Ethics out of fashion on the trend treadmill
If there is a blatant infringement, most retailers will likelysettle, writes Palesa Vuyolwethu Tshandu
In 2007, when Marc Jacobs was the creative director of luxury French brand Louis Vuitton, owned by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, he sent models showcasing his spring/summer collection at the Paris Fashion Week down the runway carrying chequered nylon shopping totes resembling the ubiquitous "Ghana Must Go" or "Chinatown" bag. The bag, which street vendors in South Africa sell for no more than R20, was offered by the luxury brand for a laughable $595. That same year, LVMH's fashion and leather goods division reported organic growth of 10%. The blatant appropriation of fashion items has called into question the responsibility fashion houses have to credit their sources, and highlights the high pressure faced by "fast fashion" hubs. This week, South African designer Laduma Ngxokolo's MaXhosa by Laduma label was a casualty of fast-fashion Spanish retailer Zara, owned by global retail giant Inditex, after socks with a pattern that resembled Ngxokolo's design were placed on Zara's shelves,...
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