RE: First! A Note on Authenticity

I'm not sure it's possible to not draw some inspiration from others' designs. Like Marie said, this doesn't mean that our ideas aren't authentic unless we blatantly copy it. I think it's important to look for similar examples to what we are working on so we know what's been done, what works, and how we can move in a different direction.

This argument on authenticity made me think of a season of Project Runway in which a designer, Kenley, continually received comments on how her designs reminded the judges of things they'd seen before. Every time this was brought up, Kenley claimed that she rarely looked at other designers' work and did not knowingly copy ideas. One of the judges' accusations was saying that a wedding dress Kenley designed was too similar to an existing one by Alexander McQueen.

Here is an image comparing the two dresses. Alexander McQueen's is on the left, and Kenley's is on the right. Both dresses have the same silhouette, are made of feathers and tulle, and are a nontraditional off-white.

















Assuming Kenley was telling the truth about not knowing of the original dress, this example shows how important it is to know what designs already exist. Even if we unintentionally copy someone's design, we wouldn't want to be accused of plagiarism or being unoriginal. The more informed we are as designers, the better and more authentic to ourselves our work will be.