Thanks to the reader who brought this to our attention!
This Topshop dress is by no means a carbon copy of Alexander McQueen’s, but it is very clear that the people at Topshop were moved—just as much as the rest of the fashion world was—by the late designer’s “Plato’s Atlantis” collection.
So they made a dress “inspired” by the one McQueen sent down his SS10 runway on Amanda Laine’s back.
You can “channel your Space Age supermodel in the baroque print dress,” but the zany print is not nearly as offensive as the fact that Topshop went ahead with production after Alexander McQueen’s passing. Pretty tasteless, no?
Tags: Alexander McQueen, Amanda Laine, TopShop
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It's a stab at both McQueen and Gianni Versace. I wonder if anyone's ever going to stop the highstreet from doing things like that.
It's a stab at both McQueen and Gianni Versace. I wonder if anyone will ever do anything to stop the high street for doing things like that.
It was a great collection that he sent down that runway and Topshop [and like stores] make inspired looks from great runway collections. It's not anymore tasteless than when they do it when the designer is alive. It's their way of paying homage, we'll say.
McQueen was definitely not alone in pursuing wild trompe l'oeil prints over the past couple of seasons– Mary Katrantzou and Basso & Brooke both have been experimenting with that for a while now. McQueen's work was of course unrivalled but this Topshop piece could have been inspired by any one of (or likely all three of) these designers.
Yeah, it's definitely meant to be a humorous homage à Versace and his early-90's Rococo Cabana era. It's par for the course for the actual designers—not Top Shop but Kokon to Zai, who did similar sendups for their own collection this spring:http://bit.ly/bwXtRJ
As much as the idea is dispicable, I'm kind of on Topshops side on this one. I see this as more of a rip off of Versace's last collection than McQueen (although, there are definetely some McQueen references here), which was Donatella's take on Gianni's early 90s work… and hasn't the trademark on that ran out by now? Also: Its basically a t-shirt dress, and lacks the construction and fabric manipulation that made the McQ dress so great. So Topshop: get a more original design staff, but this isn't exactly Steve Madden territory
This can join H&M's skull/flower t's…
Saw a similar article on http://fashionbombdaily.com/2010/03/19/rip-the-...Anyways, McQueen's work surpasses what Top Shop is willing to do. The two dresses just aren't the same. The print isn't, the structure isn't…Inspired, maybe. But I wouldn't say it's a rip-off or tasteless.http://www.speakfemme.blogspot.com
I think it is pretty tasteless too. It does look a bit like vintage Versace!
How do you know this went into production after his death?
zara has a worse copy its the print on sum jersey sack dress
This isn't “Topshop”. It is growing label KTZ selling through the Edit pop-up store at the Topshop Oxford Circus Store and on Topshop.com (you won't find it in any other store so far as I know). So if you blame anyone, blame the aspiring label KTZ. I don't think it is close enough to care personally.
why should anyone “blame”topshop or ktzits just taking inspirations from old collections which are already 20 years old….it has nothing to do with mcqueen……this is a simple tshirtdress…the mcqueen one a piece of art!!and tailoring at his best!!what about shops like zara who do copies of balmain etc. and bring them in the shop even before the collectionpieces are in the shops??
lets get the facts right – Basso & Brooke started the whole trend on digital prints, pioneering this avant-garde printing process back in 2004 and they are keeping doing it steadily since, and McQueen got the all laurels much later because he was obviously more famous thats all.. I'm not denying his brilliant approach to this, however this aesthetic its not original from him , its rather an 'acquired' taste.
oh, honestly. what really sets mcqueen apart is his razor-sharp tailoring and structure. as everyone else already pointed out, digital prints are hardly new. remove the print on the topshop dress, and you have a casual t-shirt dress. do the same with the mcqueen, and you're left with an impeccably cut and engineered garment that betrays mcqueen's skill more than any wild print could. in fact this dress reminds me more of versace's spring showing than mcqueen. at the end of the day, people who want and can afford an avant-garde mcqueen design will buy a mcqueen. anyone who wants a cute cheap dress to go out in will go to topshop. stop trying to dramatize everything by relating it to mcqueen's death.
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I was just coming on to say it's more Mary Katrantzou than McQueen to me
It could never come close to McQueen's! How unoriginal!
I don't think the print is much like McQueen's. But I do think it's tasteless, it's bloody ugly!
I don't really see it as a “rip off” but more as an inspiration. If you're going to skewer a brand or designer for creating things based on inspiration then they'd ALL go down, McQueen included.
Yes, definitely tasteless :(
There's a difference between “being inspired” and copying. In this case it's definitely the latter. It's always depressing to see those trying to make profit using disasters – deaths, natural disasters, etc. Karma people, karma…
There's a difference between “being inspired” and copying. In this case it's definitely the latter. It's always depressing to see those trying to make profit using disasters – deaths, natural disasters, etc. Karma people, karma…
If I'm not mistaken Topshop is fabric based. They have the fabric and then they watch the shows to see what they can do with it- It cuts down on the time to market that way. Since McQueen's death was so close to the runway shows I think it leaves them a little less “at fault” for copying. They already had the fabric, and the silhouette is pretty uninspired. Anyways that's how those companies run, Topshop, Zara, etc.. watching style.com and sketching away.
Hi all – this dress is definiely KTZ and not Topshop!
The KTZ SS10 show was 2 weeks before Mcqueen's… that print looks nothing like Plato’s Atlantis print. If anything it looks more like Jeremy Scott. This makes me laugh. check your show dates guys!!!
Kate Kaunitz, who ever you are- you should know, being the amazing journo you claim to be… that London fashion week (where KTZ show) for spring summer was September 18 – 22nd while Paris (where Mcqueen show took place) was september 30th – October 8th. I think anyone who predicts a Mcqueen print that far in advance deserves some sort of praise? or maybe you've just jumped on the band-waggon of Mcqueens death with a cheap shot to get some attention. Do us a favour…. at least look at a fashion schedule and get back to us yeh?? thanks. look- i've even googled it for you….http://www.cosmoworlds.com/international_fashio...