Copyright infringement has long been a mainstay in the fashion industry. We’ve seen everything from faux Louis Vuitton bags along Canal Street to major brands ala Steve Madden in a copyright spat against Balenciaga in 2007 over the house’s popular “Lego” heels. So nothing is really new; until you enter the world of the blogosphere. Albeit a baby to most mediums, there has been no major talk of copyright issues, until now.
Jennine Jacob, a major fashion blogger who created the popular Independent Fashion Blogger community, started her personal blog The-Coveted(.com) in 2007 and has gone on to document her life and many “covetous” wardrobe moments from San Francisco to New York.
Designer Erin Kleinberg and Stephanie Mark, a former assistant for Kate Lanphear (per a Refinery 29 article) just launched TheCoveted(.com), a brief look into many fashion notables “covetous” closets.
Do they both sound familiar? Aside from the use of the word “covet”, both sites eerily feature a display of one’s wardrobe. Another eerie fact: Kleinberg and Mark’s TheCoveted(.com) just launched the website and have already featured and received praise from industry insiders such as Fiona Green from Flare Magazine and Johanna Hillman from Harper’s Bazaar. So where are they getting their ploy from? Who’s financing them? Most bloggers, if not once in a very blue moon, ever get this type of recognition from mainstream industry insiders without probably selling their kidney on the black market first. So how a new site that recently launched, are able to have a sizable facebook (over 600 likes) and twitter (over a 1000 followers) accounts are beyond a mystery to us.
As bloggers ourselves, it takes time to cultivate an audience and a voice; you can’t be a blogging sensation over night. So it’s a bit fishy, we must say, to see major fashion editors and magazines tweet/ show an out pour of praise for a new fashion blog.
Currently, talks of Jacob possibly seeking a copyright infringement suit is raving on the web. After a post from Fashionably Marketing.Me, many commented in outrage and support for Jacob protesting what legal action Jacob could take. Yet nothing has been set in stone.
We’re not saying but… these things may not be coincidental.
Article Source: Refinery 29
Screenshots sourced from The-Coveted.com and The Coveted
