Kreative licence? Kardashian Kollection bags pay a little too much tribute to top designers' most famous it bags
By Tamara Abraham
Thanks to the success of their reality show, the Kardashian sisters have no shortage of designer 'it' bags.
And it appears it was exactly these that has inspired a new limited-edition line of Kardashian Kollection bags to be sold exclusively in Australia.
Kopycats? Khloe and Kim Kardashian, seen on TV in Australia today, have, with sister Kourtney, launched a bag line that pays tribute to several designer stylesBut keen-eyed fashion bloggers have pointed out that the Kim, Kourtney and Khloe seem to have been exercising a little too much creative licence.
No less than eight designer bags appear to have cut-price 'tributes' in the Kardashian Kollection, which is sold exclusively at Sears in the U.S.
Must-haves from Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and Alexander Wang all seem to have been part of the girls' inspiration.
A Balenciaga-style bag pays the most faithful 'homage' - the shape, zips and hardware of the Kardashian Kollection bag are all uncannily similar to the much-loved designer original.
A cream top handle bag,too looks familiar. That is because it bears many of the same hallmarks as one of Chloe's most famous designs.
Even a black-and-white woven satchel echoes the style of Proenza Schouler's much-imitated PS1 - a risk given that the designer duo very publicly accused Target of copying it earlier this year.
Perhaps the sisters' inexperience in design means they cannot define between inspiration and copying. Indeed, they claim all the designs were their own, and not those of ghost designers.
Khloe told PopSugar Australia: 'It's our collection. Me, Kourtney and Kim design the entire thing ourselves,' she said.
Look familiar? A cream top handle bag from a Kardashian Kollection line exclusive to Australia (left) bears many of the same hallmarks as one of
Chloe's most famous designs (right)
Paying homage: The shape, zips and hardware of a black Kardashian Kollection bag (left) are uncannily similar to a much-loved Balenciaga design (right)
Her sister, Kim, who announced that she was divorcing husband Kris Humphries this week after just 72 days of marriage, added: 'We're really heavily involved in the design process from start to finish.'
But this is not the first time the Kardashian Kollection has been accused of taking too much inspiration from other designers.
A little TOO much creative licence? In another 'tribute', this zip-front bag (left) shares a shape with YSL's (right)Monica Botkier sent a cease and desist letter to the retailer in August after being alerted to the similarities between her $600 Clyde design and a leopard-print bag, $94, from the sisters' debut line.
She told how friends and loyal customers flooded her with emails after seeing images of the reality stars' designs in a MailOnline article earlier this month.
She says that the Clyde has been a stalwart of her product line since she founded it in 2003, and fans of her brand recognise it on sight.
Kardashian-alikes: A royal blue bucket-style bag (left) is similar to the Alexander Wang Diego, while a red quilted handbag (right) is not unlike those made by ChanelIn a post on her blog, written shortly after seeing the Kardashian sisters' line, she said: 'Ironically we just discovered below how our Botkier Clyde was simply copied by Kardashian Kollection for Sears.'
'They say imitation is the highest form of flattery but we don't think so...'
She told WWD at the time: 'In a case like this, it’s upsetting because it’s a trademarked shape for us... It’s a lot more complicated because it’s hard for independent designers to do anything against mass retailers or megabrands.'
Handbags at dawn: Designer Monica Botkier accused the Kardashian sisters of copying her Clyde design (left) after she spotted a leopard-print bag (right) from their Kardashian Kollection for Sears in AugustSears Holdings Corp, which is the exclusive retailer of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian’s designs, declined to comment on the issue, though the bag was not for sale on its website after Ms Botkier's complaint.
Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA said: 'All designers deserve the right to design protection and only the creator of an original design should profit from that design.
'Taking someone’s work and calling it your own is wrong and robs the designer of a rightful return of their investment.'
By Tamara Abraham
Thanks to the success of their reality show, the Kardashian sisters have no shortage of designer 'it' bags.
And it appears it was exactly these that has inspired a new limited-edition line of Kardashian Kollection bags to be sold exclusively in Australia.
Kopycats? Khloe and Kim Kardashian, seen on TV in Australia today, have, with sister Kourtney, launched a bag line that pays tribute to several designer styles
No less than eight designer bags appear to have cut-price 'tributes' in the Kardashian Kollection, which is sold exclusively at Sears in the U.S.
Must-haves from Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and Alexander Wang all seem to have been part of the girls' inspiration.
A Balenciaga-style bag pays the most faithful 'homage' - the shape, zips and hardware of the Kardashian Kollection bag are all uncannily similar to the much-loved designer original.
A cream top handle bag,too looks familiar. That is because it bears many of the same hallmarks as one of Chloe's most famous designs.
Even a black-and-white woven satchel echoes the style of Proenza Schouler's much-imitated PS1 - a risk given that the designer duo very publicly accused Target of copying it earlier this year.
Perhaps the sisters' inexperience in design means they cannot define between inspiration and copying. Indeed, they claim all the designs were their own, and not those of ghost designers.
Khloe told PopSugar Australia: 'It's our collection. Me, Kourtney and Kim design the entire thing ourselves,' she said.
Look familiar? A cream top handle bag from a Kardashian Kollection line exclusive to Australia (left) bears many of the same hallmarks as one of
Chloe's most famous designs (right)
Paying homage: The shape, zips and hardware of a black Kardashian Kollection bag (left) are uncannily similar to a much-loved Balenciaga design (right)
But this is not the first time the Kardashian Kollection has been accused of taking too much inspiration from other designers.
A little TOO much creative licence? In another 'tribute', this zip-front bag (left) shares a shape with YSL's (right)
She told how friends and loyal customers flooded her with emails after seeing images of the reality stars' designs in a MailOnline article earlier this month.
She says that the Clyde has been a stalwart of her product line since she founded it in 2003, and fans of her brand recognise it on sight.
Kardashian-alikes: A royal blue bucket-style bag (left) is similar to the Alexander Wang Diego, while a red quilted handbag (right) is not unlike those made by Chanel
'They say imitation is the highest form of flattery but we don't think so...'
She told WWD at the time: 'In a case like this, it’s upsetting because it’s a trademarked shape for us... It’s a lot more complicated because it’s hard for independent designers to do anything against mass retailers or megabrands.'
Handbags at dawn: Designer Monica Botkier accused the Kardashian sisters of copying her Clyde design (left) after she spotted a leopard-print bag (right) from their Kardashian Kollection for Sears in August
Steven Kolb, CEO of the CFDA said: 'All designers deserve the right to design protection and only the creator of an original design should profit from that design.
'Taking someone’s work and calling it your own is wrong and robs the designer of a rightful return of their investment.'