Oliver Rousteing's look at the Met Gala has been accused of plagiarism

What Oliver Rousteing brought to the Met Gala 2023 was a memorable look. If nothing else, the Balmain designer's bag was a delightful reference to one of the most ironic and iconic accessories ever to appear on Karl Lagerfeld, the "Karl Who?" bag by artist Naco. The bag was funny because it referred as much to the German designer's worldwide fame as it did to the fact that his persona was so enigmatic and often artifactual compared to Karl Lagerfeld as a person-a kind of irony that had not escaped Lagerfeld, who had precisely had his photo taken with the bag. For the Met Gala red carpet, Rousteing created a bag with the same inscription in a series of pearls and on a quilted leather tote bag. Posting photos of the look on both his own and Balmain's accounts, the designer actually took care to tag Naco and make explicit the origin of the reference even though the artist was very unhappy and yesterday posted Rousteing's photo accusing him of copying.

It is clear that the controversy raised by the artist is somewhat unnecessary. First, because the merit of the invention has been fully acknowledged - indeed, a great many people were even visually familiar with the "Karl Who?" bag without knowing Naco, whom they now surely know. Second, because it is clear that Rousteing's bag will not be commercialized, nor will commercial profits derive from the bag, and even if that were the case, the fact that the designer tagged Naco in the IG Stories suggests that the original artist would not be cut out of the operation. The situation therefore will not be resolved in the sense that there is no situation in the first place except, of course, for the most quarrelsome users on the web who always go looking for controversy and tag Diet Prada.