Guess copying highend designer bags?

L

ltwuelfing

O.G.
Jan 14, 2007
304
1
#1
i found a guess bag that looks pretty close to the ysl muse...

guess also has a fanny pack that is more glam (coz of the silver accents) but essentially looks like the gucci sex and the city one...

what do you think about these midrange but reputable companies (ie guess jeans) that copy highend ones?
 

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#2
I recently saw another Muse copy - on (of all places) one of the Home Shopping programs - I was horrified. I hate this sort of design theft - Companies need to have their own creative talent on board rather than stealing from premier designers to increase their bottom line.
 
#4
In England Marks & Spencer had to withdraw an evening clutch bag as it was an utterly blatant rip-off of an Anya Hindmarch one. AH threatened them with legal action and M&S backed down very quickly.

I really hate that high end bags get copied....bleurgh!
 
#5
I owned a Guess bag last summer - don't ask me why - I have tossed it. I looked at it recently and thought what the hell happened to me last summer??? It was GOLD!!! I think I was going through some sort of early mid-life crisis or something. My apologies to any Guess loving people here. I think if I was younger I would like them. And yes, they do copy higher end bags.
 
#6
Wait a minute here. I think some are being very harsh regarding the "copying" of bags. First of all, 95% of all haute couture designers just recycle from the past from vintage pieces and tweak them a bit.
There was a story about a high end shoe store owner in Flordia who closed his shop over 20 years ago and kept all his inventory until he passed away 5 or 6 years ago. He had all these fabulous shoes dating back to the 50's. And what do you know? After his death, when the inventory was being sold off, designers from Calvin Klein and many other high end design houses were snapping up shoes for the sole (excuse the pun) purpose to copy the designs.
This speaks volume about "copying" designs. And for the record, you can copyright designs, however it is mostly done for printed material or the pattern, not the style. And according to the law, a design only has to be altered 15% in the US to bypass copyright law.
 
#8
I'm more amused than sickened, horrified or disgusted. Personally I think those terms are too strong to describe copies. Someone who enjoys highend bags isn't ever going to buy a midrange copy as a substitute, and if they did they probably aren't going to love the bag as much as the highend original.

Fakes on the other hand are a different category and I am against fakes on the principle that the fakers don't pay taxes (which is a crime), and the profit from fakes lines their pockets for other criminal activities.
 
#9
guess gets "inspired" by everything. a lot of their bags are blatantly ripped off from coach and other designers. now some pf their shoes are too.

i still like their clothes though.
 
#10
I think everyone on this forum would agree that counterfeits are disgusting, me included. I would never buy, purchase, own, even consider carrying a fake anything. Never have and never will.
But in regards to companies like A.B.S. a.k.a. Alan Schwartz or Guess, inspiration is a totally different concept or replication of a design altered within the guidelines of the law is totally acceptable. Frankly, you'd be surprised at the number of design houses that scour vintage stores for their "inspiration". There's a lot less inspiration and a whole lot more relpication going on. And this includes not only apparel, bags and shoes, but textile designs.
 
#11
Additionally, designers blatantly copy from one another, too. One can often find startling similar designs from one designer to the next.

The fact is that certain styles are popular during certain seasons. Realistically there are only so many ways one can interpret a tote! Guess bags - at least to me - could never be mistaken for something other than a Guess bag. They don't steal a designer's name or logo. In my opinion, they copy less blatantly than many department store brands (i.e the JC Penny Spy bag and Ramona bag!).

While I don't buy Guess products, I don't find them to be copying or making replicas, either.
 
#12
ok... i guess i may have misused the term "copying" on this thread... perhaps, i should have used "designer inspired" instead...

don't get me wrong, i LIKE guess bags.. i have a couple of good ones that are still in good shape! i brought this up only because, i was serching online and found one that looked a little too much like the ysl muse...

the other reason it stood out is because, most of guess' handbags are very elaborate, with bold patterns and striking hardware.. i could only describe their handbags as glam! and to see something out of the ordinary (so to speak) made me think...

thanks for the info citcat! i didn't know about the copyright laws and regulations... based on the info you provided, i guess the "guess" handbag is at least 15% different from the muse :smile:
 
#13
ltwuelfing said:
ok... i guess i may have misused the term "copying" on this thread... perhaps, i should have used "designer inspired" instead...

don't get me wrong, i LIKE guess bags.. i have a couple of good ones that are still in good shape! i brought this up only because, i was serching online and found one that looked a little too much like the ysl muse...

the other reason it stood out is because, most of guess' handbags are very elaborate, with bold patterns and striking hardware.. i could only describe their handbags as glam! and to see something out of the ordinary (so to speak) made me think...

thanks for the info citcat! i didn't know about the copyright laws and regulations... based on the info you provided, i guess the "guess" handbag is at least 15% different from the muse :smile:
Click to expand...
You're welcome. Let me just clarify some things for everyone interested in copyright and trademark law.
A copyright is the filing of specific pieces or what they call intellectual property rights, for instance a textile design, a photograph, mixed media, or a painting or even some body styles or silouettes. (and of course lyrics, music, manuscripts, books etc.)
A trademark is the ownership of a certain name or entity. For instance Coach is a trademark, Louis Vuitton is a trademark.....
Only the owner of a trademark is allowed to legally use the trademark or name. Only the owner of the trademark can market, use or sell the trademark. Many companies such as Ralph Lauren use licensing agreements. For instance, Ralph Lauren does not make their own eyewear. They get a % of the profits from whatever company they allow to manufacture and distribute glasses for them with the name Ralph Lauren on the item. Registered trademarks also include logos associated with the names, ie. the polo rider on the horse.
A copyright is a totally different breed of cat. You can copyright a piece of material with a pattern, use Waverly upholstry fabrics for example. Another person cannot copy that pattern in the fabric exactly. It has to be altered at least 15%. Which is not much. Same goes for a bag. Let's say YSL copyrighted the Muse silouette. Any other apparel company can "copy" that bag as long as it's altered 15%. Another company cannot just make the identical bag or make a mirror of the bag. But that being said 15% is not huge margin to have to change.
You cannot copyright a "concept". It has to be tangible. Does that make sense? I hope this helped!
 
#15
Funnily enough, when I was in Italy about 3 years ago and I wasnt into designer bags back then - but I bought a bag from one of the roadside markets because I liked the colour, price, style etc.

Its not until the last 18 months or so where I have started obsessing over designer bags, that I realised the bag I bought in Italy was infact a fake Fendi (I had no idea what the Fendi monogram looked like 3 years ago hahaha).

So sometimes people carry bags that are copies not because they want to be a Fendi bag lady wannabe (for eg), but because like me, they genuinely like the bag and have no clue that its a copy.
 
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