So there was surprise earlier when an anonymous complainant alleged that a laser-cut velvet outer garment on display at the university's Fashion and Textiles Resource Centre was copied from a Danish furniture designer.
The article in question was a garment while the object from which it was allegedly copied was a piece of furniture.
According to his personal homepage, the Danish designer said he studied home furniture and products design at the Royal College of Art and specialized in making all types of furniture with laser-cut technology.
The garment which is alleged to have been copied was designed by an assistant professor at PolyU's textile institute.
He said that the piece was entirely his design and not copied. He added that the pattern was based on the leather jacket he designed last year, using laser cutting and 3D scanning to cut cloth into sheets only 5 millimeters thick.
He said laser-cutting and 3D scanning were used in both cases. But if that amounts to copying, then it would be somewhat "quoted out of context."
Renowned fashion designer Lu Lu Cheung says it has become popular in recent years to use laser technology to cut leather or chemical fiber materials to ensure the cuts are clean.
Such technology and 3D scanning are common in the industry and widely employed in different fields of design.
Cheung said
If a designer blends someone else's innovative concept into his work, it is not copying. It is an expression of the designer's creativity.
Cheung noted that two products made by using the same technology will inevitably have similarities.
Internationally renowned fashion designers today also base their works on clothing of different periods, adding their own style to make a new creation.
To decide whether something is a copy or not, we have to consider not just similarities. The most important thing is whether the designer can create something new out of the old.
She too had been accused of copying earlier in her career. The polo collar in her design was said to be copied from a famous brand. But she said design work lays emphasis on personal style and creativity.
