References vs Copies

Designer Ashish N Soni’s finale show at WIFW called La Dolce Vita showcased key references from the 50s and early 60s era. However, some fashion commentators were quick to compare the designs to Dior and Lanvin. When a designer says, he is paying a tribute or reinventing pieces or elements from fashion houses what does he or she actually mean? Where does one draw the line between referencing and copying?

Recreated with my own spin
“For the first time in India people are talking about ‘referencing’. If there were 10 kinds of shapes popular in the 50s and 60s then they have to remain the same and there can’t be any other shapes. To write about it, you have to be extremely knowledgeable about the subject.

Michelangelo had once said, ‘nothing is ever new’. Whatever it may be has always been done before. What’s important — is it personal or does it have your signature? Tuxedos for women were brought into the world by Yves Saint Laurent. Does it mean I am copying YSL? In the West it happens all the time. Four seasons ago, all the brands showed elements synonymous with the 20s. I recreated the collection with my own spin,” says Ashish Soni.  

Fashion critic Asmita Aggarwal does not believe in the term ‘referencing’. “However I do believe in the phrase — ‘inspired by...’ though I must add that in the past many designers have blatantly ‘copied’. Ashish’s ode to 50s Hollywood glamour executed in monochromes was according to me a well-crafted trip down memory lane, with just the right amount of dazzle and elegance,” she says.

Copies make good ‘copies’
“Copies make a good copy (pun intended). A reference is something which has a feel of a time and an era and is a tribute to the designer while a copy is lifting or blatant imitation of detailing and look. Copying is not excusable. Fashion houses across the world pay tributes very often. Karl Lagerfeld references Coco Chanel while injecting his own whimsy in each collection. Even while you are offering a tribute, you have to add your own handwriting. Ashish Soni offered a tribute to a golden era in fashion when people enjoyed dressing up,” says Sujata Assomull Sippy, fashion columnist.

Fashion is democratic
“A customer may not always have access to a 1940s Chanel piece which can be made accessible by reinterpretation. However, nothing can be replicated as it is. Raf Simon’s interpretation of the Dior bar jacket from 1940s is a case in point. In fashion certain things take a longer meaning and give rise to a wider visual vocabulary. Anyone is free to re-imagine an old couture house. Half of the fashion world wouldn’t exist if there were no reference points,” says designer Nachiket Barve.  

Finale shows mean drama and theatrics
“Words like ‘references’, ‘copies’, and ‘inspiration’ are just semantics and open to interpretation. I feel fashion is an art form and inspiration to an extent is necessary. I usually avoid attending finale shows because they are more about drama and less about clothes,” says Anjana Sharma, COO & Fashion Director at Stylista.com.