Summoning the Storm: Margiela vs. Penfound
Marc Jacobs isn’t the only designer who seems to have been inspired by another lesser known designer/artist. L.A. Times reports that Martin Margiela’s horse print t-shirt, which were seen on the Spring 2008 runway, are nearly identical to an image called “Summoning the Storm”, created in 1998 by a British artist named David Penfound.
Both images have three white stallions charging across a stormy sky as lightning flashes on jagged peaks below. The main difference between the two is that Margiela’s t-shirt does not have an image of an Indian chief on the foreground as Penfield’s image does. Another difference is the price. Margiela’s t-shirt retails for $1495, while t-shirts created with Penfound’s copyright-protected work are only $20-25.
Penfound charges $1000 to $4000 for use of the image and gets royalty of up to 10%. “The designer must know it’s illegal,” he responded to L.A. Times when asked about the similarities between the images. “I will be contacting them today,” he added.
Check out the images below. What do you think?
Images via Net-a-Porter and The Mountain T-Shirts
May 26th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Do what I say, not what I do. I wonder if Martin Margiela will sue forever 21 or Target when they copy his work.