Today, WWD informs us that a photo from Melissa’s summer 2013 Plastic Dreams magazine “looks strikingly similar” to W Korea’s March 2012 cover. Both pictures show a cluster of bored and semiconscious models wearing colorful wigs sitting on a pastel surface; but in the photo on the left there are only four bored and semi-conscious models, whereas on the right, there are seven. Other key differences: W used pastel wigs and Melissa did not; W cast one model of color and Melissa’s group is more diverse; W dressed its girls in glorified doilies and Melissa focused on its wedges; W could afford to carpet the entire floor and Melissa couldn’t. When asked about the “strikingly similar” allegations, Neil Stuart, the fashion director for Melissa, said, “It is a coincidence,” while W stylist Karina Givargisoff remarked, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.” Is this WWD’s version of the Slow News Day?
