Martin Margiela's t-shirt too similar for artist David Penfound's taste

[masquerade]

Martin Margiela horse tee carries $1,395 price tag
For $20, you can find a similarly campy T-shirt online. Maybe too similar for artist David Penfound's taste.

By Erin Weinger, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

IF YOU'RE planning to buy one of Martin Margiela's horse-print T-shirts, get ready to change your plans.

The oversized cotton creation is sold out at the designer's Beverly Hills boutique.

And even more shocking because the screen-printed design features three campy yet strangely familiar white stallions charging across an ominous sky as lightning flashes on the jagged peaks below. It's a T-shirt design that is, more or less, available all over the Internet for about $20.

Although Margiela's representatives say the graphic is a "collage of nostalgic images compiled in-house," a nearly identical image, titled "Summoning the Storm," was painted in 1998 by a British artist named David Penfound. He didn't flip out at the fact that his copyright-protected work has apparently been, uh, bor rowed. It happens, according to Penfound, all too often.

"The designer must know it's illegal," he wrote in an e-mail when asked about the similarities between his artwork and Margiela's tee. There are some differences in Margiela's design (instead of an Indian chief in full-feathered headdress looking toward the heavens, summoning the storm, the Margiela tee has a cluster of rocks covering in the foreground). But just compare the drama, details and style -- and draw your own conclusions.

Penfound commands between $1,000 and $4,000 when granting approval to companies wishing to use "Summoning the Storm," which has found its way onto jigsaw puzzles, mugs and skateboards.

On top of that fee, Penfound also gets a royalty of up to 10% when an item is sold. (Will Penfound summon his own legal storm with Margiela? "I will be contacting them today," he wrote.)

When it comes to clothing, Penfound is picky about who reproduces his work. The 34-year-old painter gives his sole stamp of approval to the Mountain, a New Hampshire-based T-shirt maker who has been using Penfound's designs for 12 years. "Summoning the Storm" graces the front of the Mountain's 100% cotton tee and is one of the brand's bestselling styles, available through a variety of retailers for a mere $19.95.

The Mountain's tee is basic, while Margiela's comes fully loaded with a long back panel for an asymmetrical hem, billowy sleeves and detachable shoulder pads that create the strong silhouette that's his trademark.

But at the end of the day, a horse is a horse.

erin.weinger@latimes.com

Los Angeles Times
images from LAtimes and style.com

[Casius]

Wow, it's almost exactly the same....I find it hilarious at how much Margiela charged for that thing too.

[BerlinRocks]

^the design is similar....
the cut is absolutely not the same!! of course you can buy this tshirt for 20$ but unless you have couture skills i'm not sure people would tell you on streets "hey you're wearing Margiela".... and I'm not sure Margiela's buyers buy this ONLY for the design... but also for the shoulders and tshirt's cut....

[Casius]

The whole article is basically about the print, which does look exactly the same except for the Indian chief.
Not like I really care, I mean, $1400 for a t-shirt with shoulders that drape? Yikes.

[BerlinRocks]

1400$?? I had no idea....
then you'd better have couture skills....

[yalil]

Originally Posted by BerlinRocks

^the design is similar....
the cut is absolutely not the same!! of course you can buy this tshirt for 20$ but unless you have couture skills i'm not sure people would tell you on streets "hey you're wearing Margiela".... and I'm not sure Margiela's buyers buy this ONLY for the design... but also for the shoulders and tshirt's cut....

While I wouldn't buy the original tie-dye shirt (eew), he still stole the print.

[Scott]

i simply cannot make any excuses for that. it does indeed look exactly alike. it's a bit hard for me to even comprehend margiela copying anybody......and especially not researching the originality. i dunno.

[Scott]

i actually feel a bit betrayed by that. one cannot deny the exactness of it.

[Spike413]

OMG, it's kinda dead on.

It's kind of shocking I guess....but then again, its happened before to other big name designers, so maybe it isn't so shocking afterall.

[mode]

it is bad enough that margiela totally ripped this poor guy off but then he turned it into one of the ugliest shirts i have ever seen

[vieuxfoudan]

Originally Posted by Scott

i actually feel a bit betrayed by that. one cannot deny the exactness of it.

I pretty much agree to that. Its really difficult to believe that Margiela will actually copy 90% of a screen printed design to use it on his garments.

[LostInNJ]

I thought that the design on the Margiela t's were pretty generic....The print looks like those t-shirts you can find in the East Village minus the price tag. As soon as the SA at the store told me the tank version was about $800, that is exactly where I went and I am glad because I only wore the t-shirt twice

I have to say, however, that the Margiela is looks cool

[educo]

You can find those t-shirts at any Native American souvenir shop. Get an XL and add shoulder pads, and you pretty much got it for $26 (shoulder pads included).

[softgrey]

anyone else remember the marj jacobs scarf from last year that this happened with....
it's almost the same exact story...

didn't anyone at mmm hear about that?!...
you know...
even if the artist sues them...
they are still making a lot of money~

[Casius]

Yea just think, the cost to license the graphic from the original artist is the cost of about three of those shirts at retail.

Doh!