Fashion is an art and art is nothing if not a display of originality. That’s why I find it hilarious that commercial-minded companies pop up all over the fashion scene with the intent to be hip and trendy but fall completely short by poorly imitating already-established players in the game.
Take this Couture Candy e-mail I just received today. Now, I’m not knocking on Couture Candy because as a contemporary online store they do their job; it’s just that I wish they took the time to create and foster their own identity instead of blatantly ripping off Daily Candy.
Name
Couture Candy. Daily Candy. Enough said.
Font
10pt Georgia. Exact same e-mail and web font as Daily Candy. Coincidence? No, because Couture Candy’s web font is Arial. Some of you may be thinking, well CT, you use 10pt Georgia. But that’s because I’m a blog, I offer editorial, and Georgia is a serif typeface which is commonly used in editorials and other long bodies of copy for readability.
Art
The watercolor art of Daily Candy has been a distinguishing feature since day one. All pages and e-mails are tastefully anchored by the artwork of Sujean Rim. Couture Candy’s mediocre rip-off in that e-mail was just a misplaced disgrace of blatant plagiarism. It’s like that bakery in Pasadena that knocked off Sprinkles’ dots. Shudder.
i totally think imitation is anything BUT flattering. there is no uniqueness and creativity. i feel that when someone thinks of an idea and make it to reality by putting their time and money into it, its really honorable. when others knock it off or imitate great ideas. i cant blame them, however they have their own ideas, and instead of trying to play it safe they should take a chance and possibly create their own brand with their own signature designs and ideas. it would really make the world a much more interesting and fun place if everyone took a bit of chance and new innovative ideas and designs came out more often.
Knock-offs are never as good as the real deal. It’s just a fact. Great Post- and love your blog.
this is hilariously pathetic. ugh. i love sujean rim’s artwork- it’s the only thing that keeps me opening my daily candy. good detective work ct!
Since the names are so similar, I assumed they were divisions of the same overall company. Are they really separate?
It’s pretty blatant…wow.
I completely agree with Monica. Imitation is definitely not flattery. I think it is so ridiculous when one designer completely copies or “designs” something another designer has already done, maybe changes the color or material and calls it there own. It is the same as taking a great authors words and changing the sentence structure around and calling it your own. I feel like it is stealing a great idea from a talented person. I have no respect for people who do that. This website is definitely an imitation of the original one. I just do not understand why people decide to copy designs. If people like the originals, I feel like they would stay with the originals.
Whoever coined that phrase was imitating someone/thing and thought it would be a justification for both parties.
can i get an invite to gilt from you? i’d really appreciate it!
i agree about couturecandy imitating dailycandy, but i love dot’s cupcakes!
Judy — I am making arrangements with Gilt to get a VIP link for CT readers.. I’ll post it up soon!
i’ve never had sprinkles, but i’ve had dots, and dots was just okay. dots was dry, and i don’t enjoy buttercream frosting. i used to go to school like 10 minutes away from sprinkles (in GOOD traffic) and i never went…. now that i live 1 hour away (in bad traffic) i doubt i’ll be going anytime soon…
Some of you say that imitation is not flattery. I do partially agree with that but i also think in a way it is flattery, because if someone is willing to copy your look and style it was obviously worth creating. people want to recreate something they know others will like and pay for. In a way the people who imitate other designers, in my opinion, do it because they value the designers taste. However I Do think stealing someone else’s designs and paying them of as they’re own is wrong. But in today’s world not everyone gives credit where credit is due, sad to say but it is true, and not everyone can afford expensive designer clothing so if someone creates the same designs, decent quality, and affordability then so be it. People will buy it. Especially with how the way things are going in today’s economy.
Yes the extent of which Couture Candy goes to even copying Daily Candy’s font and layout is going a bit too far. Orginality is important because it makes something stand out, but a lot of people want to fit the stereotypical cookie cutter of what’s in and what’s not. Yea it is played out, but maybe one day they’ll come out of there shell. Wow that’s quite a lot of ranting. But I felt like everyone was just bashing on how imitating something is such a bad thing. YES we all know its not right to imitate others designs but people do it. & Yes people will wear they think society will accept. In the end those people will deal with the consequences or non-consequential aspects that come there way. I guess whatever makes people happy they will do. Well that’s all I have to say for now..haha its been a pleasure.
OH & Sprinkles is defiantly worth going to. Theres this place called crumbs that is equally as good though. OO YUM
you’ve been gone for a bit, missed you! don’t ever leave us again. hehehe…
I like Ruben Toledo’s fashion illustrations.