Trickle down design British favorite ASOS has created a shoulder bag which looks strikingly similar to a combination of Alexander Wang creations. It appears that the warehouse utility bag is a mashup of Wang’s Donna hobo and the Brenda cross body.
The ASOS creation is $52 CA; a reasonable price for a reasonable inspiration piece.
Oh dear… it appears that Diesel has totally ripped off charity driven label TOM’S Shoes’ signature loafer design. It’s not the design thievery that bothers (that happens so often); it’s that shoes are being taken away from poor kids who are running around barefoot [learn about TOM' One for One program].
Diesel, I like you guys but you’ve made a massive faux pas – how about you guys donate a pair to needy North American kids for each pair you’ve sold thus far? I think that would help wipe the karma slate clean.
Oh, the battle of the imitators! This time it’s between UK label Oasis and Italian timepiece purveyor Toywatch.
As you can see, Oasis’ new criteo timepiece looks remarkably similar to Toywatch’s Plutonium Pink design. The wrist straps are nearly identical, after all – at least Oasis had the decency to admit on their sell page that this is an ‘inspired by designer’ item.
The Oasis version is [approx] $30CA while the Toywatch design is $199 – most will likely figure the price difference isn’t wide enough to warrant settling for an imitation.
As with all ultra rad boots, we always turn back to the oldie-but-goodies. In this case, this points us to the Jeffrey Campbell’s Potion boots – these were introduced last summer as a branch off the Chloë Sevigny x Opening Ceremony buckle boots, and are now being compared to Ann Demeulemeester’s.
Both boots follow the open toed, multi buckle look with a wedge heel. Designer details aside, the only highly visible difference is the shaft height and the price – at $924 less than the Demeulemeester pair. While it’s obvious that one can’t outright compare the two, if you’re looking for this look without breaking your budget, JC has you covered.
It’s time to play spot the difference!
Both of these boots have stacked wooden heels, tan leather artificially soiled, are ankle length and have matching tan laces. The biggest difference between the two is their price; the boot on the left is Nine West’s Elation, $200, while the boot on the right is N.D.C.’s Sunday Boot, $600.
For not a lot of design difference, you get a stellar boot that will actually hold the test of time (I have this pair, trust me when I say they’re hardy), for $400 less. While the Elation is currently sold out online, I would call your nearest Nine West location to see if they have any pairs in store.
…I think I know where the smart shoppers are heading.
If you think these are the Acne Bellvilles, think again – Jeffrey Campbell has done a clone of the oh-so-beautiful bootie.
The JC Switchblade is $135, and features the same cutout wooden heel, hidden platform and is [of course] made from leather.
These babies are available at Alter Brooklyn; they don’t have an online shop but do have details to order over the phone or text message.
It’s sale time at Oasis, which means it’s time to sift through the deals. For North Americans unaware of the treasure hunt that is Oasis, think it as Topshop‘s younger cousin; the store isn’t as hyped, but you will find some excellent pieces within it. All prices noted before promo code addition.
demiCouture picks include the color block leather jacket ($124), stud power shoulder leather dress ($215), drape front leather jacket ($215), spot sequin skirt ($17), and the Rosalind prom dress ($46).
Remember to use promo code “2010GIFT” to get 20% off your entire order!
We may have once thought that the Jeffrey Campbell Potion or Photo boots were the closest we could get to the Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony originals, but we were wrong.
Behold the Genius – it is a Western inspired buckle boot nearly identical to the Sevigny original. Unlike anything you find at Opening Ceremony, this boot isn’t scarily priced; the Genius tallies in at $170 US.
Jeffrey Campbell has also released a brown and khaki green version; perfect for the very service friendly trends of SS10.
The boots by Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony were towering suede pieces of awesome, but for those who cannot manage the stiff fee or don’t wish totter on high wedges, Topshop has released a lower version.
Topshop’s NATE sandals ($90) feature very similar Western buckles, are open toed style and are made out of suede. The only difference (discounting heel height) is a heel cutout – make sure your feets are in top-top showing shape!
If you missed out on Topshop x Christopher Kane’s leggings and love the mesh and eyelet style, you have another option at Forever 21.
F21 has just released these leggings; they feature multiple eyelets up the leg line from ankle to waist, and run at $24. While you cannot compare the two at quality or design levels [detail], this is a decent layering piece, especially for the price.
Consider these F21 leggings as less of a statement piece than the Topshop x Kane ones, wear something loud and aggressive over top, and you’ll be in the visual clear.
Topshop is definitely earing their title as overlords of trickle down design!
Topshop has recently identified that they have made a non-animal print reproduction of the recent ASHISH platform peep toe wedges. They are selling their black version for just over 1/2 the price of the ASHISH pair, wish comes out at $170 US.
This may sound sick, but I would love these wedges in a dusty rose – come on, Topshop.. let’s have it!
It may be creeping up to a year since these were originally released, but Urban Outfitters has released a knock off version of Hunter x Jimmy Choo’s much loved croc print rain boots.
These are [of course] quite decently priced for Urban Outfitters at $38, though considering the whole thing is a rubber mold we’re all still being taken for a ride.
Either way, these wellies are $402 less than the Hunter x Choo versions.
How could this not have been seen as an outright duplicate, one will never know.
To the left is Dana Veraldi‘s Agyness Deyn illustration tshirt design from last summer, which appears to have blatantly ripped of House of Holland’s 2008 Flower Power collection of naked models and celebs. The illustrations are strikingly similar, and are featured on nearly identical white crew neck t-shirts – I call fraud on this one.
Lacee Swan is being toted as an illustration ‘it’ girl, which makes little sense considering the images she is creating appear to be anything but truly unique.
If I were Henry Holland, I’d be mighty pissed.
UPDATE:
I mistook Lacee Swan’s sketches with Dana Veraldi’s on a Nylon article, which was admittedly read by me much to quickly. This article has been updated.
My bad!
Be & D is an exceptional luxury brand which features a riding style strap of spikes on nearly every piece of footwear from their FW09 collection. The Be & D Memphis is on at Bluefly for $636, but if you’re looking for something a little downmarket to that price then check out Steve Madden’s COLURS.
The COLURS are a heavy duty leather motorcycle boot featuring a similar strap of embellishment, all for $199. They come in both black and brown leather, though I personally recommend the black version.
They’re new, hot, come in sizes 6 – 11, and unlike Aldo fit true to size.
The Sam Edelman Zoe boots have been out for a while now, and I’ve been seeing a scarily scare amount of references to Balenciaga. Lest we forget, Nicholas Ghesquière at Balenciaga designed the original masterpieces; we can marvel and rave about the Edelmans for all their qualities, but they aren’t original.
Let’s all take a moment for trickle down design, and appreciate Ghesquière’s creative genius.
With the recent torture of Balmain at The Outnet for [up to] 85% off and still largely unattainable, it’s time for a little nugget of good news.
Aldo has recently released the COUSEY; it’s a zippered ankle boot in the style of Balmain’s design. This design is made from leather and sports a very similar thin heel as the Balmain does. The COUSEY is still budget friendly at $160, and comes in sizes 6 – 11 which is grand as Aldo’s size 11s fit as 10s.
Keep these in mind for Boxing Week deals; save your buying for yourself ’till after the holidays.
These are the Jeffrey Campbell Morrow boots. If they look familiar, it’s because you’ve probably seen them on the runway at Alexander Wang made the originals.
These ‘inspired by’ wonders are a knock out price wise at $203, and according to my source at Solestruck ‘look even better in person’.
They just hit the shop yesterday but are still in stock – Solestruck currently has sizes 6 through 10.
(yes, I’m still in Mexico… I couldn’t leave the internet without shouting about these boots!)
If you’ve been one of the many pining for Chloé’s studded belt style wrap boots, a less price intense boot has been located at Aldo. They are the BEYNON, and at $170 are approximatley $440 less than their big sisters.
Bear in mind that these are synthetic, though I’ve seen (and felt) them in person and you can’t really tell. I’m of the mind that $170 is pretty hefty for a non-leather shoe from Aldo, though if you’ve been searching for this design style it’s a worthwhile buy.
Either way, this is one grunge loving stompin’ boot one could wear to a runway show or grabbing snacks at the grocery.
Candela boots are wonderful, but they’re also mega pricey. Take the Candela ‘Robin’ studded bike boot; it’s brilliant, but $310.
Steve Madden has created a near identical version, down to the black sole, studded anklet, bike boot design style and contrast stitching on the sole. The difference is the Steve Madden Giiaa boots are currently on sale for $138. Oh, they’re still made of leather, of course – these are spunky wear anywhere booties perfect for the city sidewalk catwalk.
Sizes 5.5 – 10 are still available, so grab it while you can. If you were one of those that participated in the Steve Madden Twitter offer of Twitpic-ing your shoe closet in exchange for a 40% off promo code, these boots will end up being only $55! Can you believe that?
If you’re not already following demiCouture and Steve Madden on Twitter, you’re missing out!
Everyone loves themselves a good Rodarte dress, but whom can actually afford one? Certainly not I, since the average tag for one of these beauties hits the ballpark of $13,000.
AKIRA’s Black Label has created a dress that has similar characteristics; it features gold foil fabrics and a peach hued wrap design. While the Dequin Slice Raw dress ($66) is obviously not of runway quality, it is also [approximatley] $12,934 less than the Rodarte design. Since that is the price of a decent vehicle, I’m willing to look beyond any minimal character flaws.
As a bonus, demiCouture is currently running an exclusive promo code with AKIRA; 20% off your total purchase with the code “DEMI20“. That means the wrap dress would be $53!
So awesome.
