Atelier Weekly Vol. IV — Artificial Intelligence Just May Become the Fashion Police

The Copycat Problem — And the Technology That May Finally Solve It

By Stacy Stewart Smith

My career as a designer began in Chicago and before the Internet. I have observed how this profession and the global apparel industry have evolved from multiple perspectives.

In the 1970s, French houses — Yves Saint Laurent, Emmanuel Ungaro, Givenchy, and Pierre Cardin among them — held dominance and created fashions emulated worldwide. The prevailing opinion was that the best came from Paris, and the greatest concern for French couturiers was the American knock-off industry. Though now archaic, the term "knock-off" originally described garments closely copied or inspired by originals — some replicated line-for-line, others drawing only loose inspiration.

At the same time, American designers like Halston, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Anne Klein were becoming household names, and designer clothing became a cultural obsession. What truly fueled the fashion, however, was the public's fascination with wealthy women — socialites who lunched, attended galas, and dined in French couture and American designer ensembles. New York was the only place to be if you intended to open a fashion house, and 7th Avenue began to claim a significant share of the market from the established European houses. The tension culminated in the now-legendary "Battle of Versailles" in 1973.

Before Anna Wintour redirected the cultural spotlight…

The full essay — including what happened after Versailles and how AI may finally protect designers from the copycat industry — is published in Atelier Quarterly Vol. I: La Belle Époque Redux.

Get Vol. I — $35 →

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Atelier Quarterly is a menswear couture magazine written and designed by Stacy Stewart Smith. Published from New York.

Stacy Stewart Smith (he, him)