So many of us girls in SL are self-confessed shopping junkies. We admit it openly and freely, almost proudly. We find ourselves dropping the names of SL designers as one in RL might drop Yves St Laurent or Gautier. Some of us are just extending our RL love for high fashion into our SL lives as though it's only natural. Others... are using SL to live out their fashion fantasies in a way they either can't afford in RL or don't feel comfortable wearing in RL.
In my shopping explorations I have noticed that at least a few SL designers have made in world versions of real world designs. I personally think it's kind of cool to be able to wear the same dress as Anne Hathaway did to the Oscar's, or sport almost exact copies of the Chanel gloves I have been dying for for the past year in RL. But at the same time, I wonder if this is ethically ok?
Are SL designers who do this stealing something? Or merely paying an homage to a real world designer who has inspired them? You be the judge, but in the meanwhile, let's take a look at some of the "designer inspired" looks I have found so far in SL.
These shoes are the S.Olbers "Heel-less Heels" in aqua-flower. I bought them from the Mimikri space when I was researching German Fashion & Style Weeks. I was immediately able to identify them to these shoes by Briton Antonio Berardi: These are also called the "Heel-less Heels", so the inspiration is inarguably intentional. This dress is by *ICING*, appropriately called the "Miss Hathaway". It is a very accurate copy of the dress Anne Hathaway wore to this years Oscar Awards. These gloves are from Cache. When I saw them I had to get the entire color pack! Why? Because I have been pining away for the RL pair by Chanel. You can see both Karl Lagerfeld and Lindsay Lohan wearing them in this pic below: Again by Cache... ...this dress is much more than reminiscent of this one by Alexander McQueen: I am sure these are only a few examples of what can be found in world. As a shopper and fashionista, I kind of revel in these discoveries. But I can see how some might feel this kind of copy-cat inspiration isn't fair to the real designers. What do you think?
