What to know
- Project Runway Canada and Next in Fashion alum Charles Lu is calling out the line between inspiration and forgery in fashion.
- Lu infuses his family’s Vietnamese refugee history into his designs, making his work deeply personal.
- Lu recently accused another designer of forging elements of his signature aesthetic. The designer denied the allegation, telling Now Toronto the looks are “not the same.”
- Lu says the similarities raise broader questions about credit, originality and where inspiration ends and forgery begins.
When does inspiration become forgery? For Canadian fashion designer Charles Lu, that question has become increasingly personal.
After spotting designs he says bear similarities to his signature aesthetic, the Project Runway Canada finalist and Next in Fashion alum is reigniting a familiar debate in fashion: where does creative influence end and forgery begin?
Hamilton-born fashion designer Charles Lu captured international attention on Project Runway Canada and Netflix’s Next in Fashion.
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But Lu says greater recognition has also brought something less welcome: designs he believes come too close to his own — what he describes as “fashion forgery.”
“I truly believe fashion is an evolution. That’s how it’s always been, but there are coincidences and similarities, and it’s our job as designers to take it to the next level,” Lu told Now Toronto.
But Lu questions whether some designers, particularly fast-fashion labels, are actually evolving those influences or simply reproducing what came before.
“They’re often a regurgitation of what’s happened,” he said.
So, Lu took the question to his social media: “When does fashion inspiration become fashion forgery?”
His main questions include:
- When does inspiration become regurgitation?
- When does reference become recreation?
- When does recreation become replication?
- When does attribution become essential?
In the post, Lu singled out designer Jeffrey Keely Abess, pointing to similarities he saw between one of Abess’s looks from Season 22, Episode 3, “In It To Win It,” and his own work. Lu shared the designs side by side to make his case.
Among the similarities Lu highlighted were:
- Off-the-shoulder corset construction
- Front lacing
- Pronounced horizontal shoulder band
- Exposed hip / upper-leg area
- Shoulder silhouette
- Elongated corset extending below the waist
- Panelled construction
- A combination of corsetry, volume and sportswear references.
Fashion has long existed in a grey area between reference, reinterpretation and forgery. Individual design elements, from corsetry and lacing to silhouettes and construction techniques, can appear across designers and eras, making questions of originality more complicated than whether two garments share particular features.
Lu’s argument is less about claiming ownership over any one element and more about when a combination of references becomes distinctive enough that credit should be given.
Now Toronto contacted Abess about Lu’s allegation. He rejected the comparison and denied forging Lu’s work.
“He’s not the first person to use lacing on a corset. And these looks are not the same. I’m thinking he needs a little bit of attention, but it’s great that he’s using me to get it,” he told Now Toronto.
Lu acknowledged that none of the above listed elements belong exclusively to him, but argued that their combination creates an aesthetic recognizable as his work.
Other designers referenced in Lu’s post did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
For Lu, seeing work he believes borrows too heavily from his own can feel particularly personal after years spent developing a signature aesthetic blending high fashion and streetwear.
‘You feel quite violated’: How credit matters in the industry
“My work and the way I choose to interpret that lens is very personal to me in my journey. And when you spend so much time creating that and trying to be original, it’s really jarring when someone just takes that away,” he said. “You feel quite violated sometimes.”
Lu said he does not object to designers taking inspiration from his work when that influence is acknowledged. What bothers him, he said, is seeing what he considers “fashion forgery” presented without attribution.
”Intent is derived, right? If your intent is to make money off of a young designer’s work, your intent isn’t pure. But if your intent is, ‘I love this designer’s work, I want to interpret it in my way and pay homage to the designers that came before me,’ that’s okay,” he explained.
“There is a huge difference between ‘You inspired me’ and ‘I am presenting this as though it originated with me,’” Lu added.
Lu shared that even the biggest names in the industry share their references, such as Marc Jacobs referencing a 2000s Chanel look amongst others.
“We should all be evolving together. But if your highest vibration is authenticity, you do not need to take from other people to be noticed as a fashion designer. An artist doesn’t replicate someone else’s work to be known,” Lu said.
