By: Hana Kotb

Norwegian womenswear designer Edda Gimnes, based in London, took to Instagram to accuse Moschino of copying her Spring 2016 and Spring 2017 collections for the Italian house’s Spring 2019 collection, shown in Milan last Thursday. The similarities between the two collections’ scribbled-on dresses and accessories are suspiciously similar. Proving that this was not a mere coincidence, Gimnes says she actually met with someone from Moschino in New York last November and showed that person all of her work, including her sketchbooks and ideas.

 

“Seeing the Moschino show yesterday makes me so sad and I feel so hurt that someone has, the way it looks to me, unquestionably used my SS16 and SS17 collections as inspiration without granting me any credit,” she writes. “As a young designer one is so vulnerable and they probably think that this would go unnoticed. I will make sure it doesn’t.” She includes side-by-side photos, tagging Moschino as well as Diet Prada, whom act as watch dogs for industry knockoffs.

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Today I woke up extremely disappointed and to a full inbox of people who know my work and saw yesterday’s Moschino collection. I understand we are in an industry that carries inspiration from each other and as it is said, imitation is the greatest form of flattery. But it is disheartening to see, after having a meeting with someone from Moschino in New York in November last year. showing this person absolutely ALL My work and My original sketchbooks and ideas. Seeing the Moschino show yesterday makes me so sad and I feel so hurt that someone has, the way it looks to me,unquestionably used my SS16 and SS17 collections as inspiration without granting me any credit. As a young designer one is so vulnerable and they probably think that this would go unnoticed. I will make sure it doesn’t. Have a look at the pictures from their show yesterday and make up your own minds!! @moschino @diet_prada

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On 30 November 2017, I met with a representative from Moschino in New York after recommendations from a third party. In the meeting I presented this person my work, including the collections which are now the focus of attention. I woke up last Friday morning to several messages making me aware of the Moschino collection show in Milan last week. I looked at pictures from the show and recognized that several looks and accessories were quite similar to my drawings and creations. Admittedly, the last couple of days have been relatively challenging, and I wouldn´t have spoken out unless I felt compelled to do so. Several items from the Milan Moschino collection in black are quite similar to a part of my graduate collection from 2015, a collection showcased in Oslo, London, Berlin, Johannesburg and Milan from 2015 to 2017. My black/pink collection, which also appears to be quite similar to other styles from the Milan Moschino collection, has been shown at exhibitions, shows and open presentations in Oslo, London, and Johannesburg in the fall of 2016 and throughout 2017. My collections are accessible on my Instagram @edzgimnes or www.edda-gimnes.com. I want to express my gratitude to all those who have supported me in social media. For this, I am both overwhelmed and humble. For the time being, I will not waste my time nor my energy on this matter. Instead, I will continue to work as passionately and hard as never before and aim even higher – the best is yet to come.

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In response to Gimnes’ claim, Moschino and designer Jeremy Scott have responded, sharing Scott’s references for the collection on his personal Instagram Stories, including a number of archival Moschino designs and sketches by the house’s founder Franco Moschino. They claim to have never seen Gimnes’s designs or sketches.

The brand issued the following official statement:

“Trompe-l’œil has been a long standing motif embedded in the Moschino DNA. Jeremy Scott’s eponymous line has also depicted sketches and doodles in collections far pre-dating this one. He continues to pay homage to Franco Moschino and was inspired by the conceptualization of a designer’s ideas coming to life on the runway in “incomplete forms” ranging from the sketching and design process to the tailoring, pinning and bolts of fabric choices draped on model forms. This collection was Jeremy’s love letter to fashion and it his and the brand’s greatest wish that it inspires future generations of young creatives to color our world with their dreams too.”

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So what do you think? Did Moschino rip off Gimnes, or is the “scribble” a Moschino classic?