Fashion is about interpretation and evolution (who can forget Miranda Priestly’s cerulean blue tirade in The Devil Wears Prada), but sometimes you cross the line. This is the gist of BCBGMaxAzria’s lawsuit against fledgling Stretta Apparel. The miracle-working Herve Leger bandage dress has been perfecting women’s bodies since the 80’s. With the recent rejuvenation of the line by BCBG in 2007, we have seen many postpartum interpretations of the original garment. These lesser quality knockoffs are not uncommon within the industry, but it is rare that even a stylist can confuse the two (as alleged by BCBG). Stretta Apparel markets their replica banded dresses and skirts at an average price point of $350 to vendors such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Intermix. They have taken numerous designs and leaked that their dresses are manufactured in the same factories as Herve Leger, thus misleading stylists and buyers. What is the impact to you? Do you care if you get the look of the original at a minimum 50% off? What are the long-term repercussions to the fashion industry? Is this just natural competition or pathetic copy-cat syndrome? You be the judge… Top image is Herve Leger’s $1050 Eileen Dress while the bottom image is Stretta’s $422 Christiana Dress. [lightbox link="http://www.seriousdesigner.com/erinsykes/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dress1.jpg" thumb="http://www.seriousdesigner.com/erinsykes/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dress1.jpg" width="150" align="center" title="dress1" frame="true" icon="image"]
[lightbox link="http://www.seriousdesigner.com/erinsykes/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dress2.jpg" thumb="http://www.seriousdesigner.com/erinsykes/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/dress2.jpg" width="150" align="center" title="dress2" frame="true" icon="image"]