I was on the fence, like the rest of the fashion world, about buying designer knockoffs. After one chat with fairy-haired maven Michelle, from Wicked Whimsy, I decided to go for it. I’ve gotten my first knockoff.
I don’t feel bad about it either. See… A few bloggers feel really strongly on this point: I am ripping off McQueen if I own these shoes. Some go as far as to suggest knockoffs are as bad as counterfeits. The obvious problem with that argument is that you pay $50, expecting a knockoff, or you’ll pay full retail for those counterfeits you think are true Loubs. And what about designers who “remix” shoes. Loads of fashionable shoes smack of a re-styled design. Is taking the cage-style bootie to a new extreme TRULY ripping off the ORIGINAL designer? How far does intellectual property extend? Is that like saying that all these new designers are ripping off that very first guy who did harem, drop-crotch pants (a look I still don’t condone)?
All the contradictions and questions aside; I believe that through my knockoffs, I am giving McQueen press. Sure I bought a shoe that’s a mere shadow of the shoe he designed, but every time these bad babies are referenced, they’ll be the McQueen knockoffs. His name will always be tied to these shoes. How is that bad?
One thing Mister pointed out with the knockoffs is this: It makes the real thing so much more covet-able. It’s like finding the one diamond among all the other shoe-gems. There are knockoffs and then there are the prized real, original design. Yay! You found one and you have it. It makes owning an original so much more “status-worthy”.
People who buy the real thing are going to continue buying the real thing. They buy the luxury and status that price point affords. Unfortunately, and honestly – that person isn’t me. In fact, I think a lot of the fashion world is like me, and we wonder: “Why can’t we have the nice things too? And why are we not allowed that petit luxury in our price range?” These original designer goodies aren’t accessible to like (I’m thinking up a number here) … what, 75% of everyone out there?
As Poppy Gallico said:
That is a ridiculously class-ist, wealth-ist point of view. Yes, there are “poor” fashion bloggers who save up and buy designer pieces. But that still implies that either you are able to deal with financial emergencies if they arise, that is, that you still have “expendable” income to spend on designer items, or you are fiscally irresponsible.
… These women are constantly bombarded with the idea that you MUST be fashionable, look good, AT ALL COSTS, in order to be valuable in society/attractive to men/get a promotion/be a decent person, etc. And some women may feel pressured to follow latest fashions, and some women may just want and choose to, despite their limited budgets. In any case, I am talking about the women who would not be able to justify taking money to save out of the already-limited grocery budget each week, just to buy a pair of $800 shoes.
It doesn’t seem like a good business strategy to make something where the demand is high, but the supply is so far out of reach. I realize that I’m not spending the money in McQueen land, but I’m not ready to drop astronomical amounts of the good green stuff ($) on shoes. I have rent to pay, and a kitten to feed.
This brings around a good question: Why do people think that fashion should be unattainable under a certain dollar figure? Coming from a stance of pure economics, it seems like a designer would be better off making fashion attainable and you have to wonder – if this guy comes in, selling shoes at 10% of the original price, what are you REALLY paying for?
So I got them. I asked myself – how bad could it really be, and what do I expect out of a pair of lowly knockoffs? I was pleasantly surprised.
McQueen Knockoffs: Wet Seal
Sweater tights: Sockdreams
Blue baby cord skirt (with slip underneath): Deco Modiste
Grey thermal hoodie and boy’s suit vest: Thrifted
Black blazer: Arden B
Feather and Pearl necklace: H&M
Yellow Czech glass necklace: Gifted
They weren’t super uncomfortable, there wasn’t thread hanging out all over them. The heel didn’t pop off on the first wear. They felt nice, and I’m okay with calling them my McQueen knockoffs. I wish they were the Maddens, but you all know what happened when McQueen found out Madden had sort of… pirated the design.
I don’t think being fashion-forwards is only for the elite few who can afford to drop $700 on a pair of shoes. That said, I continue to save my pennies to buy ‘Vogs. Bloggers shouldn’t be judged for being able to remain stylish within their means. And let she who does not buy re-used, ONLY original designs cast the first stone.
Well, you know my thoughts on the subject, babe. I love how you paired them, and if they weren’t so patent, I might buy a pair myself. (Though, like you, I wish they were Maddens, too)
.-= Ashe MIschief´s last blog ..Thanksgiving at the Races! =-.
I am cool with knockoffs. NOT counterfeits. Knockoffs are all right for me
Unless I really really want it…. I am generally not interested in paying $500 – $1000 for one thing
.-= FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com´s last blog ..The Battle of the Sexes: How men cost women more money =-.
Ashe – and there you have it. The “better quality” shoes weren’t available. The Maddens were SO in my price point, but totally unavailable. What’s a girl to do?
FB – EXACTLY. Cool with knockoffs, but not with people being ripped off for counterfeits. (Also, I cannot WAIT to read that battle of the sexes post)
You know how I feel about it too, & I think the outfit you wore with them is adorable!
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Marvelous Monday! =-.
This is definitely a complex issue and one which I tend to change my opinions about on a case-by-case basis! But generally I think that a re-imagining of something that is unattainable to most people, and then selling it at a cheaper price, is what makes the fashion world go round. People will still want the real deal. When the big name houses rip off smaller designers (as in this instance: http://www.businessoffashion.com/2009/11/legal-patterns-on-fashion-copycats.html), then that’s really upsetting.
Those knock-offs you’ve got are great. You’re right, in a round-about way you’re giving McQueen publicity – imitation = flattery!
.-= Amelia M´s last blog ..Further Ado 2009 Gift Guide, Part 1 =-.
Those are FABULOUS shoes! I wouldn’t feel guilty buying a knock off (don’t hate, I’m not fashionista I don’t know what I’m talking about hahaha) how loaded is the designer anyway?! Loaded, I bet.
The whole outfit is fab doll face. I love your style x
Amelia – Good call! I wonder how many people would ask why it’s okay for smaller designers to rip off someone like McQueen, but not for McQueen to rip off smaller designers? That kind of makes you think.
And most everything in fashion IS re-imagined!
Katie – You are a doll and hi-larious (LOL! “I’m not Fashionista”). McQueen = loaded? Probably.
I completely agree and your outfit pairing is great. I’m sure you feel a lot more comfortable walking in those shoes knowing they didn’t cost you a car payment
.-= Cynthia @ TheStyleAficionado´s last blog ..DIY: Brooch and Corsage belt =-.
Cynthia – Totally true!
Ok, that outfit is straight up FIERCE.
.-= Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..By: How To Be unNormal « Through The Illusion =-.
That was great! I completely agree with you on this issue. Those shoes are gorgeous, knockoff or not.
.-= Caitie´s last blog ..LUXE FOR LESS: Shine On =-.
Thanks Caitie!
I can definitely see both sides of the argument, but my wallet makes me agree with you. =D
.-= Alicia´s last blog ..…it’s a LONG one… =-.
It seems like the fashion world has been goin’ round and round about this… I will buy what is accessible to me!
I definitely can’t afford designer. I understand the value of intellectual property so maybe someday when I’m not a bartending college student I’ll buy the real thing, but until then, its thrifting and knockoffs for me.
.-= Kate´s last blog ..Links a La Mode for the Beginning of the Christmas Season. =-.
That’s true Kate – one of the comments above noted that some larger designers swipe indie designs and so intellectual property IS a real force to be considered.
I hate counterfeits, but knock offs I don’t really mind so much. If I like a shoe style I will buy it if I can afford it and not think too much about it’s design provenance.
On a larger scale, however, I think it’s a shame that they are necessary. To me it shows a lack of creativity and feeds into the idea of “fashion” as needing to be wearing (or seen to be wearing) a designer label rather than interpreting a trend or having your own personal style.
.-= Retro Chick´s last blog ..Fashion Economics =-.
Thanks for the comment Retro Chick!
On a large scale, there is quite the lack of creativity in not interpreting a trend, but just snapping up what is “designer”. It is also a shame that designers don’t consider the accessibility of their creations, and leave them open to the wearer’s interpretation – after all, what is fashion, if it’s not something to be produced for a number of people to wear.
The knockoff issue is a complicated thing. All designers can be inspired by each other. I have no problem with someone taking an idea of the cage shoe and making it his/her own. On the other hand, something like this is just lame: http://wendybrandes.com/blog/2007/12/great-minds-think-alike-about-leaf/ This is even lamer: http://www.fabsugar.com/448968
As I’ve said before, copying is like porn. I know it when I see it. It’s not black or white.
One thing I AM definitely tired of though is that idea that people of all budgets are somehow ENTITLED to a particular look. I have to disagree with your friend Poppy here. I don’t see affordable designer looks on the list with “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I was alive for the ’80s, and I’ll tell you that back then we didn’t have Forever21 ripping off everyone from Anna Sui to Alexander McQueen for $20 a pop thanks to cheap overseas labor. People MADE UP THEIR OWN LOOKS. We wore OTHER STUFF or we PERSONALLY created our own versions of a designer style. I am not crying for anyone who can’t afford to a get a designer original. Hit eBay. Go to a thrift shop. Go without. Create your own trend. Look for a job that pays more money so you can get the real thing. Hell, back in the day I wore Ann Taylor and the Gap and felt fine about myself, thanks very much. When I could afford better things, I got them. That was something to be looked forward to and earned.
All of the above have nothing to do with you or your personal shoes, btw. I’m not mad at your shoes. Enjoy them. Look fierce in them. I’m just over that “I AM ENTITLED to the look that’s in Vogue” argument.
.-= WendyB´s last blog ..Making a Point =-.
As a designer, I strongly believe that fashion should be as democratic as possible, and if that includes knockoffs, let it be! I’m more keen to criticize overpriced designer goods, than a cheap copies.
Great response, Wendy! I don’t necessarily think I’m entitled to a specific look, per se, but if there’s something I want, where the original is OBVIOUSLY out of my price range, I’d like to see a suitable alternative that I can take, and make my own.
What I’m seeing in that Fabsugar post is that Madden does it ALL THE TIME, to EVERYBODY. Where the McQueen knockoffs are a one-off I found on a cheapo site, Steve Madden is CONSTANTLY copying designs from big designers from Louboutin to McQueen and that does seem a little … lazy? Shady? He’s blatantly taking people’s designs because he knows he’ll make dough.
The thing about fashion, though, is that it’s generally considered an accessible medium. The whole idea of creating something to be worn is that there will be quite a few of those somethings made, so that quite a few people can wear them. The idea of economics (in fashion) says that if someone like Forever21 is successful, it’s because they are doing something right in making a certain look accessible to many. Granted, they’re spawning a bevy of girls dressed in designer-looks with poorly made gear, who often don’t think for themselves when getting dressed, but don’t you think that if designers catered to a lower price point (even HALF of what they sell for now), knockoffs would seem irrelevant? They’d be more successful, and see more income.
I think Poppy’s point is SERIOUSLY valid. I think that idea that if we can’t afford it, we shouldn’t have the look is INCREDIBLY classist – she’s not saying anyone is entitled to it, necessarily, just that the idea is a very caste-system-way of looking at fashion. In that excerpt, she does point out that there are girls who will go for a look at ANY COST and that cost to them is the value of what the money they just spent would otherwise go to. There are girls who will spend 400 on a purse, and not have anything to eat for a month. Sometimes the cost discrimination in fashion really debilitates the medium.
And I wonder if the idea of create-your-own-look has spawned the very knockoff artists that people are so angry about – people who couldn’t afford, so they made something that resembled the look they wanted (as totally apparent with all the DIY-shoe-girls). I think the elitist cost discrimination designers have constantly used has only given rise to knockoff culture.
As we’ve discussed, the smaller the production run, the higher the prices are going to be for each item. Designers who are starting out aren’t going to be able to order the 100+ pieces in EACH style that is required to get a factory in Asia started on making inexpensive goods. That’s why people start out high-end. And then you create a brand, and then you don’t want to start churning out crap and ruin your brand name. You collaborate with H&M and let them produce the crap under your own name and everyone is happy.
Let me give you an example. A tiny silver piece that costs me $40 to do in the U.S. with my talented, ultra-high-end manufacturer, costs $4 in Thailand. In that case, I CAN afford to order 100 of them. That’s 100 of ONE style. But I can’t afford to order 100 of my 100 different styles. Therefore, I have a high-end line.
This is the classic small-business conundrum. You would get more orders if your prices were lower, but in order to lower your prices you need more orders.
.-= WendyB´s last blog ..Making a Point =-.
Oh that’s definitely true, Wendy – It’s a Catch-22 for business owners. Consumers often don’t realize the sheer capital it takes to start something like a clothing line – the man hours that go into production are staggering, but you have to sell those pieces to create capital.
What keeps someone like McQueen, though, from making more accessible goods? In a case like Deco Modiste – everything IS hand-produced, so the price points may seem high to some, but it’s a reflection on the labor and material that goes into the piece. However, Rachel from Vue Society noted in the book she just read (“Deluxe”) – Luxury brands do still have stuff made in China, and shoes, for example, will be soled in Italy so the designer can put a “Made in Italy” tag inside the label.
“The author then states… “I met some friends at the new Harvey Nichols store in Hong Kong and I passed through the handbag department. To my right on the shelf, sat the exact same bag I saw the Chinese girls making in the factory. It cost the brand $120 to produce. It was for sale at Harvey Nick’s for $1,200.”
http://www.vuesociety.com/2009/11/17/made-in-china-gasp/
They go on to mark that piece up for 10x what they paid to have it made. That’s a pretty good business strategy for your shareholders (while still considering your ad campaigns, marketing, shipping, etc). No product model in my Accounting book has shown that high a revenue on the production of an item. How often are your profits really THAT high? My Econ professor would ask: “And why is that bad?”
Designers are pricing people out of their goods. It seems like there’s a LOT of discriminatory pricing that happens in the designer world, but consumers need to realize what goes into those price points.
.-= Birdie´s last blog ..Wholestyle on the Web: Week of 12/04/2009 =-.
I see no problem with purchasing “knock-offs”, but like Retro Chick I think the problem lies with counterfeits. If something claims to be Louboutin and isn’t that is a problem. But Madden doing a similar shoe – why not? I cannot afford to purchase designer shoes and I am happy to wear my knock-offs (or mock-offs, as my site calls them).
Thanks for posting this.
http://www.mock-off.com
Wow. I was just thinking about his today, when I bought a pair of knock off brogues. I don’t have the money to spend $900 on a pair of shoes, so I spend $40 instead. They might not be the luxurious lamb leather I would have got if I spent $900, but they will last me until I get bored of them (Which most people do with shoes!)
Thanks so much for this super interesting blog post.
.-= Leah´s last blog ..So I’ll just go and eat worms… =-.
Thanks for your note, Leah! It’s about making the most of what you have… and finding pieces that you can integrate into your wardrobe and your wallet. Just remember, sometimes you DO get what you pay for.
Thanks for your note, Em! I like that you call them “mock-offs” – it makes it sound less… ripoff style, though I hear Madden hardly makes a shoe-design of his own.
Counterfeits are horrible – imagine paying full Loubie price, and finding out it’s not the real deal.
If it looks good, it doesnt matter <3
http://vivabonton.blogspot.com/
.-= Angel´s last blog ..Balmain 85% off! =-.
One of the reasons designer brands are desirable is due to all the marketing flung your way. They create that mirage, a patina of exclusivity or whatever lifestyle value that resonates with you. That costs money. A lot of money. Iow, the indirect reason you want it is because they spent so much on marketing -which of course, is reflected in the pricing.
Me personally, I don’t like knock offs and won’t produce them. Not to say I’m judgmental about it, there’s plenty of other service providers who will do them and not think twice about it. The problem I see in the industry now is decreasing innovation. It’s the smaller start ups who are copying bigger brands. They’re merely stylists these days.
.-= kathleen´s last blog ..Three reasons you’ll be knocked off pt. 1 =-.
Ok, So I know that this was written in 2009, but I’m just reading it now and really want to comment!
Your point of view on “knock-offs” is really incredibly articulated in this post and in the comments that follow. I completely understand where Wendy is coming from, I nearly went into IP law because I feel pretty strongly about artist rights but the price point of these items can be exorbitant and if you set the price bar this high up you can expect to breed knock-offs. MK said that he didn’t feel he made it until his bags started appearing on Canal street in NY’s Chinatown and while I don’t agree with counterfeits I do agree with his attitude. It’s not entitlement to want to wear something, dressing is about personal choices and taste and I think everyone should look the way they want to look and within their means.
That’s a great way to look at it Jamillah! Thanks for the comment!