Is Copying Really a Part of the Creative Process?

[kagitsune]

^ Which one? I'd like to read that one as well.

[Faust]

I believe it was the New Yorker one. He also told me that, but I never put it on record.

[kagitsune]

It's funny that now, in the middle of a discussion on copying, I should be offered an internship where I'd be copying kid's clothes for patterns... go figure.

Read the article...I definitely see how making patterns copying designer clothing would be educational. Again, the problem is the legality and the ethics. Sure, you could make one-off muslins for your own edification, but not many people have that sort of self-discipline. A job where you're being *paid* to do it certainly adds motivation...

So admiration toward a designer's integrity is not determined by how he or she has adhered to his or her principles, but by how little sacrifices in principles he or she has made.

My attitude has changed somewhat over the course of this discussion. We can expect designers to sacrifice copying integrity on their way up, but once they're in a position to make real design, marketing, and production decisions, blatant copying is unacceptable. If they're such a great designer, they shouldn't need to rely on knocking off other people's designs to turn a profit.

And yes, I suppose in a way I'm looking for my own justifications before embarking on this ethically-fuzzy journey...