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Benetton Knocks off Alber’s Pretty Face



Sometimes, middle-of-the-road brands take “inspiration” from big name designers. Other times, they steal, plain and simple. This is one of those times.

On a recent trip abroad we spied this green t-shirt at United Colors of Benetton, a place where you don’t typically find pieces ripped from the Lanvin look book. Yet that’s exactly what we found–a nearly identical replica of Lanvin’s own tank, for which designer Alber Elbaz created a one-of-a-kind sketch.

This isn’t the first time Elbaz’s work has been “reinterpreted,” as a reader kindly pointed out. Nearly a year ago, our friends at Forever 21 had a similar idea.

It’s one thing to snag a sleeve shape here and a skirt ruffle there, but to blatantly copy an actual piece of art? Unforgivable.



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