They copied all of Chapter 118! They're trying to kill us!
Two weeks later, trouble suddenly broke out.
That afternoon, just after the studio saw off a customer, Sister Wang rushed in like a whirlwind, her face flushed red, clutching a piece of clothing in her hand.
"Xiao Wu! Zhou Meimei! Look!"
Sister-in-law Wang slammed the clothes in her hand onto the table with a "bang," panting heavily with anger.
"Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"
Jiang Wu and Zhou Nianci went over to take a look, and they were both stunned.
The dress on the table is a dress.
The style was exactly the same as the dark blue dress that Jiang Wu designed for Sister-in-law Sun half a month ago, the one that made her famous!
Both feature a stand-up collar with elements of the Zhongshan suit, a high waistline, an A-line silhouette, and three-quarter sleeves!
"What...what's going on?" Zhou Nian's voice trembled slightly.
"What's going on?" Sister Wang was furious. "I saw this at the Xidan Department Store! It's the latest style from Dongfeng Garment Factory! It's selling like hotcakes all over the capital!"
Dongfeng Garment Factory!
Jiang Wu and Zhou Nianci exchanged a glance and instantly thought of the woman named Liu Ping from half a month ago.
"They...they actually plagiarized!" Zhou Nianci trembled with anger. She picked up the counterfeit dress and took a closer look, which only fueled her rage.
"It's a complete waste!"
No wonder she was angry.
This counterfeit dress only copied the superficial appearance, but its essence was completely different.
Authentic products use thick and crisp blended wool, while counterfeit products use the cheapest polyester fabric, which is thin, stiff, and has no drape.
The authentic product is precisely tailored by Jiang Wu, with every curve designed to flatter the figure. In contrast, the counterfeit product simply imitates the design, resulting in a crooked and distorted shape that only exposes the flaws of the body when worn.
The most ridiculous thing is that the silver magnolia flowers on the collar and cuffs of the genuine product, which are hand-embroidered by an old tailor stitch by stitch, have become two blurry white prints that have been crudely printed on by a machine on the counterfeit product.
Cheap, rough, and full of knock-off feel.
“How dare they! How dare they do this!” Zhou Nianci’s voice was choked with sobs.
This is not just plagiarism, it's an insult and trampling on their hard work!
"Xiao Wu, we have to go find them! We have to report them! They stole! It's a crime!" Zhou Nianci excitedly grabbed Jiang Wu's hand.
"it's useless."
Jiang Wu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
Her voice was calm, eerily calm.
She picked up the inferior imitation and examined it closely, even feeling the rough fabric with her fingers.
“Sister-in-law, in this day and age, the concept of ‘intellectual property’ doesn’t exist yet. In everyone’s eyes, fashion design is just a craft, not a form of creation.”
“If we sue, not only will we lose, but people will also say we’re making a mountain out of a molehill and that we’re crazy for money.”
"Then... then are we just going to stand by and watch them steal our things and ruin our livelihood?" Zhou Nianci said in despair.
Wang's wife was also sighing beside her.
"Absolutely! I went to the department store today and the sales clerks said that this dress is selling like hotcakes! Because it's stylish and inexpensive, only thirty-something yuan a piece!"
"There are so many people lining up to buy it!"
"Some people even said, 'So this is the design of 'Wu Se'? It's nothing special, just like a cheap, mass-produced item that costs thirty yuan!'"
Sister-in-law Wang's words were like a knife, stabbing deeply into Zhou Nianci's heart.
That's the most deadly thing!
Dongfeng Garment Factory's plagiarism not only stole their potential customers, but also destroyed the high-end brand image they had worked so hard to build!
When everyone thinks that they can buy a design similar to "Wu Se" for 30 yuan, who would be willing to spend several times, or even ten times, more to get a custom-made product from them?
This is practically driving them to their deaths!
The atmosphere in the studio instantly plummeted to freezing point.
The two old tailors also came out from the inner room upon hearing the commotion. After hearing what had happened, they both looked worried and indignant.
"Dongfeng Garment Factory, that's the largest state-owned factory in our capital! We can't compete with them!" sighed an old master craftsman surnamed Li.
"Yes, they have channels and sales outlets. Our little bit of stuff is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot in front of them."
A pessimistic mood spread throughout the small room.
Everyone felt that the career they had worked so hard to build might be about to end.
Only Jiang Wu remained calm.
She turned the replica over, looked at the rough edges and crooked stitching, and suddenly a smile that no one could understand appeared on her lips.
“Master Li, Master Wang,” Jiang Wu suddenly spoke up, saying to the two old tailors, “starting today, we will temporarily suspend all our current orders.”
"What? It's stopped?"
Everyone was taken aback.
Stopping orders at this point would be suicidal, wouldn't it?
"Xiao Wu, what exactly do you want to do?" Zhou Nianci was so anxious she was almost crying.
Jiang Wu did not answer. She walked to her workbench and spread out a brand new sheet of drawing paper.
"We need to do something more important."
She picked up a pencil and looked intently at everyone.
"Don't they like to copy?"
“Then let’s make a garment that will leave them wondering where to even begin copying it.”
Amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Jiang Wu's pencil began to dance rapidly across the paper.
This time, she didn't draw a simple dress, nor an ordinary suit.
It was an extremely complex structure, a "work of art" that blended the elegance of a Chinese cheongsam, the splendor of a Western formal dress, and the deconstructivist lines of modern architecture.
The layers of the skirt resemble a blooming lotus flower.
The asymmetrical shoulder design is bold and avant-garde.
The waist features intricate knotted buttons and hand embroidery, so exquisite it's dazzling.
This is not a piece of clothing!
This is clearly a "treasure of the store" that requires countless efforts and top-notch craftsmanship to complete!
"This...this is..."
The two experienced tailors were speechless with astonishment when they saw the blueprints.
They've made clothes their whole lives, and they've never even seen a design like this before!
“From now on, let’s concentrate all our efforts on making this dress.” Jiang Wu’s voice was full of undeniable power.
"I want everyone to know what true design is and what true craftsmanship is."
"I want to make those who follow trends and plagiarize understand,"
Jiang Wu raised her head and glanced at everyone.
"Classics can never be replicated."
She looked at Zhou Nianci, who had a blank expression, smiled, and spoke with a hint of mystery in her tone.
"Sister-in-law, don't be angry."
"They don't want to take away our jobs."
"They're planning to give us a huge gift, a free publicity campaign that will be the largest in the country."
Zhou Nianci was completely confused.
She had absolutely no idea what Jiang Wu was up to.
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