Mexico fights ‘plagiarism’ with original fashion exhibition

Mexico is fighting what it calls genuine textile plagiarism, bringing together traditional craftsmen and international designers for a dialogue aimed at creating a fairer fashion industry.

Dozens of original weavers and other artisans gathered this weekend at the former Los Pinos presidential residence in Mexico City for an “Original” exhibition organized by the ministry of culture.

Alongside the open-air market selling clothing and accessories such as the huipil, the traditional white cotton blouse with finely embroidered patterns, there is a fashion parade that resembles a parade of native pride.

The goal is to end what Mexico’s left-wing government has denounced as the cultural appropriation of indigenous motifs, embroidery and colors by foreign fashion houses.

“Plagiarism is not an award. Theft is not a fruit of inspiration,” said Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto at the inauguration of the exhibition.

He denounced “modern pirates” who “take what they like and label it as any merchandise.”

– ‘Lack of communication’ –

Mexico won an apology last year from French designer Isabel Marant after Frausto demanded an explanation for Marant’s use of the traditional Purepecha community pattern in his collection.

Similar complaints have been filed against major clothing brands, including Zara and Mango.

Marant said future designs would rightly “pay tribute to our source of inspiration.”

A representative from his company will meet real craftsmen at the Mexico City exhibition, as did Spanish designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.

On Friday, two young designers from Paris sat down with craftsman Ignacio Netzahualcoyotl and his partner Christian Janat at their workshop in the eastern state of Tlaxcala.

“Plagiarism is the result of a lack of communication,” Netzahualcoyotl later said.

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“We ask that our work be paid fairly,” he added.

“The price must take into account the design, pattern, number of hours of work,” he said after presenting the fabric to the two Parisians.

“We want to reach an agreement with the craftsman we will work with,” says French designer Theophile Delaeter, co-creator of the Calher Delaeter brand with its French-Mexican co-creator Alonso Calderon Hernandez.

– ‘This is theft’ –

The original craftsmen at the fair complained of finding copies of their fabrics on the internet.

“A few months ago, we got into a fight because we found a huipil reproduced by a computer,” said Candy Margarita de la Cruz Santiago, a young weaver from the southern state of Oaxaca.

Legal steps are being taken to address the issue.

“Based on the new provisions we have had since last year, written consent from the public is required when this type of textile art is to be used for profit,” said National Copyright Institute representative Marco Antonio Morales Montes.

Mexico also requested discussion within the World Intellectual Property Organization on this issue, he added.

Weavers like Marta Serna Luis, 58, hope the steps will lead them to the recognition they seek.

“We have to apply the law against perpetrators of plagiarism. That’s theft,” he said.

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