Knock It Off!

Can I tell you about...knock-offs? Someone once said "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". Let me tell you...I'm not flattered. I'm sure I speak as well for other designers who toil away for months at a time to bring their customers something new, unique and special every season, only to be copied sometimes so fast it's within weeks of the product hitting the sales floor. They say you've hit it big-time when you see your stuff on Canal Street. Well, maybe I should be content with the fact that I'm not big enough to make it on Canal. I think that's a good thing actually. Who wants what everybody else has?! I believe in and encourage individual style and I like to think that so do my customers. I hope I never make it to Canal street. However, I've actually made it to Bangkok and Koh Samui, much to my dismay and amusement. On my recent trips there I discovered Rafe knock offs at the most random stores. I guess," if you're not doing anything worth copying, you're not doing anything worth anything at all". Now, who said that?

Here's the latest knock-off ...Jessica Simpson's latest handbag collection ad features an old Rafe bag, no question.

See the original, and then the knock-off. Should I be flattered....or annoyed?



I like it when a celebrity wears one of my designs, but I'd rather they not claim they designed it. Especially when they're not really designers.