At a hefty $1,995, we can't all afford Proenza Schouler's droolalicious PS1 Bag. But, for those with a budget, Target's very similar Mossimo messenger bag may, for $34.99, but the next best thing. Or is it? In a post on Cathy Horyn's New York Times blog today, Proenza designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez admitted the copy doesn't prove imitation is always the sincerest form of flattery. “Yeah, why save up and buy ours when you can buy theirs right away?” McCollough asked Horyn. The potential knockoff makes for awkward questions at a time when Proenza Schouler, who did a collection for Target's Go International collection a couple years ago, very recently signed off to let the mass retailer reissue looks for the 5-year anniversary Go "designer collective." Though the two bags aren't exactly the same, Hernandez says Target got the "attitude," "the weight," and "the slouch of the bag...really right.” At the end of the day, Shirley Cook, the company’s chief executive, admits, "It's just disappointing, especially from someone we worked with." A Target spokesman claims the company "respect[s] the intellectual property rights of others," but what do you think? Are the two satchels too similar, or is there room for both?
Image via Sweetie Pie Style.