Is it imitation or is it plagiarism when a film and music video director creates two ads/short movies that are very similar for two different companies?

That is the question the Gucci Group, who own the fashion house of Alexander McQueen are asking after they saw a TV ad for the Cadbury Flake chocolate bar. It looks eerily similar to that of a hologram image of Kate Moss in a Alexander McQueen video that served as the back drop to his Fall 2006 runway show. Both feature a blonde woman wearing a billowing dress that ripples away in the wind to slowly unveil the woman wearing it. The McQueen clip was created with Baillie Walsh in 2005 who also worked with Cadbury on their video.

“We were aware of Baillie’s work with Alexander McQueen and others when we commissioned him to reflect the delicacy and fragility of the folds in the Flake bar,” a Cadbury spokesman wrote in a statement to WWD. “We felt Baillie’s unique house style was exactly what we were looking for.”

Watch the McQueen and the Cadbury Flake ads below and you tell us what you think.

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[click image to enlarge]

“Children who are no longer using diapers can wear Good-Nites to prevent bed wetting. We show Good-Nites being worn as fashionable underwear to show children that Good-Nites aren’t diapers.”

So said Diamond Ogilvy in Seoul, South Korea.

To us it’s just a spoof of David Beckham’s Giorgio Armani underwear ad to flog off Good-Nites nappies as a ‘fashion’ item for children. And the baby is a much better poser than Beckham it seems, just check out that look on his face. Hlarious. What will the ad men think of next?

[Via iBelieveinAdv]

We were watching the horse racing on TV on Tuesday (the day of the Melbourne Cup, the richest and most challenging horse races in the world) and during a segment highlighting the Myer Fashions in the Field competition, we could help but spy what we thought was Victoria Beckham’s Carmontelle dress from her Fall 2009/10 collection.

But after watching an interview with Sarah Kelly who went on to win the coveted prize, it was revealed that it was not a Victoria Beckham dress or even a Roland Mouret piece. Intead Kelly had picked up the two-piece look consisting of a pencil skirt and sleeveless jacket from Australian chain store Cue. Formally known for their business attire, the chain went through a rebrand a few season ago resulting in more edgy runway-inspired looks.

It’s almost no surprise that the Victoria Beckham Carmontelle dress looks strikingly similar to the Cue look – the dress has certainly been doing the rounds on the likes of Mary J Blige, Elle Macpherson (on the set of The Beautiful Life) and Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf on the set of Gossip Girl since July 2009.

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An email in our inbox caught our eye today, the subject line simply said “Valentino or Paris Hilton?” and our first thought was – do we even need to ask?

Ask me any day, any time and Valentino would win hands down.

But what if the shoes are practically identical with their d’Orsay style, peep-toe and bow adorning the vamp – except that the Hilton pumps have similar red soles to a pair of Christian Louboutin’s. While spending $695 on a pair of designer heels may be out of the question for many women, would you go and spend $93 on a pair of shoes baring Paris Hilton’s name?

Which would you chose, the Valentino Patent d’Orsay pumps which retails at $695 or the Paris Hilton Senorita pump which retails at $93?

The Jason Wu-designed Inauguration Ball gown Michelle Obama wore has fashion critics all over the world calling it a bold and courageous dress with Robin Givhan of The Washington Post calling the First Lady the “leader of the fashion able world”.

Wu had no idea he was designing the crystal encrusted one-shouldered gown for the Neighborhood Inauguration Ball last week. “I knew it had to be formal, and my only memo was that it had to sparkle,” he told WWD. “I thought, I can do it, I can do sparkle.”

Wanting to show off her beautiful shoulders, Wu, together with Chicago boutique owner Ikram Goldman who acted as a conduit for Obama’s inauguration looks, designed the dress as a one shouldered gown and embellished with dozens of white organza flowers and Swarovski crystals.

Unfortunately for stylish women who want to channel Obama’s enviable style at the Neighborhood Inauguration Ball last week, the gown was specially made for the First Lady and will be donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C to be eventually displayed next to other inauguration gowns worn by former First Ladies.

While Jason Wu‘s Spring 2009 collection ships into stores (including to online shop Net-A-Porter.com) next month you will have to look elsewhere for similarly stunning dresses for your special occasions, especially if you can’t afford the usual price tags associated with Jason Wu evening gowns of $2,990 to $4,700.

For a more affordable but equally as beautiful gown, try this One Shouldered White Gown from eDressMe (pictured above).

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While things on the L.A.M.B. front are mighty quiet these days, Gwen Stefani herself is looking as fit and fierce as ever. Observe these latest promo shots that have emerged of Gwen rocking out with No Doubt just in time for the announcement of their Spring tour!

Refreshingly spartan, graphical, and gimmick-free in their restraint, these new promo shots are a far cry visually from Gwen’s days spent as a Harajuku dominatrix, hip-hop pirate queen, or rastafarian wannabe. We hope these shots, which remind us of Mary Quant, teddy boys, and Carnaby Street, offer a glimpse into the visual and sonic direction Gwen takes next. Mod revivalism never gets old.

Then of course we also have to consider the fact that Gwen only gave birth literally months ago and has already shrank back down to her enviously svelte old self. Looks like a decade-long commitment to grueling aerobics and personal training sessions still does Gwen’s body good. Did you know she turns 40 this year? We can’t believe it either: it seems only yesterday she was a starry-eyed twenty something singing about the burdens of mid nineties post-feminism.
Like her professional endurance, pop legacy, and aptitude for style reinvention, her self-disciplinary streak seemingly also rivals Madonna’s.

Speaking of style evolution: while we don’t exactly know where L.A.M.B. is heading for Fall 2009, we’ve got a hunch it will speak to the modern minimalist trend by mirroring Gwen’s new clean and sleek mod simplicity while taking style notes from the wardrobes of musical icons past. We’re thinking looks influenced equally by Debbie Harry, Twiggy, and The Specials — basically, the type of striking, two-tone ensembles Ben Sherman and Fred Perry have been trying to create for their elusive female client (essentially: Gwen Stefani) all these years.

Does Gwen still interest you as a style & musical figurehead in 2009?

Stephen Sprouse was a downtown NYC media artist whose day-glo graffiti aesthetic touched the lives and street style sensibilities of everyone from Debbie Harry to Gwen Stefani to Marc Jacobs. He tragically died from lung cancer in 2004, but 5 years later, the Gotham art, fashion, and media crowd commemorate Sprouse’s colorful legacy in a series of upcoming collaborative projects. We walk you through them, one by one.

Tomorrow night, NYC’s Deitch Gallery unveils “Rock on Mars”, a Sprouse retrospective, opens and will feature many of Sprouse’s most notable pop-art highlights, including vivid works depicting a pantless Sid Vicious and Iggy Pop hoisted upon a crucifix. His infamous runway shows, pioneering for avant-garde NYC fashion and pivotal to a then upstart Marc Jacobs, will also be broadcast at the exhibition.

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If the name Liela Moss means nothing to you, it is because you haven’t been paying attention.

In her five year reign as the enigmatic lead singer of blues-rock outfit The Duke Spirit, Liela has swiftly developed a cult following as a leader of indie’s femme elite and as an accidental subcultural style guru — a status recently advanced by none other than Alexander McQueen himself. Last week, within the furor of media promotion for McQueen’s upcoming Target capsule collection, came the confirmation of her early adopters’ prescience: Liela Moss is officially McQueen’s new muse.

So, the secret is out — there’s no going back now. The most likely lass of the fashion-forward pop underground has received her formal endorsement, and for her long time admirers, it is a bittersweet development. Diamonds in the rough — however tempted we are to keep them to ourselves — can only stay hidden for so long. Alternative icons Patti Smith and Siouxsie Sioux became unlikely fashion muses: why shouldn’t Liela Moss join their ranks? As an extension of her potent stage charisma, she has instinctively constructed a noirish visual template that emblemizes what a modern female rock star should look like. Actually, it is surprising that Liela Moss has remained a hidden gem for this long. No wonder McQueen wants to brand the alpha females of his universe with her superlative sense of style.

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Wednesday’s long-awaited finale of Project Runway‘s fifth season fostered, along with a botanical bonanza, a minor yet unsettling plagiarism scandal.

Artistic floral philosophies imbued each of the Top Three’s collections: Leanne Marshall created supremely sculpted floriform frocks; Korto Momolu, boldly bohemian naturalist gowns; and Kenley Collins, hand-painted teacup dresses. In the end, Leanne emerged as the rightful victor, but a crucial question persisted for many viewers: Were second-runner up Kenley’s alleged knock-offs really only a (not so) “happy accident”?

Collins, a brassy Brooklyn-based freelancer known for her love of rockabilly kitsch, is no stranger to charges of derivative design. Throughout the season, Tim Gunn, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors all at various points questioned her originality, at times suggesting she had lifted motifs from designers’ annals ranging from the berserk (Viktor & Rolf) to the dreamily exquisite (Alexander McQueen). In each case, she vehemently denied consciously channeling anyone’s direction but her own. Yet, traces of British and European masters’ trademarks, subliminal or otherwise, were evident in her output, and cast shadows of doubt upon Kenley’s veracity.

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Once upon a time, budget brands and high-street imitators simply chose to knock-off popular high-end goods that were easily reproducable. Classic example: as Louboutin’s red soles proved ubiquitous, it became a pinch to replicate that feature without jeopardizing the overall integrity of the designer’s creation. To avoid lawsuits, it’s always been safest to stick with proven, universal, non-esoteric designs to mimic. Generally, impersonators follow still this protocol. But we have stumbled upon a highly impeachable exception.

Givenchy‘s wild Fall 2008 creation, the “Up the Leg Gladiator Sandal”, which retails for just under $1,800, is fetishistic and fantastic. Surely a such marvel in luxury footwear is inimitable, right? Incorrect. Unbelievably, one plucky company already has had the audacity to copy this shoe at a fraction of the price.

Can you guess which shoe pictured above is Givenchy’s original and which is a knock-off?
Before seeing the answer below, tell us your gut instinct!

Ready to know the truth?
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