Today's New York Times takes a rare look at the world of copycat fashion design: The business of designing knockoffs of runway fashions -- often before the originals hit the stores -- is big business, and top designers are fighting back. The Council of Fashion Designers of America is lobbying Congress for more extensive intellectual property protections for fashion designers, and an expert hired by the industry estimates that knockoffs make up more than 5% of the fashion market.
Seena Anand, the owner of a fashion house specializing in knockoffs isn't buying the outrage: She told the newspaper that copycats are about providing less affluent consumers with stylish clothes -- "They have a right to look fabulous." She really said that. Someone alert Congress -- It's time for a 28th Amendment!
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