Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-01-09
GOWN ARTISTS
WAR ON PIRACY
Of CREATIONS
Paris Designers
May Resort to Thumb
prints as Hallmark.
Two Modistes Assessed
$4,000 for Stealing
Styles Of Big House.

Paris, Jan. 7--Although two Paris
ienne modistes have just been found
guilty Of sartorial plagiarism and direct
ed to pay damages of $4,000. and the
world famous style creators of the Rue
de la Paix are rejoicing exceedingly,
they know the war between artist and
copyist is far from ended. They are
meditating new tactics, by which may
be met the depredations of not only the
''adaptis" of Paris, but also Of New
York. A gown is a work of art-who
can deny that? 1t was recognized be
fore the world as such when the jury
of the autumn salon accepted. along
with dada statuary and cubistic paint
ings. an exhibit of fashionable models.
If it is work of art the artist owns
it as a painter owns his landscape or
a poet his poems and he should be
protected from those who would steal
the fruit of his genius. Thus argued
the attorney of Madetaine Nionnet in
her suit against the two modistes who
had counterfeited a gown of her Gre
alton.
Like Fines; Proves Big Idea
Built around the designers is a
world of business based on the traffic
in stolen models One of the big firms
vii spend 100000 francs tnormally
S120.00O) to produce 400 models in a
season. OF these. so at the most sur
vive-the others must be abandoned
Naturally. the copyists help themselves
to the 80.
"An occasional fine doesn't bother
them. Sometimes. indeed. they con-
slider legal proceedings an asset. Re
Gently an actress went to a certain
modiste and asked for an exclusive
model She was hesitant about the one
shown her and the copyist exclaimed
angrily:
II was sued for that model Look.
her are the papers i'll the case. And
what is more. | lost ...
Big Designers Join Hands
The big designers intend to unite
for protection They will establish a
central office-an association for the
protection of the industry. with legal
English and especially American copy
lists. They mean to mark each one
of their models by a distinctive label,
if not impossible, to counter
felt. Paquin, for example, has decided
to thumb print his models Having
once made copying difficult and ex-
pensiye, they mean to sell reproduction
rights at SO much per copy.
Admittedly it would be very diff
cult to stop foreign firms from copy
ing French models. After the trial
Janues Worth said in talking of New
York competition, that in the larger
shops Of that city the signatures of
Worth. Paquin, Poiret and others
printed on canvas are sold literally by
the yard to be sewed into Exclusive
Paris models" made east of Fifth av-
enue. He could offer no effective
scheme for stopping this and Paul
Poiret could only suggest that foreign
customers should pay the designer,
just as the foreign publisher pays the
author Of a translated book
No Stealing Through Women
But concerted legal action might we'll
hamper the activities of the style
in Paris Their main prop is
The corruptible women employes-the
midnette who. for price, will deliver
The papers and who can be so dis
erect and SO demure that she may pass
FOR years as trusted employe before
being caught. And when she is caught,
The style pirate-from whom she is
paid a great deal more. than she gets
from her honest labor4takes care of
her until she again secures employ
ment in one of the big creating houses.
It is fast game. Styles change al
most from month to month, so that it
is essential to steal the original as
soon as it appears-or before Some
designers have worked for weeks over
4 new model, only to find that on the
very days they first showed it some
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