Who Will Pass The Originality Test?

The jury of the fashion world is still out over the verdict of its latest controversy. Top French designer Ricardo, the 2009 winner of ‘The Golden Spindle’who was hailed by the high priestess of fashion herself Anna Wintour, has had the authenticity of the ´tunic dress’ design from his current spring/summer´12 collection challenged by no less than a fashion graduate working on the markets of Carnaby Street.

The storm erupted when Nina Lau, a London College of Fashion graduate, spotted what she thought was her design showcased in the pages of Tatler magazine, only upon closer inspection finding out it was this season’s latest offering from the Paris based House of Ricardo.¨There is a similarity of around 95%. The only difference is the material. See for yourself. Take a look at mine, and then his¨ quoted Nina ferociously. Retaliations from the Couturier´s camp followed, directly from Ricardo himself to state ¨I, we, my label are still reeling from the fact I should copy the designs of a washed out graduate operating from a market stall in London.¨

However, the fact remains that there is a striking similarity in both designs is causing Fashionista’s around Europe to wonder who copied who. Ricardo, whose current London base is in Regent Street, some two minutes walk away from the world famous market maintains his company has never seen, nor purchased any clothing from her independent label ‘Nina’, and that it was her who took inspiration from a world class designer in order to attain overnight exposure. The original design in question, whose origins can be traced back some four years to the cutting room floor of Nina’s studio, is now under intense scrutiny from fashion watchdog Federation Francaise de la Couture.

Within the cyclical world of fashion, are trends repeating more frequently, or has this designer taken one step too far?