Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery, but...

As we all know designer of the moment Alexander Wang has been able to capture the hearts of fashion editors and blog queens alike. With his cuteness and likable personality, it is undeniable that he has a magnetic presence. At first I was excited to see a young designer succeeding, but that quickly faded. After viewing his collections, I always had the "I have seen this before, but where feeling?". However,after removing my rose tinted glasses something became very clear.

Mr. Wang burst onto the design scene with an infectious personality matched with equally infectious clothing that everyone seemingly wanted to wear. In times when many businesses are struggling to succeed, Wang's business is beating the odds. Like a drug dealer being able to being able to provide the purest of the pure to dope fiends, Wang's business has been able to provide trendy clothes and accessories to fashion junkies. Unfortunately, the junkies have yet to realize that the supply is tainted.

After viewing the the Spring/Summer 2010 collection, I kept thinking, "Haven't I seen this before?". I kept racking my brain and going through past collections to make sure my eyes were not fooling me. They in fact were not.The gray sweater with with the corset detail caught my eye and now I know why. The look seems to be ripped directly from the Ruffo Research Fall/Winter 2002 collection.

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What kills me the most is that the collections even seem to be styled in a similar way.

In fact, the entire collection seems to "borrow" various pieces from other collections, including Givenchy's Spring/Summer 2007 collection. Furthermore, some of the pieces seem to give off an A.F. Vandevorst vibe.

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Even his shoes from Fall/Winter 2009 are high priced knock-offs
Boy London
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Mr. Wang, have you no shame or integrity? In a time when artistic visionaries are struggling to their designs from being knocked off, you make blatant copies. It is easy to see that all of Wang's "designs" are based on those already produced by others, but it is disheartening to see that the industry lets it continue. I guess I shouldn't expect too much since he is mentored by Diane von Furstenberg. Maybe the fact that his clothing seem to be copied from other designer is purely coincidental; unfortunately, there are hardly any coincidences in fashion.

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(Pics from style, elle, opening ceremony and http://theconveniencestorefashion.co.uk/blog)