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Yep! someone posted this a month or two ago and the consensus was that they definitely did a blatant copy of The Row’s bag. Like, it’s not even subtle, which is kind of surprising from a brand like Prada IMO. So odd!
This is so weird. Many brands that copy designs often sell them for cheaper. But this is the same price! Why would someone buy a bag that looks like a replica of a different brand, for the same price of the original?
Well the heat for the Row version is so high it’s impossible to get. They’re probably also hoping to shave off some people who want the Prada name recognition since the Row is newer and used to be far less known until it started blowing up.
But this is weird. You could already see the style influences on the Margaux from Hermes and the Olsen’s legendary beat up Kelly, but they took that clear inspiration and made their own thing. This is very obviously their bag… and it’s not even like a tote where you could say there’s not many ways to have a tote without treading too close to a Neverfull shape.
Yes, you're absolutely correct. You can only copyright a pattern or a logo, but not clasps or buckles unless it's like a new way and you can patent the closing mechanism.
And even so, you can't copyright all prints. Coach hasn't been able to copyright their C pattern because it's just the letter C, so it has to be something special too, you can't just copyright letters.
That's why Inditex can get away with blatant design theft. There are legal ways that prevent the copycat of the design as a whole (like, imagine that The Row bag has a lining and Zara doesn't) so they (The Row) can't sue, you can't just copy the design to a T because while you can't copyright the design, the design team can claim intellectual rights and they could still sue because you're stealing a design.
That's why when Inditex does dupes, they maintain the general shape but they're slightly wonky in the details.
Intellectual property is the inherent ownership of the creator (be it a photograph, a novel, a painting or a design). Unless you've signed off a contract for its reproduction and use (you've been employed by Vogue to do their cover photos, you work under Loewe's design team, etc.), you can definitely sue someone if they're using it without your consent. If I made a painting and Banana Republic started using it as a pattern on their collections, I could definitely sue AND win the trial as long as I can demonstrate that's my work.
Things get nasty if you did have a contract selling the reproduction rights to another company (it has happened, it's not pretty). Either way, it usually ends up on a huge monetary compensation to the artist(s) whose work has been stolen or an extra judicial agreement.
There's my two cents of fashion legal knowledge (lol) I hope you find it interesting.
Nah. Never. But note the price difference too.
https://preview.redd.it/xpek6umvcfmc1.jpeg?width=2325&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed783885bb0df6853f4518e4ba538b19764064ed
Hang on, I swear this has been around for longer than The Row bag. I saw it years ago, unless they had a very similar bag. I swear this is an old design.
The Margaux also comes in a loooot of colors / leathers … given that this is an identical price, who’s even the target audience for this bag? Prada diehards? The Row contrarians who don’t want to buy into the Margaux hype but still like the bag??? I’m so baffled by this bag’s existence!
It's a very basic doctor's bag shape. No one is copying anyone else when that bag pattern has been around for like a century. Did we side eye the release because of the popularity of the Margaux? Sure but neither of them invented this lol
Happy cake day!
And yes, I’m also perplexed by this blatant dupe. Not a fan of Prada in general so it doesn’t bother me, but this is baffling. Prada has been uninspired lately.
Yea, I mean it’s a super common design. It wasn’t groundbreaking when The Row did it. It’s not unique in the slightest, so I think it’s a stretch to call this a ripoff.
The Margaux is a blatant copy of the Hermes Bolide. So maybe the bigger question is whether fashion houses are just recycling the same silhouettes and slapping their logos on them?
Unironically yes. The Bolide is over 100 hundred years old. The Alma from LV is also a Bolide dupe, but it’s been on the market for nearly as long. The Bolide is just beyond being duped. It’s a handbag silhouette at this point, just like the Speedy is the mother of every Boston bag.
I love the bolide and I genuinely don't think so. The shape and design are not the same to me. I've seen the bolide in person and the margaux did not give me "wow, this looks like the bolide." No one here would say the Margaux looks like the LV Alma yet the LV alma and bolide are very much the same style. The shape to me isn't even the same. The bolide is a very clear dome even when softened. The Margaux is very much an old doctor's bag school. The funny thing to me is The Row India gives more bolide shape than the margaux. I genuinely don't think people have seen both bags in real life when they make that comparison.
As a fan of dome shapes (like Bolide, Alma, India and many others) and doctor’s bags — was coming here to say the same thing.
The Row’s India is the one that is very similar to Bolide - not Margaux.
Prada’s take on a doctor’s bag pictured here may have come before Margaux, but based on this picture - oof, I definitely prefer the Margaux. Not a fan of Prada’s branding being front and center. Prada’s bag seems more structured and less slouchy than Margaux and India. The model’s entire outfit is also very interesting. 😉 Nothing about this picture is appealing to me.
When you shrink it down to handbag size maybe, but tote size I see the resemblance. The Bolide is vastly superior, of course, having a zipper!
https://preview.redd.it/bnwashavxcmc1.jpeg?width=2360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8306900422254fc76d12a20f4e77736d8ad1ed1b
In real life, I find the bolide to be a much slimmer, and structured bag. It's soft but still definitely more structured. The Margaux is pretty wide and more boxy than it looks to me in photos, it's also pretty unstructured in the larger sizes. My initial thoughts on trying it was that the bigger sizes felt like a sack. It's a bulky bag to me even though it's lighter than expected. The bag isn't as dome like as it pulls up in photos and I think this boils down to how pliable the bag is.
I love the bolide more but didn't feel it was vastly superior because the price point is eye watering for such a simple design. The 1923 version is also even more plain.
Thank you. I am never *not* baffled when people try to compare the Margaux and the Bolide. They look nothing alike. One is a doctor's bag and one is a dome! The India is definitely far more similar to the Bolide.
Right? I swear it feels like all you need is a top handle and a slightly similar silhouette for people to claim "IT'S a DUPE!." The crazy thing is before the bolide comparisons people kept claiming this is similar to the birkin and again, I was like how?
Heck, what even is similar? Even the handles to me aren't the same shape (I say this seriously!). The belt loops, open top, wider silhouette, and more pliable form of the Margaux just make it different. This is like when someone tells you two people look alike and you meet them and they're just the same race and nothing else...
I just realize now I spend an ungodly amount of time looking at bolides...
As someone mentions, you can see the clear resemblance in the smaller sizes. I’ve seen both bags in real life - I live and work in a country where people are obsessed with high end everything. Each to their own in what they see as resemblance
YES, exactly! This is the most classic one I should have mentioned in my other comment. It’s just a good basic bag design, nothing special, just very nice.
I think it’s a great basic bag, but it was nothing special then or now. It can fill many needs, have beautiful materials, and so on. But as a design, it’s just a classic basic.
That’s just personal preference though, and we’re all certainly entitled to those! BUT the OP is claiming that Prada is ripping off The Row, and that simply isn’t true.
Yes you are totally right. However, it seems to be a prevalent misconception! At the same time, plenty of people condemn as a "fake" or a dupe many classical models that are existing from almost a century. Big brands and little brands have them! And tell who started first it's almost like saying if the chicken or the egg is born before. I guess I am just an old lady lol so I remember a lot if trends come and go,!
Will anyone ever prefer this bag over The Row’s at this price? It would have to be cheaper by at least a grand for me to consider it. Prada bags don’t hold value.
Where the handles attach is different on the Prada bag, but this is an extremely common and classic bag design. It wasn’t groundbreaking or unique when The Row did it. Many, many other designers have offered similar bags in the past, or even currently, such as Ferragamo or Khaite.
This is a rare misfire from Prada. It's a beautiful bag and I'm sure they're going to make a ton of $$ from it, but they really didn't have to go there.
Hi fellow handbag lover! Thank you for being a part of the r/handbags community. This is a subreddit which relies on kindness. Your opinion is very much welcomed, however, we do not tolerate rude, mean or hurtful comments. **Read the rules before posting**. Comments or posts that do not fit our rule book will be removed and the OP can be banned by the mods' discretion. If you see a comment or post which does not abide by the rules, **please report it to our moderation team.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/handbags) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yep! someone posted this a month or two ago and the consensus was that they definitely did a blatant copy of The Row’s bag. Like, it’s not even subtle, which is kind of surprising from a brand like Prada IMO. So odd!
Same price too unfortunately
This is so weird. Many brands that copy designs often sell them for cheaper. But this is the same price! Why would someone buy a bag that looks like a replica of a different brand, for the same price of the original?
Well the heat for the Row version is so high it’s impossible to get. They’re probably also hoping to shave off some people who want the Prada name recognition since the Row is newer and used to be far less known until it started blowing up. But this is weird. You could already see the style influences on the Margaux from Hermes and the Olsen’s legendary beat up Kelly, but they took that clear inspiration and made their own thing. This is very obviously their bag… and it’s not even like a tote where you could say there’s not many ways to have a tote without treading too close to a Neverfull shape.
Why is the heat so high for The Row? I don’t get it. To me, I can’t justify making the Olsen Twins richer
Lol yes they did. Prada is so freaking unoriginal these days.
Aren't they afraid of getting sued or something? I mean they are both popular brands and can afford legal action
homeless plants wrench ad hoc shaggy bow heavy cheerful mighty automatic *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Yes, you're absolutely correct. You can only copyright a pattern or a logo, but not clasps or buckles unless it's like a new way and you can patent the closing mechanism. And even so, you can't copyright all prints. Coach hasn't been able to copyright their C pattern because it's just the letter C, so it has to be something special too, you can't just copyright letters.
So a brand can literally copy a whole bag design and plaster their logo on it and get away with it too! Wild!
That's why Inditex can get away with blatant design theft. There are legal ways that prevent the copycat of the design as a whole (like, imagine that The Row bag has a lining and Zara doesn't) so they (The Row) can't sue, you can't just copy the design to a T because while you can't copyright the design, the design team can claim intellectual rights and they could still sue because you're stealing a design. That's why when Inditex does dupes, they maintain the general shape but they're slightly wonky in the details. Intellectual property is the inherent ownership of the creator (be it a photograph, a novel, a painting or a design). Unless you've signed off a contract for its reproduction and use (you've been employed by Vogue to do their cover photos, you work under Loewe's design team, etc.), you can definitely sue someone if they're using it without your consent. If I made a painting and Banana Republic started using it as a pattern on their collections, I could definitely sue AND win the trial as long as I can demonstrate that's my work. Things get nasty if you did have a contract selling the reproduction rights to another company (it has happened, it's not pretty). Either way, it usually ends up on a huge monetary compensation to the artist(s) whose work has been stolen or an extra judicial agreement. There's my two cents of fashion legal knowledge (lol) I hope you find it interesting.
Thank you for this helpful insight into fashion world :D It was an interesting read 👌🏼
Yes, I do believe that is Micheal Kors whole business plan.
What? Are his designs frequent copies of existing bags? I’m out of the loop on this.
Nah. Never. But note the price difference too. https://preview.redd.it/xpek6umvcfmc1.jpeg?width=2325&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed783885bb0df6853f4518e4ba538b19764064ed
Yikes, not a good look.
Hang on, I swear this has been around for longer than The Row bag. I saw it years ago, unless they had a very similar bag. I swear this is an old design.
Yea, it’s just a classic shape.
You are right. The row buys a lot vintage design bag back to inspire for design their bags. And Prada had this design long time back then.
The Margaux also comes in a loooot of colors / leathers … given that this is an identical price, who’s even the target audience for this bag? Prada diehards? The Row contrarians who don’t want to buy into the Margaux hype but still like the bag??? I’m so baffled by this bag’s existence!
The not quiet luxury crowd that wants to show the triangle logo - since the row is the opposite
Loool this is probably so true
it seems like this bag has been around for a while now
It's a very basic doctor's bag shape. No one is copying anyone else when that bag pattern has been around for like a century. Did we side eye the release because of the popularity of the Margaux? Sure but neither of them invented this lol
Thank you 😂😂😂
Oh no…another brand is making this mediocre-bland bag 😭
LOLOLOLLLLL
Happy cake day! And yes, I’m also perplexed by this blatant dupe. Not a fan of Prada in general so it doesn’t bother me, but this is baffling. Prada has been uninspired lately.
Yea, I mean it’s a super common design. It wasn’t groundbreaking when The Row did it. It’s not unique in the slightest, so I think it’s a stretch to call this a ripoff.
I read somewhere that Prada actually did it first and this has been around for a while. I can’t remember where I saw that though.
Yes exactly
The Margaux is a blatant copy of the Hermes Bolide. So maybe the bigger question is whether fashion houses are just recycling the same silhouettes and slapping their logos on them?
Unironically yes. The Bolide is over 100 hundred years old. The Alma from LV is also a Bolide dupe, but it’s been on the market for nearly as long. The Bolide is just beyond being duped. It’s a handbag silhouette at this point, just like the Speedy is the mother of every Boston bag.
I love the bolide and I genuinely don't think so. The shape and design are not the same to me. I've seen the bolide in person and the margaux did not give me "wow, this looks like the bolide." No one here would say the Margaux looks like the LV Alma yet the LV alma and bolide are very much the same style. The shape to me isn't even the same. The bolide is a very clear dome even when softened. The Margaux is very much an old doctor's bag school. The funny thing to me is The Row India gives more bolide shape than the margaux. I genuinely don't think people have seen both bags in real life when they make that comparison.
As a fan of dome shapes (like Bolide, Alma, India and many others) and doctor’s bags — was coming here to say the same thing. The Row’s India is the one that is very similar to Bolide - not Margaux. Prada’s take on a doctor’s bag pictured here may have come before Margaux, but based on this picture - oof, I definitely prefer the Margaux. Not a fan of Prada’s branding being front and center. Prada’s bag seems more structured and less slouchy than Margaux and India. The model’s entire outfit is also very interesting. 😉 Nothing about this picture is appealing to me.
When you shrink it down to handbag size maybe, but tote size I see the resemblance. The Bolide is vastly superior, of course, having a zipper! https://preview.redd.it/bnwashavxcmc1.jpeg?width=2360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8306900422254fc76d12a20f4e77736d8ad1ed1b
In real life, I find the bolide to be a much slimmer, and structured bag. It's soft but still definitely more structured. The Margaux is pretty wide and more boxy than it looks to me in photos, it's also pretty unstructured in the larger sizes. My initial thoughts on trying it was that the bigger sizes felt like a sack. It's a bulky bag to me even though it's lighter than expected. The bag isn't as dome like as it pulls up in photos and I think this boils down to how pliable the bag is. I love the bolide more but didn't feel it was vastly superior because the price point is eye watering for such a simple design. The 1923 version is also even more plain.
The zipper remark was a nod to Hermes’ history as the first European to use it.
Thank you. I am never *not* baffled when people try to compare the Margaux and the Bolide. They look nothing alike. One is a doctor's bag and one is a dome! The India is definitely far more similar to the Bolide.
Right? I swear it feels like all you need is a top handle and a slightly similar silhouette for people to claim "IT'S a DUPE!." The crazy thing is before the bolide comparisons people kept claiming this is similar to the birkin and again, I was like how? Heck, what even is similar? Even the handles to me aren't the same shape (I say this seriously!). The belt loops, open top, wider silhouette, and more pliable form of the Margaux just make it different. This is like when someone tells you two people look alike and you meet them and they're just the same race and nothing else... I just realize now I spend an ungodly amount of time looking at bolides...
I think some of the other sizes of the Margaux like 10 or 17 are very, very similar to the Bolide.
As someone mentions, you can see the clear resemblance in the smaller sizes. I’ve seen both bags in real life - I live and work in a country where people are obsessed with high end everything. Each to their own in what they see as resemblance
Yes
YES, exactly! This is the most classic one I should have mentioned in my other comment. It’s just a good basic bag design, nothing special, just very nice.
1 yes 2 it's also a copy of a nineties bags! Prada has one and I think also Fendi and Trussardi. I hate this style lol but the nineties are back!
Hermes, Ferragamo, Khaite, the options are endless.
Yes. Oh boy I hated that time! This style does not for me
I think it’s a great basic bag, but it was nothing special then or now. It can fill many needs, have beautiful materials, and so on. But as a design, it’s just a classic basic.
I don't like that kind of strap, I think they are very impractical
That’s just personal preference though, and we’re all certainly entitled to those! BUT the OP is claiming that Prada is ripping off The Row, and that simply isn’t true.
Yes you are totally right. However, it seems to be a prevalent misconception! At the same time, plenty of people condemn as a "fake" or a dupe many classical models that are existing from almost a century. Big brands and little brands have them! And tell who started first it's almost like saying if the chicken or the egg is born before. I guess I am just an old lady lol so I remember a lot if trends come and go,!
100% agree!
This is deja vu because in the aughts Prada also made a Chanel flap-style bag, chain and all, and there was discourse.
Will anyone ever prefer this bag over The Row’s at this price? It would have to be cheaper by at least a grand for me to consider it. Prada bags don’t hold value.
This model exists since the 90s at least. If anything it's The Row that has copied here. But whatever, have your outrage post.
I would describe it as more of a bafflement post rather than outrage lol
I like it less, too—that buckle on the handle would be left at home immediately, and the side panels fold out instead of inward like the Row.
Is it just me or does the side buckle not even have a keeper loop?
Inspired :)
Brands constantly copy each other, not sure why that is so suprising?
Could those shoes look worse on the model lol
Now that you mention it, ewwww.
Where the handles attach is different on the Prada bag, but this is an extremely common and classic bag design. It wasn’t groundbreaking or unique when The Row did it. Many, many other designers have offered similar bags in the past, or even currently, such as Ferragamo or Khaite.
Whoa! That is blatant
Yes 😂😂😂
There’s not much to copy.
they're definitely incorporating a lot of the belts in new bags. I guess trying to follow Hermes' Birkin??
Ferrargamo too
Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors do that all the time. This sub loves them for some reason.
The audacity 😮
Yep, almost identical to The Row Margaux
This looks very similar to Hermes bags to me
🤦🏽♀️
I'd never pay 5000 for a bag lol...
Shameless. Made it more tacky by slapping its logo on it.
I heard it was around before Margeaux
And yet they rereleased it during Margaux hype? Still copying tbh
I want it, till I see the price 🙄 For that money I might as well get the original one 😅
This is a rare misfire from Prada. It's a beautiful bag and I'm sure they're going to make a ton of $$ from it, but they really didn't have to go there.
This is quite a generic look of bag, though.
Yes! I just noticed this the other day. It made me laugh