Gucci: Creative Coincidence or Glorified Copy Cat?

Gucci has recently challenged the idea of individuality in the fashion industry as the label has quite clearly turned inspiration into copyright.

Here at FIB, we have recently been investigating the thin line that divides inspiration and copycats and the spate of recent allegations against Gucci have reopened the debate.

The Evidence 

It was not one, but two designers out of Australia and New Zealand that have recently claimed that Gucci has blatantly copied their designs with versions of their logos appearing on items like T-shirts and tote bags. This comes just weeks after the Italian based fashion label was accused of copying a jacket originally created by Harlem couturier Dapper Dan.

This jacket was originally crafted in the 1980s and was ‘recreated’ in Gucci’s 2018 Cruise Collection.  It is quite clear that some form of copying is evident here.  From the colour to the fur to the overall style of those iconic sleeves, the minimal changes that Gucci have made are certainly not enough to call it an original.

More recently, indie and ‘under the radar’ type logo designers in Australia and New Zealand have now also called out Gucci on the same issue – copyright.

 

Printed on a tote seen on the runway of #GucciCruise18, ‘Soave Amore’—‘a delicate love’—the Italian version of words from a Latin first-century BC poem, ‘De Rerum Natura’ ‘On the Nature of Things’ by Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius, which explains Epicurean philosophy. #AlessandroMichele

A post shared by Gucci (@gucci) on Jun 3, 2017 at 3:55am PDT

 

 

You know your doing something right when even @gucci rip your stuff. When designing for a business (band or brand) make sure you hire a professional designer as most of the time these guys are just ripping off someone else’s work with no guilt at all. It’s ok to be inspired but there are an infinite ways of representing a concept and being original is a key way of standing out in this business. #design #staybold #gucci #GucciCruise18

A post shared by Milan Chagoury (@staybold) on Jun 13, 2017 at 5:30pm PDT

 

The above logo to the right is that of Milan Chagoury, graphic designer and freelance illustrator for Australian label Stay Bold. The original design was created in 2015 for the White Tiger Tattoo Co. tattoo parlour in Noosa. The artist claimed that he attempted to contact the label for weeks before they responded. Gucci have since stated that they reached out to Stay Bold “without success” in an attempt to collaborate.  (I can’t imagine why *eyeroll*)  Gucci was even seen to be deleting Instagram comments that were against the label in an attempt to quieten the situation.

Unfortunately, this is an all too familiar feeling for Bali-based New Zealand artist Stuart Smythe who originally designed the logo to the left in 2014 for a CLVL Apparel Co. clothing brand, which has yet to launch. It is quite obvious that the logo is almost an exact match. Smythe even goes as far to lay his design over the Gucci knock-off and said that “the scales even line up perfectly”. Still not convinced? Check out the lightning out of the snake’s mouth and the tiny flake in the top left corner of the letter R of the font. I rest my case.

Iv kept this quite for a little while, But its time to speak up and get some attention. Its pretty easy to see that @gucci Has copied not only the combination of elements together that create this logo, but when I overlay my snake illustration on top of the copy, the scales even line up perfectly. Its easy to prove and see whats going on here. Its a shame large corporations “Take” What belongs to us indie artists and use it for their own profit margins. It actually makes me laugh that @lallo25 has so much press wearing this teeshirt around. And the other thing is the tails of the snake don’t even connect to anything after they flipped the top half hahaha..! GOLD! #alessandromichele #guccicruise18 #gucci #guccified #copydesign #stuartsmythe #arttheft

A post shared by Stuart Smythe (@stuartsmythe) on Jun 16, 2017 at 10:49pm PDT

The Verdict 

Overall, it is with the evidence presented here today that we here at FIB find the defendant guilty (sorry Gucci). It is one-hundred percent clear that the label has taken inspiration to a new level by undermining the works of those who design to make a living. The least that the label could have done is asked permission to credit the designer or offered paid collaboration. Or, you know, create your own designs.

For some awesome, copyright-free designs, check out Stay Bold and Stuart Smythe on Instagram.