Is Duping Okay If the Designer Does It?
Another fall, another H&M designer collab announcement.
Courtesy of H&M
This season’s supreme is none other than Glenn Martens—dad of Diesel, man of Margiela, et carrier of y/Project (RIP y/Project!). A thrilling headline for anyone who’s longed after his sculptural streetwear or high-drama denim.
An even better time if you’ve ever wanted near-identical y/Project pieces without the y/Project price tag.
As the campaign photos reveal, Martens signatures are all there: fabric twisted into new forms, snap buttons for sculptural styling, the y/Project wire maxi bag et the high scrunch boot.
Left: Glenn Martens x H&M
Right: y/Project Fall/Winter ‘23
The democratization of fashion continues, but it’s nothing new. Thirteen years ago when Galliano—then working with Margiela—hooked up with H&M, he brought the iconic leather belt jacket—a Margiela exclusive—to the masses with an H&M-ready rendition.
Even Versace brought Gianni’s unmistakeable jungle print to Versus Versace et its collab with H&M.
When the Glenn for H&M news first broke, et my group chats blew up as many of ours do post pop culture news, I received messages, notes et posts from longtime y/Project fans feeling unexcited.
Things we know: designer–fast fashion collaborations are created for the same reason diffusion brands are created.
It’s a taste of the designer’s world, reinterpreted for an audience outside of that world (read: class). Very ‘come in for a drink, but you can’t stay so keep your shoes on’ energy
So what makes Glenn’s re-editions feel cynical, while the others felt conceptual? Are we nostalgic for exclusivity? Messy b*tches living for drama? Simply allergic to repetition, or a third more sinister thing: fatigued by the collapse of identity?
OH NOOOO, NOT ANOTHER TAKE ON THE DOWNFALL OF “PERSONAL STYLE.” AHHHH—hear me out though.
Young Thug, Davido et Lil Yachty in the Margiela x H&M belt jacket.
Last year on Threads, Jay Tibbitts posed a question:
“I’m fascinated by dupe and fake culture right now. Maybe I’m on an island, but I’d feel like I’m buying a second tier item if I were to purchase a blatant dupe of fake. Makes more sense to me to purchase something unique that I really like.
If you’re a lover of dupes, why do you buy?”
Of course anyone living the quiet part out loud didn’t rush to answer, but the quiet part was said anyway:
Instant gratification.
The idea of dressing for the life you want, et wanting it now. You don’t really care for the Cartier Love bracelet, the product itself doesn’t mean anything to you, but what it says about you certainly does.
Et perhaps that’s the issue diehard fashion stans are trying to articulate. When you spend months or years saving for that bag or that shoe, it’s because it means something to you.
Now, one could argue that it is elitist, classist or even bratty to care. Another might liken this argument to those who don’t want college to be free because they had to pay. Imagine for a second though, that this isn’t about price.
When the design language itself is indistinguishable from the mainline, the collab stops being noble democratization et starts feeling like a designer approved rep. Is cannibalization aspirational? Is a cheapened arc saying what w want it to say?
Glenn Martens x H&M
Courtesy of H&M
On the other hand scale, it’s Libra season, there are some who have long admired Glenn’s work, but couldn’t come up off $1,200+ for a pair of boots (it me, my heart did flutter at the thought of the high scrunch boots coming to a tax bracket near me). This could be their chance to participate in the reindeer games we’ve been left out of.
But inclusion isn’t the issue. It’s the lack of intention. If we’re finally lifting the velvet rope et allowing a new audience into a designer’s worldview, why serve us reheated nachos the guest list already picked at?
Ultimately, fashion is for the people et as everything, everywhere becomes more homogenous, this is the cultural shift we’re gonna live in. So if a piece makes you feel something, wear it. When we start trading that feeling for performance, maybe then we’re the dupe et maybe then we can swing from the H&M racks together <3
