Matthew Williamson inspired by traditional Ethiopian dress
8:53pm 13th December, 2007 - By Helen LeePosted in Clothes, Designers, News
We all know the story of designer inspired clothes and accessories, including high end designers finding inspiration from different cultures. But has Matthew Williamson taken his Ethiopian inspirations a step too far?
Two dresses from his latest spring summer 2008 collection were so similar to Ethiopia’s traditional national dress that the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Oxfam are investigating the matter.
Abdurazak Omer of the Intellectual Property Office in Addis Ababa said: “We are very unhappy with the actions of Mr Williamson. These are the dresses of our mothers and grandmothers. They symbolise our identity, faith and national pride. Nobody has the right to claim these designs as their own.”
But a spokewomen for Matthew Williamson has released a statement saying that “the design team derived inspiration from various African countries and tribal groups. In presenting his spring/ summer 2008 collection Matthew Williamson strived to gain recognition and admiration for not only the traditional dress of the Ethiopian people, but also other African communities whose beautiful traditional techniques are also evident in the show.”
One might say that this is not uncommon, with FUK.co.uk blogger, Marian, saying that Williamson is not the first designer to be inspired by African dress.
“I recall a McQueen show in London where African tribal dress was a theme and also Red Or Dead’s last ever catwalk show under the control of Wayne and Geradine was inspired by Africans in London and referenced tribal dress as well as knock out creations like the dress made from a beaded car seat.”
But it is good to keep in mind that traditional Ethiopian tailors earn up to 200 Ethiopian Birr a month, the equivalent of £10, while Williamson dress are priced the dress £895.
Do you think Williamson offended the Ethiopians or his inspirations were justified?
[Images: Elle.com & EthiopianDesign.com]
December 13th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Why can’t they be flattered by this?
I see this as a tribute.
Designers get inspiration from all different sources, that what makes the fashion industry so interesting and varied.
I would not have known about this traditional dress if this issue had not arisen so I am educated as a result.
I see this as a good thing.
December 14th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to get the designer look for less then ;)
December 14th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
It is only a tribute if the designer attribute his design to the Ethiopian cultural costume. However, we do not know the whole story. There may be other African countries with traditional costumes like this. The spokeswoman did mention that it was inspire by African communities
December 14th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
As I see it from the picture, what Williamson did is not inspiration but theft.
December 26th, 2007 at 5:51 am
this is just copy of ethiopian dress, he didn’t even change it a bit he just put it as it is……….what a designer!! haha
December 26th, 2007 at 5:57 am
Wombat there is no other african countries with traditional costumes like this!!!!!!this is only ethiopian and some Eritrean cultural costume.
atleast he should say it as its ethiopian dress
December 26th, 2007 at 7:33 am
“Designers get inspiration from all different sources, that what makes the fashion industry so interesting and varied.”
inspiration!! what he did is just COPY Exactly!!
December 27th, 2007 at 12:20 am
This is totally looks like the orginal Ethiopian traditional dress not even a copy.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
I love the dresses but I agree that he didn’t make them his own, they are quite similar to the original.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:20 am
As an ethiopian, i would say Matthew did good job. Moreover,to the style ,he credited ethiopia. so those of you who complaind of theft , how can this be a theft.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:24 am
zabatsion i bet if u are ethiopian. didn’t u see this dress in ethiopia?? what did he change on this dresses? noting!!! where is the creativity?? he put those dresses as he did it himself, what a shame!
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
matthew si lava as all his past fathers. the dresses belong to ETHIOPIA ALL WAYS for thousand years
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
leave ethiopia alone antah farenji soch toh alfelegim western ways matthew that dress is ethiopian and you sir are a lava which means thief in amharic the language of pp you are rippingoff. this is our culture and way of life
February 20th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
[...] Matthew Williamson was ‘inspired by’ Ethiopian traditional dress, now it seems that Marc Jacobs was inspired by a 1950s scarf designed by a man from western [...]
March 11th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
This is inspiring for me to see my traditional cloth desplayed in the world of fashion. To correct every one this is not only ethiopian traditional cloth. It belongs to Abyssinians this cover some part of ethiopia and Eritrea population.
Good work
If you are interested to buy call me on 02075619948. I have a biutifull collection in my shop in Finsbury Park.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:40 am
Mathew was not inspired by the Ethiopian traditional cloth. He committed theft. But the most important thing is what is in his peoples’ mind to be done next? We are tired of smooth “inspirational interest” white people show to something traditional and couple of years later claim a patent on it. This has happened repeatedly on Ethiopian treasures and this one will also go to the same direction if something is not done right away. This is disrespectful!!!
March 28th, 2008 at 12:30 am
That was totally an inspiration; it was a good thing to see the magnificence culture of my people but the ugliest part was Mathew’s denial, he knows the truth it is defiantly the culture of the extraordinary people of Ethiopia. Moreover, the listing he can do was be genuine & a mater of fact the local designers them selves did better than he did, he can come see it for him self. So all am saying is come clean and tell the truth. Surely, the world knows Ethiopia is full of culture. Nevertheless, one thing I want to say to “Ato†Mathew is thank you so much for your attempt to show our culture to your people. And people, especially my people please …please give him a break he did the job for us, we should thank him for that plus we should be proud of it.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I’ve a dress just like those ones. This is hilarious to me. I just cannot believe Matthew claims this as his on. The second one, specially is very popular in Ethiopia. It’s exactly the same!! A lot of Ethiopian are outraged by this. He should have at least said his idea came from Ethiopian cultural clothing, although its actually it. I don’t care if every designer does this, but he’s not getting away with this one. We’ve been dressed in those clothings long enough to know that they are unique and they are OURS!
May 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
It even has the netela! Wow…
Yehe leba!
May 12th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
There is a fine line (in Fashion as with anything else) between appropriation and flat out copying. The difference being appropriation generally means acknowledging your source as well as changing the original in some way to “speak back” to itself. Personally I do not think Williamson has done either of these things. So that leaves us with simply copying. I fail to see how the ethiopians would feel in any way flattered, seeing there designs were not acknowledged as their in the first place. Someone is making alot of money and it sure as hell isn’t them.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
why shhould we be happy for some ejit to come along and steal something which has defined our culture and our being for thousands of years. Its disgusting..you think if it were vice versa and we robbed a european design it would be tolerated NO WAY! also what disgusts me is that we are not a rich country our economy is weak..how much is he gooing to charge for his copyright infringment???. thousands prehaps he should donate a nice precentage to an ethiopian charity?? I feel robbed in a way , robbed of our identity and in a way robbed of a partof our culture. I wouldnt mind but its EXACTLY the same..If I see this on celebrities who dont even know where ethiopia is on a map I will be VERY upset!
Im not trying to sound bad but we have already had wars with italy defending our land and our resources(they managed to robb our coffee and claim it as they’re own)and now we must copyright our own traditional clothes???
WE dont robb from others so what gives him the right???
July 9th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Does this mean that we abashas must copyright all that is ethiopian to us?? our land our coffee our tradtional food (Injera/Wat)? must we always be afraid that theivery will happen at anytime to anything? I thought the days of colonization were over..but this is modern day colonization. Why must the west constantly claim what is rightfully ours?? land/gold/coffee/diamonds/silver and now our cultural clothes? How can we take it as flattery? if someone ROBBED YOUR HOME and sold your belongings for huge amounts of money pocketing any profits..would you be flattered?I think not you would be angry and would want what was rightfully yours back..There is NO difference here..we are angry and upset and we rightfully want justice! LAEBA(Theif)
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:11 am
what if an ethiopian designer recreated these traditional dresses? what would be your response then? just curious if some of you would feel as strongly about the matter.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
In response to CFV all Ethiopian designers who make clothes use these styles because they are traditional Ethiopian styles in terms of the pattern/cut of the dress and the placement of the embroidery down the center/front of the dress and along the bottom. The scarf (called netela) that has been tied around the waist on the short dress is also Ethiopian. All Ethiopian designers who make these clothes acknowledge that they are using a traditional Ethiopian style – they do not say that they are inspired by Ethiopian styles nor do they appropriate the design/style as their own. There are various Ethiopian designers who vary the pattern/cut slightly — they actually do a better job than Matthew Williamson when it comes to creativity and they are actually known for their clothes. The problem with what Matthew Williamson has done is that he copied something that is 100% Ethiopian and failed to acknowledge that he did so. He took something that Ethiopians and Eritreans have been designing and wearing for thousands of years and claimed it as his own. I’m not sure how much you know about Ethiopia and Ethiopian clothes but anyone who has seen Ethiopian clothes will instantly recognize Matthew Williamson’s plagiarism. To give you an idea of the extent of his plagiarism, what he has done is akin to putting the South Asian sari on a runway without any variation or changes, in other words, exactly as it is worn by the average Indian woman, and claiming it as his own. He needs to give credit where credit is due and come clean about the fact that all he’s doing is selling something that is quintessentially Ethiopian at a highly inflated price. It is important to acknowledge your sources regardless of what field you are in. The fact that he has not done so speaks to a possible lack of creativity and talent on his part. The fact that he is plagiarising something that Ethiopian and Eritrean mothers, sisters and grandmothers have worn for thousands of years is a clear indication of his lack of respect for the culture and people who created the clothes he has chosen to put on the runway. Shame on him is all I have to say.
Again, just to reiterate, the problem is not that he put Ethiopian clothes on the runway. The problem is that he failed to recreate the clothes or to be inspired – he simply put carbon copies on the runway. The clothes are an exact replica of what you will find in the cities and villages of Ethiopia.
December 14th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Hey you stupid thieve!!!!! You think you can get away with this oh really my people have won the Italians without guns and you only by one stone on your head. Take care!!!!
Arent even ashemed!!! An International designer!! OHHOHOHO how can a stupid theif who didnt even change the design can be a famous designer. hahahaha
My mother has tons of this respected clothes if you want I will show you, you theif. AH
After some time you will also claim our Enjera and Wet are yours.
You may think this clothe is nothing for you. But for us it is our identity, pride, culture, who we really are. It belongs to our ansestors. May the bone of our ansestors destory all your reputation And the truth will soon come out you edit.
What kind of person are you?? Because of you i got in to SINS. May God judge on you?
Everyone who think he did right are the same like him, you are THEIVES.OUR ENEMY OKAY!!!!
I am so happy now our culture willbe know to the world hahahahahaha thanks William the theif.
(I couldnt stop laughing)hahahahahhahahahha!!!!
MAY THE ETHIOPIAN POEPLE BE PEACE, MAY HER ENEMIES BE DESTROYED, MAY THE POEPLE OF THE RESPECTED NATION LIVE LONG. LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA!!!
AMEN!!
THE CORRECT HABESHA
HIWOT, NATIONALIST
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:57 am
iam ethiopian and i like what he did to show oure caulther for forn pepel and iam so happy agen what he done for us plise do not bater the guy what he did ok thanks
January 28th, 2009 at 3:24 am
hi for myself there is nothing wrong, if later you pirates dont charge me for using my own culture design. I have always known designers are creative-less and have always depended on other peoples things for their worth. But a just so it go. The ethiopians cannot handle all that the west will through at them, and for sure they will see what the Emperor had to face and over-come. Bye for now keep pirating my bands of thieves.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Like all of you Ethiopians out there, I am offened by his claim. I understand he can be inspired and I admit our dresses are amazingly beautiful but claiming as his own creativity is very wrong. I hope something has been done about this theft.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:43 am
Muna, he is not showing our culture or reflecting our people’s creativity, he is claiming it as his own work…when its purly a copy-cut. And please check your spelling before you submit!!!
December 1st, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Thanks everybody!! I am glad that this stupid thief has been unanimously condemned by everybody!!! But i want to ask: A lot has been said and isn’t there any law whereby he could be tried?? I need to know and would like to help in all i can to see that he is summoned to the court and duly tried!! Somebody please tell me!??
Lots of love to all my country fellows!!