Ah, the world of fashion. What a fickle and unforgiving world it can be, unless of course you happen to be one of South Africa’s top designers and your goody bags stop anyone from calling you out on your ‘creative borrowing’.

Now in local fashion circles Gavin Rajah enjoys his perch from up top the roost and it seems those in the industry are somewhat loathe to call him out on it. You might want to get up to speed with the latest controversy HERE and HERE, which cover the story of Rajah’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Jo’burg dress and how it happens to bear more than a striking resemblance to a dress created months earlier by a brand called Self Portrait. Below are just two of the damning bits of evidence, the previous links in this paragraph cover all the dirt.

And then Rajah’s design at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Jo’burg…

Now the Mail and Guardian have weighed in with their say and it makes for some interesting reading. Flux Trends senior analyst Nicola Cooper quoted here:

It is often understandable when something like this is a rookie mistake or even a once-off mistake, but this is not the first time and that makes it a repeat offence. You begin to see a pattern emerging and I think it is not only damaging to his own reputation but that of the entire South African industry because (he) is a name that represents us on the global stage. This is why this is concerning.

As the voices of dissent gather steam, Rajah and event sponsor Mercedes-Benz have remained rather mum on the issue. Rajah had this to say last week to City Press:

“No, not interested. This is a tired old story. Have a party with it,” he snapped, quickly cutting off the conversation.

Pressed for a response to the accusations, the glamour designer and event organiser called them “nonsense” and hung up the phone.

Nice to know he is treating the scandal with such class and dignity. Old story? Rajah was accused last year of stealing a design from Zuhair Murad (HERE).

And what do African Fashion International (AFI), who work closely with Rajah have to say on the matter of plagiarism? Mail and Guardian again:

Plagiarism is counterproductive to the success of the industry. It is a practice that undermines the creative spirit on which the industry is built, robbing designers of the accolades and recognition they so rightfully deserve. It also often deprives designers of the commercial success that should be attained for their creative genius. The theft of fashion design intellectual property, be it on the runway or through counterfeit product, is something that AFI and the fashion industry at large must work to eradicate.

They then added this about the latest controversy:

…it hadn’t yet had the opportunity to verify the validity of the allegations against the veteran designer and were not in a position to comment.

One kind of feels if they condemn plagiarism in such strong terms they might want to get their asses into gear and start doing some digging, we might just be looking at the tip of the iceberg.

As the big guns in the South African media landscape start asking questions we must ask our own too.

Where are the comments from Mercedes-Benz on the incident?

When will Gavin Rajah address these allegations and front up when he has been caught with his pants down?

Will there be some repercussions for these actions or are we happy to let the credibility of our local fashion designers get dragged through the mud by one of their peers?

[sources:mailandguardian&citypress]