Kelly in Vintage-Inspired Owl T

Vintage Owl T

When is a designer a not a designer but a cheating copycat?
I “design” dresses using a 1950s pattern and modern fabrics.  I tweak the proportions for a modern figure sans foundations, but I’m not so sure it is “designing” so much as it is “re-imagining”…
The dresses are stunning, wearable and I am proud of the work nevertheless!

One day last summer, a film crew swept into currentVintage while following Hamptons personality and “Real Housewife of NY” Kelly Killoren Bensimon around Nantucket.  She is a real glamazon—tall, big-boned and tanned—and it was exciting for her to come in and make a fuss over the store, especially the dozens of cool vintage owl and animal necklaces we have hanging from our shelf (currentVintage has been owl-crazy for the last three seasons and people marvel at our collection).  She modeled several pieces for the camera and settled on a funky ruby-rhinestone-eyed horsehead medallion, which was fabulous.
What’s interesting a year later is the controversy over her new line of Owl jewelry.  It seems that Kelly and a stylist at Elle “designed” some Swarovski crystal embellished Owl pendants, only Kelly took the idea and ran with it and the mad stylist is now suing her.

I find it fascinating that:
A.  Someone can be sued over stealing an idea to copy vintage jewelry and
B.  That people pay $300+ on the Home Shopping Network for a mass-produced knockoff when the original one sells for $78 at currentVintage.

But maybe that’s why I’m not yet a famous designer or a real housewife of  Nanucket.

http://tinyurl.com/l4cwxf KKB Owl Scandal link

Vintage Original

Vintage Knock-off Owl Necklaces