted rate for the general public,” she says. Fashion journalist Zurain Imam points out that it is interesting that SS have issues with their work being copied, but have now done the same. However, he adds that “fashion is basically functional, so there should be no issues as such.”
Verdict: Have Sana Safinaz used a Zara motif in their lawn? Yes. Do consumers care? No (their lawn is selling faster than you can spell Zara). Does this undermine their reputation of being one of the most forward-thinking and creative design houses in the country? That’s really up to you.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2013.
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