J. Crew vs. Celine

Lately, I’ve been coveting this gorgeous red satchel version of the Celine Luggage tote seen on Atlantic-Pacific:

She also has a bigger version of the Luggage tote, seen here. However, this purse is far, far outside my budget. But, J. Crew is not! And their new Tillary tote is a great alternative, ringing in at a still substantial $328 – a good digit less than the Celine:

It turns out I’m not the only purse-appreciator who has noticed the similarity. Some have been calling it a knockoff, but I think it’s a legitimate inspired-by reinterpretation.

I was also happy to find that someone else has basically written the blog post I meant to write, on the law of inspiration vs. piracy. According to The Fashion Law, the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act (IDPPPA) would permit this kind of reinterpretation. IDPPPA, introduced by Sen. Schumer of New York and endorsed by CFDA, was apparently reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2010 but then languished; it has since been re-introduced in the House in the 112th Congress by Rep. Goodlatte of Virginia. I haven’t read and analyzed the bill(s), but the opinions on the Internet are,  unsurprisingly, divided: one fashion lawyer/commentator I found thinks IDPPPA will only harm the fashion industry by adding burdensome litigation costs, and that originality standards will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove or enforce. This is not my area of expertise, but from what I’ve read and observed in the arena of art and copyright, courts are extremely ill-equipped to judge what amounts to original reinterpretation, fair use, or artistic appropriation.

Anyways, my foray into the world of purse blogging today has yielded a couple other high/”low” purse observations:

The Reed Krakoff Atlantique tote ($1,490) has a pretty similar silhouette to the Celine:

And compare the Reed Krakoff Boxer in coral or black ($1,290):

…to the Kate Spade Bow Valley Rosa in pink (apparently sold out everywhere) and black ($425, on sale for $297):