Victoria’s Secret have been accused of stealing designs of Fleur du Mal lingerie brand collection. It turned out that Victoria’s Secret employee purchased several items worth $ 12,000 from a rival company, allegedly in order to copy them.

For the first time, these accusations were made by Instagram account Diet Prada, run by fashion insiders. They are committed to exposing infamous brands and celebrities for their plagiarized design.

Victoria’s Secret agent is believed to have purchased $ 12,656 of Fleur du Mal lingerie to copy those for their new collection, according to receipts received by Diet Prada. Half of the order consisted of bras and panties with embroidery and appliqué from Fleur du Mal, whose exact copies, which is not surprising, appeared on sale on the Victoria’s Secret website and on Instagram at half price.

None of the comparative shots showed a big difference between the original design of Fleur du Mal and the new Victoria’s Secret collection.

Curiously, Fleur du Mal's founder, Jennifer Zuccarini, previously worked as a designer at Victoria’s Secret from 2008 to 2011.

After having left Victoria’s Secret, Zuccarini created the Fleur du Mal lingerie brand.

Since 2012, the brand has grown significantly and now includes also ready-made garments.

In 2017, Fleur du Mal has been named as the best “Hollywood lingerie line” by Observer magazine after they acquired many A-list clients, including the Kardashian family, Ashley Graham, Lady Gaga and Sienna Miller.

Despite the fact that the popularity of the new brand continues to grow, Victoria’s Secret recently had problems with sales and a drop in rating.

The shares of L Brands (Victoria’s Secret parent company) fell more than five percent after it turned out that Jeffrey Epstein, who has been arrested for sex trafficking, was the 'confidant' of Victoria’s Secret CEO.

Epstein reportedly managed the actives of the owner of the lingerie brand, the billionaire Leslie Wexner, who is valued at $ 4.7 billion.

Although Wexner was not accused of any misconduct, the news of his connection with Epstein led to a deep price drop of L Brands shares when Observer reported that Wexner personally lost $ 53 million from his 17.35 percent ownership of the company.

VICTORIA'S SECRET ACCUSED OF COPYING FLEUR DU MAL

During the First World War, despite the economic difficulties in many European countries, civilian life flowed almost in the same way as before. Women of privileged sections of society were dressing up, and the fashion houses continued their work. In the letters of the years of war that have survived to this day, one can easily see this, as women described entertainment and their acquired outfits.

The situation was completely different during the Second World War. During these years, hostilities spanned the vast areas of Europe. The lives of many were in danger, almost all countries suffered economic difficulties. In connection with the hostilities, the production of civilian clothes almost ceased. Many women put on men’s military uniforms and joined the ranks of the defenders of their homeland.

Women's clothing has undergone significant changes, although there were no major upheavals in the fashion of the 40s, but the male style was clearly indicated. Civilian clothes were complemented by military items - belts, buckles, epaulets, patch pockets. Women learned to be frugal, each became a designer for herself.

A variety of pockets, especially large ones, as well as collars, the ends of which reached the middle of the bodice were the popular details in the fashion of the 40s. The suit jackets were super long, often close to men's jackets, with wide shoulders and a short skirt. Wearing jacket not only with a skirt, but also with the usual colorful dress is a typical feature of the 40s.

The silhouette has changed: the shape became rectangular, more often this shape applied to the coat; in the form of two triangles, the vertices of which were joined together at the waistline of coats and dresses; in the form of a square (a jacket-square suit with a narrow short pencil skirt). These silhouettes emphasized long thin legs with shoes on a thick sole (platform) made from cork or wood, high-heeled shoes, as well as sports shoes on a flat sole or boots with shafts. This form of silhouette lasted until mid-40s.

Fashion, on the contrary to claims that it is not dependent on politics, is directly related to it. Here you can quote the words of the famous French writer Anatole France: Show me the clothes of a country and I can write its history.

Anatole France: Show me the clothes of a country and I can write its history.

- American designer Alexander Wang lives between New York and Paris, with equal success creating collections for the groundbreaking Alexander Wang brand and the historic Balenciaga House.

- Despite the Chinese origin, Alexander Wang is trying to distance himself from the image of the Asian designer. He likes to mention that he was born and raised in California, speaks very little Chinese, and during his visits to China, he only speaks English to journalists.

- Alexander Wong has designed his first collection at the age of fifteen: not less than thirty looks have been created during his summer internship at Saint Martins in London, the designer presented them to the guests at the wedding of his older brother.

- Having dropped out of the prestigious Parsons University, the designer launched the Alexander Wang brand at the age of 20. The whole family helped the young man: a successful lawyer brother, his wife who had experience in production, and Wang's mother who had been engaged in entrepreneurship throughout her whole life.

- The “Fairy Godmother” in the career of Alexander Wang was Diane von Furstenberg, who has awarded him the prize of the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2008. However, their acquaintance did not portend friendship at all! When Diane von Furstenberg has personally called Wang to order a batch of sweaters for her brand, she received from him a categorical refusal: the young man would not work with her - he had no time.

- Alexander Wang did not seem to be the most obvious candidate for the position of creative director of Balenciaga, he was too young (only 28 years old), “too American”, and too street-style oriented. But the leadership of Kering Holding, which owns the Balenciaga House, looked wider and could not but appreciate not only fashionable merits, but also the unprecedented commercial success of Wang's own brand. Their choice turned out to be brilliant: the first collection created by Alexander Wang for Balenciaga has been accepted and well-received by both critics and customers.

When Diane von Furstenberg has personally called Wang to order a batch of sweaters for her brand, she received from him a categorical refusal: the young man would not work with her - he had no time.

A FEW INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ALEXANDER WANG YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF

Victoria Beckham is not too outer-directed, however, several interesting facts about her and her life are still known.

1. At the age of 20, Victoria has learned that she could not have children. She no longer hoped for a miracle and was incredibly shocked when she realized that she has been pregnant and waiting for her son. Highly qualified doctors were also perplexed, as they once told a young girl that she would not be able to get pregnant without special medical procedures.

2. In 2001, Victoria dreamed of playing Lara Croft in 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' movie but lost to Brad Pitt's future wife Angelina Jolie after audition.

3. In childhood and adolescence, Victoria Adams (previously the recognized 'style icon' has had this last name) was engaged in ballroom dance but quit the classical performance to become a part of Spice Girls band.

4. Victoria's favorite designers are Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, as well as Donatella Versace. As a designer herself, Victoria gets inspiration not only from the entire surrounding world, but also from the new collections of the abovementioned masters.

5. Romeo, the middle son of Victoria Beckham, has epilepsy.

6. Victoria is the godmother of Geri Halliwell's daughter Bluebell. They became good friends during the times of joint creative activity, therefore this fact is not surprising.

7. Victoria hates her smile, so she almost never smiles openly. In all photographs Victoria poses without it, although her family and friends say that despite the seeming seriousness, both David and Victoria have a great sense of humor.

8. Once Victoria and her husband David decided to attend Eminem’s concert in Manchester, but they ran away from it in the beginning, as the rapper performed around the stage with a chainsaw, imitated sex with a three-meter cock and then was sitting on an electric chair. The couple was shocked by the fact that 'their children were brought up in a world where Eminem is a star'.

9. In an interview, Victoria mentioned that David loves to wear her thong. Team mates, and as you know David is a football player, mocked him about this for a long time.

10. The OK! magazine  paid $ 2 million for exclusive rights to photograph the Beckham couple’s wedding in 1999 at a Gothic castle in Ireland. At the reception, the newlyweds were meeting invited guests in the amount of 300 people, while sitting on purple thrones.

11. Victoria Beckham is a vegetarian who does not accept the meat consumption.

12. The press calls the youngest son of the Beckham family Cruise as 'the savior of the union' as shortly before his birth, the family’s former spokeswoman Rebecca Loos said that her and David had 'more than a business relationship'. Beckham called this scandalous statement ridiculous, but there were no rebuttals. Cruise is the third child of Victoria and David.

13. In 2002, rumors reached the Beckham family that criminals wanted to kidnap Victoria and her eldest son Brooklyn for ransom. For several months they lived in fear. After a lengthy search, the suspects have been arrested, but the case was swept under the rag.

14. The romantic Beckham family still keep a scrap of paper on which David wrote down the phone number of his future wife Victoria when they first met at a football match in 1997. According to the football player, after he returned home, the coveted number was rewritten for six more times to not get lost.

15. More than once, Victoria Beckham suffered from digestive upset. So during the time of Spice Girls, the diet lover Geri Halliwell advised Victoria to eat frozen peas instead of regular food, and she decided to try it. The result was not long in coming: Victoria ended up in a hospital bed.

16. The Madame Tussauds Museum has wax copies of David and Victoria standing against the backdrop of the American flag.

17. In her youth, Victoria was very tormented with her skin. She would not go out without wearing make-up. Now in her 40s, she sometimes still has the same problem.

18. Victoria Beckham believes Audrey Hepburn is an ideal example of a feminine style, a kind of a standard of classical beauty.

19. However, at present, not Audrey, but Kate Moss is Victoria's icon of style. “I just love Kate Moss. I can say with confidence that her style is perfect. I am her big fan. She always looks fantastic.”

20. Victoria is one year older than her husband David.

21. Victoria Beckham says that she is addicted to shopping and she needs it, although in interviews she says that she does not follow fashion, but trusts her instincts.

22. Victoria's waist size is not more than 58 centimeters.

23. Victoria says that she is sick of constantly being called Vicky.

24. Victoria admits that her favorite movie is The Notebook. She cries every time she is watching it.

25. Beckham's eldest son was named in honor of the New York area where he was conceived, the second in honor of Shakespeare's hero Romeo, and the third carries the name of a close family friend Tom Cruise.

26. The school bus driver: the head of the family David Beckham jokingly calls himself as a school bus driver: he takes the children to school every morning.

27. The chair of punishment: Beckhams love, but do not over-indulge their children. For educational purposes, there is a 'chair of punishment' in the house, into which every guilty child is being immediately sent. The kid sits alone and ponders what he has done until his mother’s heart is pitied.

28. Victoria Beckham has an unusual tattoo, symbolizing the unity of her large family.

29. Victoria received the Order of the British Empire. Prince William himself handed the award to the star.

30. Victoria's height is 163 cm, and she maintains her good physical shape through running, strength training and proper nutrition. Her standard menu includes fruits, sushi, green juices and salmon.

In 2002, the criminals wanted to kidnap Victoria and her eldest son Brooklyn for ransom. For several months they lived in fear.

30 THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT VICTORIA BECKHAM

It is important to mention the fact that the fetish mode has been quite common for quite a while. The sixties were an excellent time for those of us who have been attracted to exotique-érotique clothes. In 1971, garments in a fetish-esque spirit (in particular, leather, with 'corset' lacing over-the-knee boots) could be found even in economy-class department stores, for instance, Montgomery Ward. During this period, man's persona also became more erotic, as the era of rock-and-roll gave birth to a new type of a male role model. 

Well, before Madonna became the forerunner of the mass perception of S&M aesthetics, the fashion industry started getting involved into fetishy vibes.

Punks, being the representatives of the youth subculture, associated with musical bands such as Sex Pistols, have contributed a lot into the introduction of fetishy moods in fashion. Punks' rebellious style has been demonstrating a variety of offensive or intimidating objects, for example, dog collars and chains, which were meant to inspire an 'ordinary' person with fear.

Female punks acquired this forbidden discourse and reoriented or undermined the meaning of it. They manipulated sexual clichés such as fishnet stockings, stilettos, rubber mackintoshes, and bras peeking out from underneath their clothes. Susie Sue was wearing black 'wet vinyl' underpants, harness-looking bras, one black thigh-high boot, and one high-heeled shoe with ankle straps, which she called bondage, as well as a Nazi bandage on his arm.

Thierry Mugler was born in 1948, and his conscious life has begun in the early 60s. He was born in a typical family in Strasbourg; however, from his young age, he has had refined hobbies. Studying ballet as a child, at 14 Mugler began performing at The Opéra national du Rhin and, at the same time, graduated from painting classes at the Strasbourg school of decorative arts. In 1968, he decided to move to Paris, where there was definitely more game. Further, everything developed rapidly: Mugler has been appointed as a sketch designer and then designer at Gudule. Later he started creating collections for fashion houses in Barcelona, ​​Paris, Milan, and London.

In 1973, Mugler created his first collection of women's clothing under the name Café de Paris. Its main dominants were the motifs of the fifties with an emphasis on the waist, as well as the severity and sharpness of forms inherent in the fashion of the forties. The designer filled these retro elements with a modern sound, adding images of aggressive sexuality and exaggerated femininity, which later became the characteristic of his style. 

Mugler's collection created a cognitive dissonance in fashionable public's minds: against the background of the minimalist sixties with their straight silhouettes and craving for futurism, Mugler's deliberately sexy outfits looked more than extraordinary. The future couturier was inspired by the fifties, but interpreted them in his own way - unlike Dior, he was not afraid to expose the chest and legs of his future clients. This song of praise for eroticism caught the attention of the most powerful fashion editors of the time, Melka Tréanton of Depeche Mode and Nicole Crassat of French Elle. 

Thierry Mugler's brand name appeared in 1974. Mugler was not one of those young fashion designers who were rushing to find their styles - he clearly identified the brand's DNA in his first collection. Waists tightened in a narrow complex corset, bandage elements, the aforementioned neckline, a lot of bare body, transparent fabrics, and excessive decor have become the designer's signature elements. However, the space-futuristic course that the industry followed in the sixties has left an impact even on the aggressively sexy clothes of the brand. You can easily imagine those dresses on Barbarella or Veronica Lake.

But behind the stubborn desire to undress the woman as cunningly as possible, there was quite a classical idea of worshiping the female body: the lines of cut and trim repeated the anatomical contours. The silhouettes often resembled antique or even Egyptian attires. The tendency to theatricality was not dictated by the desire to splurge. Mugler was not the prêt-à-porter only designer, he wanted to explore the new forms.

Thierry Mugler was the Tom Ford of his era. There is such a type of people whose talent lets them do absolutely anything. Being engaged in two lines of clothes, the fashion designer was concurrently fond of photography. In 1988, his first album of photographs was released with the images from his travels. Later, the second book, Fashion Fetish Fantasy, has been published, the title which much more accurately reflects the work of Mugler. Needless to say, photography did not stop him from directing short films, clips, and commercials. He was also creating stage costumes, for instance, for 'Lady Macbeth' at Comédie Française. During this period of creative hyperactivity of the artist, the Thierry Mugler house experienced its heyday. Despite the fact that Mugler's garments have been designed for more than wealthy clients, those were actually buying them. In 1992, the French High Fashion Syndicate asked Mugler to create an haute couture collection.

In the fashion industry, powerful take-offs sometimes are followed by an equally rapid fall. By the middle of the nineties, the brand began to fade. Financial problems began, when Thierry Mugler, who did not want to follow new aesthetic trends, fell into the trap of his own role: hypertrophic femininity ceased to be sold since androgyny replaced it. The designer was in the same position in which Gagliano ended up before the scandal: beautiful but terribly unfashionable. In 2001, the house became completely unprofitable and then closed. As it turned out later, just for a while, but nonetheless.

Spring 2020: Casey Cadwallader's tenure at Mugler has coincided with a renewed fascination with Thierry Mugler's vintage work from the '80s and '90s. To a generation weaned on hoodies and leggings, the house founder's exaggerated proportions and twisted glamour are super seductive. In turn, it seems that the culture's embrace of legacy Mugler pieces has emboldened Cadwallader. With its extreme tailoring and endorsement of the pantsless look—Bella Hadid opened the show in a cropped jacket, net corset, and derrière-lifting stockings, that's it—this collection was his most Muglerian to date.

Although Mugler sold his business in 2001, he has never stopped creating. Thierry Mugler designed costumes for Beyonce's 'I Am' World Tour in 2009, and in 2019 he collaborated with the ballet troupe of the British choreographer Wayne McGregor.

During the 30 years that Thierry Mugler was at the helm of his brand, he constantly traveled the world, photographing his clothes against the background of the wonders of the modern world. "All my life, I have been a photographer," says Mugler, "photography has become a reflection of myself and my understanding of beauty."

"I created clothes for women that emphasized their individuality and served as a kind of armor for them. My shows were challenging because I worked with each model individually: stylized images created different hairstyles and makeup, gave them roles, and directed their behavior on the catwalk. My garments are timeless because they glorify the beauty of the human body and the charm of the world in which we live."

Fashion has never been a stranger to fetish; from Mugler to McQueen, the runways feel kinkier than ever.

FASHION IS HAVING A FETISH MOMENT: THIERRY MUGLER

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