TFG Exclusive: Judging Fashion

While shopping the "Leather" section on the American Apparel website, we came across an awesome handbag that reminded us a lot of Céline's Trapeze bag, the latest IT design from the French fashion house. True, American Apparel's color variations are slightly different. But the distinct shape and use of contrasting colors are very similar. While American Apparel has been in a lot of legal and business trouble the last few years, their apparel and accessories lines have generally avoided any major copying issues, especially for a fast-fashion retailer. We were surprised to see them produce such a similar version of the Céline bag. It was also surprising to see the American Apparel design advertised on a banner on the Style.com website. But perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves. Time for our readers to play the role of a fashion lawyer and tell us how they would argue this case- inspired-by trend or line-by-line copy?

Céline Trapeze (left) vs. American Apparel Envelope Case (Right)