The Instagram account where no-one is safe

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But in the world of art and fashion, drawing too much influence from another artist’s vision can leave one with a stale taste in one’s mouth.

So, to combat these artistic crimes one Instagram account has risen like a type of fashion vigilante, shooting down and highlighting designers who enter this “theft territory”.

Enter ‘Diet-Prada’ whose name alone is a reference to the weak attempts of certain labels copying other designers.

For years, the account was anonymously run (with some thinking it may have actually been run by designer label ‘Prada’) but late last year it was given a face – or rather names, Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler.

The two friends started the page as a Pinterest board in their spare time, calling out replicas of Muiccia Prada designs, and they’re now front row at her shows. They’ve even been given access to analyse Gucci collections and take over their Instagram account. 

The account has almost become its own character, speaking in its own voice. Talking to SSENSE the duo has described the tone as an, “extremely sophisticated, catty 14-year-old girl”. A tone which has resonated with many of their followers, who feel as though they’re in on the drama.

However, there are some brands who are exempt from being called out.

The duo purposefully chooses to not include rip offs from fast fashion stores. Talking to Highsnobiety they said, “When good designs are rendered in cruddy materials they cease to be a good design anyway. We choose not to focus on fast fashion chains like Zara and H&M, because knockoffs are their business model…”

Interestingly, a name that is often on the ‘Diet-Prada’ lips is ‘man of the moment’ Virgil Abloh, ‘Off-White’ designer and the recently appointed Louis Vuitton menswear designer.

A simple scroll through the Diet-Prada page would find his collections called out time and time again, for drawing inspiration from Prada, Balenciaga, Calvin Klein and its head designer, Raf Simons. Which makes it even more interesting that Abloh chose to give ‘Diet-Prada’ a sneak preview of his first design for the luxury label. A clear insight into Abloh’s recognition of the importance of this page.

Kaia Gerber and Designer Virgil Abloh backstage at the Off-White at Paris Fashion Week 2018/2019 on March 1, 2018 in Paris/ Image: Getty

They have managed to find an important pocket in the fashion industry and filled it to great success, their ‘no barriers’ attitude bringing light to the inherent artistry and inequality that is often ignored.

So, our advice to designers is; beware, no name is too big or too important to be ignored by the ‘Diet-Prada’ gaze, and if you’re a fashion lover then feel free to reach out to the page with your own observations.