Inspiration
Project Runway designer Irina Shabayeva might not be my favorite person in the world (in fact, there have been multiple times I’d like to give her a bitch slap or three), however she is by far one of the strongest designers this season.
In the latest episode, there was a moment when she accused another (very strong) designer, Althea Harper, of finding inspiration from her one of her looks from a previous week. Not only was Irina accusatory, but she was smug and kind of ugly about it. Althea (who, earlier in the episode, was whining to Irina that another designer stole her ideas) immediately denied it, giving a flimsy reason that she worked off her own drawings. And the show moved on.
But, it begs the question. Is copying merely a form of flattery? Or does the originator of thought deserve credit for the inspiration? This dilemma can be transferred to so many different areas. Patent, copyright and plagiarize come to mind when I think about these questions.
There are areas of law devoted to this kind of stuff. But, let’s face it. Most creativity is inspired from something preceding the inspiration. Whether the inspiration is your neighbor’s garden, clothing from a past era or that laugh that reminds you of your mother, we could claim that technically someone else owns it.
In my own life, I find inspiration from all over the place. My mom inspires my cooking. My dad inspires my written word. My brother inspires my singing at the top of my lungs in the car. My grandmother inspires how I carry myself around others. My grandfather inspires the drive behind my photography.
I’m pretty sure I don’t need to clear any legal hula hoops to have those inspirations in my life. Nor do I feel a need to footnote my life with what inspires me. But, there are definite times when I feel a need to acknowledge my inspirations. I am quick to link to other bloggers or articles that inspire my posts (heck, my Replay series is devoted to these links!). When discussing political or other current issues, I will always say what articles I read or news segments I heard to get me thinking.
I am confident enough in my own thought to be able to clearly divide where a news segment ends and my beliefs begin. However, I don’t think everyone is like that. It may be because people are not confident that their own opinion matters. Or bears weight. Or that they can even develop their own opinion without borrowing from others. And it may be because people don’t actively think about why they have an opinion. What outside factors contribute to that opinion. They just don’t recognize that their opinion has been influenced by other factors.
And so that brings me back to the Project Runway episode when Irina accused Althea of fashion plagiarism. Sure, Irina likely caught Althea off-guard. She wasn’t prepared to respond to such an accusation. But, Irina’s fashion certainly wasn’t cutting edge. I’m sure there are other, much more famous designers who could accuse Irina of taking inspiration from their work. And so, in a perfect world (in my head), Althea would cop to finding inspiration from Irina’s work. And then she’d slam Irina for not giving monks and Madeleine Vionnet proper credit for inspiring her cowl neck sweater.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:37 am
Thank You! Why did Irina think she was the first person ever to design an over sized sweater? She needs to get over herself!
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 am
There are only so many ideas out there. To come up something that has never been done before in the design world is really rare. I think there is a pretty clear line between inspiration and fashion plagerism.
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am
Ok, so weird because my post today? TOTALLY INSPIRED BY YOU (and your Big/Little People Person) post. But I gave you credit, I promise! You totally inspired something I had been working through but needed to FINISH working through. Anyway, I do agree -- I have lots of inspirers, sometimes very directly as in the case that your specific words inspired reflection. But sometimes it’s a passing comment or reaction to a conversation, and that makes it harder to footnote.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:09 am
I’ll admit I sometimes don’t write something because I don’t want anyone to think I “stole” their idea, even if I give them credit!
I don’t watch Project Runway but it would make sense to me that all fashion is somehow inspired by someone else as time progresses.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:14 am
It was a sweater. If either of them is responsible for the invention of it then it’s news to the world. Irina is mean and Althea is catty. And Christopher should have left the show weeks ago!
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:20 am
hmm, I don’t have cable so I haven’t seem the show. I guess it completely varies. If I copy someone else’s idea and call it inspiration, and I profit from it, then that’s not OK. But I do often give credit to the person who inspires me even if it’s totally not necessary. I mean it’s just kind of nice to know that you were the inspiration for someone else and it’s nice when they let you know, so I try to do the same thing.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:21 am
they weren’t even SIMILAR sweaters, aside from them both being oversized. irina’s was a huge cowl neck; althea’s was a huge cardigan. irina’s a leeeetle too full of herself. and i’m with sizzle: SERIOUSLY, how is christopher still there?!
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:42 am
I think intellectual property law is so interesting. And you’re right, it’s very much a gray area, because we are all inspired by everything around us, all the time.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
I always try to give credit when I use something someone else thought of first, but sometimes I don’t. Screw other people!
Just kidding.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
I ditto Jess- this is such an interesting area. I think that it’s one thing to draw inspiration and another to life & rename, and that’s where people start to get upset. I can admit I’m not a Project Runway fiend, but I know I see it around the blogosphere all the time. Girls who start lopping the corners off their photos to be more like whoever they saw doing it, or when one of my real life friends who started blogging ‘helped herself to’ using my method of labeling pictures in photoshop. When you’re the copied, what can you do? I think picking your battles is important, as is having a healthy sense of humor. At least in my experience that’s the case!
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
I always, always try to give credit when someone or thing else inspired me. But, inevitably, things get blurry… I’ve been annoyed at times when I thought it would have been nice if someone had credited me with sparking an idea, when they may well have gotten it from somewhere else… and though I hate to think it, I’ve probably done the same to someone out there as well. It’s almost unavoidable, but I think it’s the rare case that actually warrants an accusation. If you don’t have proof… it ain’t worth it.
These are just blogs, after all. :-)
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Can’t say I’ve ever watched Project Runway, but probably most of the things we do/come up with on a daily basis are inspired from something or someone. We sometimes even do it unconsciously. That said, when we consciously know we are “borrowing” an idea, probably best to give credit where credit is due.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Girl, wasn’t that one of the most boring, yet bitchy, episodes to date? Couldn’t they have at least had the designers make a complimentary piece for a LOSING outfit? They have done nothing interesting all season?! Oh, here I go digressing…
As for the “stealing” inspiration claim -- I think it was much clearer in Athena’s example of Logan and the zipper collar than it was with Irena’s sweater. As the guys from Project Rungay said, “And while there were a lot of accusations flying around last night, we have to say, that is EXACTLY the same collar. Irina acted like she invented big sweaters but let’s face it, a stand-up collar made entirely out of zippers is unique enough that Althea’s accusation was warranted.” (http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/2009/10/auf-wiedersen_30.html).
Oh -- see! There, I did it! I credited the author! I think that in this time and age of visual communication and increasing law suites, intellectual property/copyright infringement is much more obvious and dare I even say trendy since there are so few “original” ideas left. I think of this sometimes when I am feeling a new emotion or facing a new unhappy situation -- there has been someone in the history of the world who has felt this -- and worse -- before. There aren’t even any new emotions, let alone ideas! That said, we much improvise and REcreate. I find this an especially sticky situation when I am creating jewelry -- I admit, I often browse through others Etsy sites to see how people use supplies and materials, and often make things based on what I see -- though of course I add my own “signature” to it. Sometimes I feel like I am almost cheating the system since I didn’t technically come up with the idea. But there are really only so many ways to use _______ (fill in supply item here).
But I digress….
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Well said!
When I was in art school, the extreme pressure of that line -- that line between inspiration from art around you and the “genius” of coming up with something on your own -- that left me sleepless many a night.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
That is a tricky situation. Mostly it reminds me of how much I miss watching Project Runway now that I no longer have cable. I wonder if I can download it in Canada. Most U.S. downloadable content from legal sites is blocked in Canada. :-p
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Great topic, Nilsa. I try to give credit where credit is due but sometimes it can be difficult to pin down where my inspiration comes from.
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
As a teacher, I’ve had my lessons “borrowed” and implemented in other classrooms more times than I can count. Does it irritate me? YES. But, it’s also helped me try and come up with my own “inspiration policy” if you will: 1) If someone/something inspires me even slightly, I try to give credit to it, even if it’s small and not really related. In the blogging world, WHY NOT point others to the places that inspire you? 2) If someone “steals” from me, I try to let it go. I don’t mean to sound snobby, but if you really feel the need to have others invent things for you and just copy without credit, than I feel bad for you. And while sure, it’s annoying, I just try and worry about what I can worry about: my own crediting and my own attitude.
I hope this LONG comment doesn’t come off snooty—I promise it’s not meant with that intention!
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I would bet that Althea did find inspiration from Irina, consciously or subconsciously. Bringing it up for the first time to her on the runway was not exactly classy. I think she’s a strong designer who seems to know that she is. It would have been stronger to just let her design abilities rest on her work. And you’re right, there are influences everywhere! In copyright law (which is confusing as all heck and no, I’m not a lawyer, but learned a decent amount working for Kinko’s over a decade ago), there’s a gazillion exceptions, but often it boils down to just how much someone takes the inspiration and alters it to make it their own. And somehow, they come up with a percentage of change to be measured. For me, when I’m aware that I’ve been influenced by another human being (not the color palettes, lines and shapes that are so readily found in nature), I’d like to give credit and would hope that someone would do the same for me. I do know though, that not everyone lives by those same ideas. I’m glad we all have different ideas! It would just be nice if we didn’t all screw each other over to get ours heard. KWIM? :>:>
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I’ve never watched Project Runway so I can’t speak to that, but it reminded me of a conversation I was having with my friend Heidi recently. She told me that a co-worker of hers is constantly complementing her outfit and asking where she got it. Well this same co-worker started buying the exact same outfits that Heidi had bought. Heidi asked me if I thought that was odd and if she should be flattered or annoyed. I told her I would totally be annoyed, especially because they work together! I know the outfit didn’t necessarily belong to my friend and anyone is free to purchase whatever clothes they like, but come on. The SAME outfit? Really? It seems like you should at least adapt it to your own style somehow.
Hope that wasn’t too off topic.
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Interesting post. Due to my profession, I write a lot for work and am constantly making sure I give credit where credit is due.
I am interested in this from a blogging perspective…if I comment on another blog and that comment drives a blog post, do I link back? And for me, YES. And it drives me batty when others don’t do the same thing.
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:52 pm
this is hard when i think about this from a creative’s perspective.
not necessarily my own but say my graphic designers at work -- i mean i see then constantly looking through design books, looking at sites -- always for inspiration.
i feel like it always comes from SOMETHING.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I always try to give credit to others when I can. I find inspiration everywhere — in a photo, a quote, something I read, etc. As part of my job I also deal with intellectual property quite a bit, its a fine line.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
We have a joke in advertising: It’s called “copy”writing for a reason…
November 4th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I live with a intellectual property lawyer. He will not help me patent my strategy to dominate the world. I have not shown him the part that outlines what happens to people who are disloyal to me.