Was Prabal Gurung's Oscar outfit for Faye Dunaway 'copied' from Shivan-Narresh's designs?

Indian designers Shivan-Narresh accuse Prabal Gurung of copying their design for the Academy Awards

Joining the growing list of those tackling Oscar woes this year is the Indian designer duo, Shivan Bhatiya and Narresh Kukreja. The actor Faye Dunaway, who presented the award for Best Picture at the Oscars, wore a white Prabal Gurung outfit, the neckline of which, Shivan-Narresh say, is similar to one of their 2014 Spring Summer designs.

The campaign image for the collection was shot in July 2013. They say they have pictures of their creation that back their allegation of plagiarism. Says Narresh, "We were travelling, on our way to Mumbai from Delhi for a business trip, when the Oscars were on. My sister showed me a picture of Faye Dunaway from the ceremony. Her outfit was very similar to ours. We were shocked."


Shivan and Narresh claim that Faye Dunaway’s (right) Oscar dress is inspired from their 2014 Spring collection (left). (Image: Agencies)

Shivan says that Gurung has been suspected of copying other designers too.

"[The fashion journalist] Suzy Menkes pointed out striking similarities between the feminist T-shirts by Gurung , which he showed at his New York Fashion Week show in January, and the slogan T-shirts at Dior's October show. The messages on Gurung's T-shirts were also the same as those on Otherwild [a Los Angeles-based T-shirt brand]." Shivan says that they have never interacted with Gurung but "the fashion circles are small and he is known to a lot of our industry colleagues". They also haven't reached out to Gurung or his team to discuss the issue. But they say they are drawing solace from the likeness in their clothes being discussed on social media. They do not plan to take any legal action against Gurung.

"Taking inspiration is acceptable, copying design and details directly is not," says Narresh. "Legal action is time consuming, it's best to utilise the time to make more creative collections for others to feel 'inspired by'." As for the outfit itself, it is not under retail at the moment, "but is available through our archives on special requests," adds Narresh.

Shivan says that in the past too there have been instances of small labels directly lifting their designs and aesthetic. "One specific case went to the point of even using our media coverage to promote themselves on social media," he recalls.

When Narresh is asked how it feels to see his design debut on a global platform, but with someone else taking the credit for it, he says.

"The copying of the design is worrisome and infuriating. But, coverage on such platforms brings to light things which could've been unknown to us sitting in this part of the world," he says. Adds Shivan, "While the East has always been a source of inspiration for the West, it's nice to see that inspiration has moved from textiles and colours to designs and details. In that light, it's a good indication of the East serving as a powerhouse for modern design."

Gurung's team didn't reply to multiple queries regarding the allegations made by Shivan and Narresh, till the time of going to press.