Caffeine said:how long did Marc struggle and how hard did Marc work to get what he has now? He persisted and didn't change himself to gain success. i am also sure that there must be reasons for some designers to be successful and some not. If I were a truggling artist, I would spend more time working and wait for my moment, and learn how and why some other artists are more successful. I would take other people in a positive way and learn from them, not being so negative and trying to convince myself that the successful ones don't deserve it and I do.
Fashion is not fine art, and the forms are limited by human's body, so there are just so many ideas you can play with. Even in architecture design, you can spot "copies" here and there, but complaining is not the right way to go. Here is why: there are just so many elements to use, and if one element is right for one product, then you can use it.
Richard Mier used white bricks in his work (and it is his signature look, btw), but it doesn't mean he patterned it and other architects are not allowed to use it. I read and studied Zaha Hadid's work, and I designed something inspired by what I saw in the past two years, but it doesn't mean that I copied her because everything melted together already.
Vera Wang made a similar necklace as Marc did in one of the past seasons, and her stylist insisted not to show it on runway, but even Vera Wang had no idea that Marc made the same thing. Do they need an "anti-copy" committee or something? No.
I read the article, if I am not mistaken, I don't think it was indicated that "Vera Wang had no idea that MJ made it...etc.", just that "she relented and took them out." Anyway, an accessory is a small issue, an entire garment is a different story.
Sometimes, an artist struggles because s/he isn't as talented, savvy, charisamtic or well-connected. Other times, the artist is hugely talented but is being ripped off by other designers, ignored by the editors and the customers are only interested in known brand names. A few of the times, the artist is mediocre, half-talented, but manages to keep up the hype, is shrewd in spotting good designs and wins the support and attention of important people with celebrity clout, influences and money.B)
I think your architecture examples are not doing justice to MJ's "talent" - it isn't just a particular pattern of tiles or a certain type of shape or form he appropriated. It's more like an exact copy of plan, elevation, section and building construction details resulting in a distinctly duplicated final form, with perhaps a different material (say, tiles instead of concrete) and maybe built one floor higher. There is a clear distinction between borrowed influences and outright plagiarism that most of us can tell.
Do you study architecture? Isn't that the coolest subject? I used to work with Rem Koolhaas (OMA in Rotterdam) - he was a struggling artist for decades, in the red, even though no one doubted his talent. He was however, a cult-like figure with the students. It was purely the decision by the high priest of architecture - Philip Johnson - to finally "recognize" him that saved his *ss. Assuredly, there are more cases like these out there than the system doing justice to the truly talented. Here at the TFS, if not in the mainstream press, perhaps there's room for some of these fashion talents to be recognized, and their original designs attributed.
another part of me agrees with the person who saw it as an apocalyptic statement. The bags are so big they're like shields with chains! its like we're wearing armor and protective layers to sheild us from the world 
