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| Target Mossimo messenger bags are darling, right? |
So there's been a little bit of uproar lately regarding Target's super cute new Mossimo messenger bags. The deal is, apparently the bag, which can be purchased for $34.95, bears a striking resemblance to Proenza Schouler's slightly more expensive (cough) PS1 bag. The blogosphere has been buzzing for weeks about the similarities, and recently, Proenza Schouler's designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough let everyone know that they were not happy about the striking resemblance.
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| The Mossimo bag does bear a striking resemblance to the PS1 |
Granted, there are several differences. The first being the price. Again, the Mossimo bag can be purchased for $34.95, which is nothing compared to the PS1 price tag that reads $1,595. The quality of Target's bag is also much lower, as it is made from fake leather and lacks the trademark brass closure of the PS1. It seems like the poor girl's alternative to a celebrity's bag, right? Mr. McCollough is not a fan of this idea, stating with plenty of sarcasm,
“Yeah, why save up and buy ours when you can buy theirs right away?”
I say hold up right there. I'm sorry, Mr. McCollough. Your bag is beautiful and all, but I am never going to spend that much money on a purse. I'm just not, no matter how much I've saved up. And I'm willing to bet that there are a lot of other girls like me out there. All Target is doing is taking something that you have made super exclusive and offering it to the common people. And let's be honest, their bag looks an awful lot like the Mulberry Alexa too.
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| Did Target "copy" the PS1 or the Alexa? |
Besides, is Proenza Schouler losing any real business over it? I have a feeling that people who are truly interested in the PS1 wouldn't be caught dead with the Target knock off, which is clearly not as nice. I'd probably be a little more in support of Proenza Schouler had their bag not come out two years ago. Technically, it should be considered last season... After that much time, I say fair game in the knock off world.
For more of Proenza Schouler's reactions to the Target bag, check out this article by New York Times Fashion.
Oh, for goodness sake. Unless you're at the top of the trend-setting pile, the entire world of fashion is about the various levels of knockoffs as one goes down the retail ladder. Didn't the designers watch Meryl Streep's lecture in The Devil Wears Prada? I'm so unfashionable it hurts, and even I know that. ;>
ReplyDeletePreach it, sister!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, PS doesn't lose any business because of it. Ladies who want PS wouldn't be caught dead with Target, and there are plenty of girls who wouldn't spend that much on a purse no matter how much they saved up. I admit that I'm sooo unfashionable, and I only own one messenger bag, Emily the Strange (it's so cute!), but it still seems obvious to me that PS and Target simply don't have the same targets (no pun intended).
ReplyDelete