Museum At FIT's Latest Exhibit Explores History Of Counterfeit Fashion

Between the fake designer handbags sold on Canal Street in New York City and the garments sold by fast-fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21 that are blatant copies of runway looks shown during fashion week, there are plenty of examples of knockoff fashion in today's society.

These fake goods and the originals that inspired them are the subject of the Museum at FIT's latest exhibit. "Faking It: Originals, Copies and Counterfeits" explores various levels of authenticity in the fashion industry from original designer garments and diffusion lines to licensed copies and straight-up counterfeits.

The exhibit, which opened to the public this afternoon, features about 100 objects �" many of which have never been on display before �" spanning more than 150 years. Ariele Elia, assistant curator of costume and textiles at the Museum at FIT, told us the exhibit was inspired by her curiosity about the legality of fast-fashion knockoffs and the evolving counterfeit industry.

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"I was very curious with why a lot of the fashion-fashion knockoffs were copying designs directly from the runway and how quickly they were able to get them out. I was very curious about why they were allowed," she told us.

"The counterfeit industry is really quite large now, but it's shifted from being just purchasing [the fake goods] on the street to purchasing them on the Internet. I wanted to really go in-depth with that and then of course actually seeing how far does copying go back."

The first item you see when entering the exhibit space is a wool bouclé Chanel suit on display next to a licensed copy of the garment. At first glance, the two pieces look identical, but upon further inspection, it becomes obvious that's not the case. A video accompanying this display explains the differing construction elements of the two designs.

The exhibit then continues chronologically, beginning with an evening dress by Charles Frederick Worth, whose label is considered the first "designer label" in history and therefore became a target for forgers.

"Faking It: Originals, Copies and Counterfeits" also features a parodies section, with items like Jeremy Scott's McDonald's-themed ensemble from his Moschino debut for the fall 2014 season (for which Scott got permission from McDonald's).

In addition to featuring a wide range of garments �" original, fake and everything in between �" FIT's exhibit also shed some light on the various initiatives designers implemented to prevent knockoffs. For example, Madeleine Vionnet left her thumbprint on her clothing labels to authenticate each piece she created. Other designers, like Coco Chanel, saw copies of her designs as free publicity and even sold blueprints with fabric samples and patterns of her work.

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