Karl Lagerfeld and the Chanel team recently apologized for taking its admiration of Mati Ventrillon’s work too far.
The Scottish designer’s eponymous knitwear company specializes in bespoke Fair Isle knits, a geometric pattern knitted into rows of various shapes. Though other designs come close, true Fair Isle knits can take as many as 30 hours to produce, which explains the hefty price tag with many sweaters costing upward of $700.
When Chanel re-created that Fair Isle look for its pre-fall 2016 collection — after its designers bought two sweaters from Ventrillon in June — Ventrillon took to Instagram to voice her disapproval. Her fans swiftly tweeted their support.
Oh! very bad Karl! #Chanel #plagiarism #Luxury #fashion #MatiVentrillon https://t.co/YHPc11zLH6
— Duc C. Nguyên (@DucCNguyen) December 10, 2015
@MatiVentrillon Plagiarism, plagiarism, plagiarism #chanel #fairisle #integrity #StickItToTheMan
— Freddie Robins (@freddierobins) December 7, 2015
But the case of the Fair Isle copycat scheme is hardly unique — brands like Zara, H&M and Steve Madden do it all the time. Here are five recent cases of adoration gone wild. Are these all fashion forgeries? You be the judge.
1. In October, Steve Madden was sued by Stella McCartney for copying her “Fabella” foldover tote bag.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160422041001im_/https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/stellamccartney-vs-steve-madden1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1&strip=all)
Steve Madden’s BTotally handbag, $108 (right)Photo: Handouts
2. Kenneth Cole created an identical bucket bag to Mansur Gavriel’s in Fall 2014.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160422041001im_/https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/mansur-gavriel-vs1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1&strip=all)
3. Back in May, Kate Bosworth collaborated with shoe brand Matisse, resulting in a boot strikingly similar to that by Toga.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160422041001im_/https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/toga-vs-matisse1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1&strip=all)
4. H&M currently has a very similar rendition of Joshua Sander’s kitschy slip-ons.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160422041001im_/https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/joshua-sanders-v-hm.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1&strip=all)
H&M slip-on, $29.99 (right)Photo: Handout
5. Pixie Market sells a suspiciously similar version of the Valentino “Cosmo” dress.
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20160422041001im_/https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/valentino-vs-pixie-market.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=664&h=441&crop=1&strip=all)
Sister Jane “Cosmic Dancer” dress, $122 (right)Photo: Handout