Alexander Wang accuses Plein Sport of knocking off runway show

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 15, 2017

Alexander Wang has ‘accused’ Philipp Plein’s Plein Sport label of copying the idea for its collection shown in Milan last month from a 2014 show he staged for his collaboration with H&M.

Without actually calling out any plagiarism by name, the designer posted an Instagram video in which the two events were seen side by side, highlighting the similarities in design and overall theme.

The meme read “Can I copy your homework?” with the answer “Yeah just change it up a bit so it doesn’t look like you copied”. It was finished off with the word “OK” and a thinking emoji.

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Both shows do have similarities. The Wang/H&M show had a set inspired by a race track while Plein Sport had a running track with white-bordered running lanes, each one marked by numbers.

And both labels brought in black-clad acrobats who leapt around the set and held a similar handstand pose.

The designs featured in each collection also included athletic harnesses and both designers ran onto the set and waved at the end.

The meme came the day after Plein’s first New York Fashion Week show, held at the New York Public Library, that played out in front of a celebrity-filled audience.

Beyond posting the video on Tuesday, Wang has not commented on the issue. Nor has Plein.