Topshop pulls Chloe identical dress from stores |
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| Friday, 27 July 2007 | |
 These days catwalk designs make it to the high street before the model has even finished walking the runway. What is often dubbed as 'filtering down of trends', is in all likelihood to be a copy or inspiration of a catwalk piece. High street stores are not unfamiliar with
Whilst Topshop didn't admit its dress was a copy of the Chloe design, it dead pull all of its stock - almost 2,000 dresses - from its rails and pay Chloe £12,000 in damages for compensation and legal costs. Last week the dress could still be seen on Topshop's website, although all sizes were listed out of stock. Interesting enough, the trendy chain sold 774 unites prior to Chloe's allegations it was a copy. Chloe, according to the Telegraph, has adopted a "zero-tolerance" attitude to what it regards a s cheap copies of its sought-after collections, and is currently making claims against a series of other well known stores. Its lawyers are known to scour fashion magazines - which often advise readers on how to get exclusive designs on the cheap - f0r evidence of copycat clothes as well as checking out high street stores. A change in European laws five years ago means designers can more easily take credit for their designs, having only to show one feature that is unique or that a combination of parts makes a garment 'special'. This makes it easier to prove a garment has been copied. |
lawsuits and the latest battle comes from Topshop, who have stocked a very similar dress to Chloe. In fact, the resemblance was so canny, both were yellow with dungaree tie detailing and two giant pockets on the front. What set them apart was the price, with the Topshop version going for £35 and Chloe retailing at £185. 