If you’ve ever felt like a Thai plastic bag drifting through the monsoon winds, you might just be the next big thing on the runway. Much like a game of ‘Can you spot the fake?’, people are convinced that Balenciaga’s latest design is a blatant rip-off of the everyday plastic bag you see in Thailand. The fashion debuted their Fall/Winter 2016 collection at Paris Fashion Week and Thai netizens took notice right away.
Not everyone thinks so though. The Department of Intellectual Property Thailand said Tuesday in a press conference that the fashion house did not copy the design of the Thai plastic bag. To make a point, Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property, Nantawan Sakunkarn, carried with her the plastic bag to the press conference. She said that the material used for both was obviously different and therefore was not considered a copyright violation.
She also added that Thai tourists in Europe need not worry their multi-coloured plastic bags being mistaken for counterfeit designer goods. Now can someone turn our beer singlets from Bali designer in time for Spring/Summer 2016?
Nomad, you’re a firework.
Photo credits: Main and Bangkok Coconuts.
