Fashion vigilantes

Call it a different kind of fashion police! An Instagram account known as Diet Sabya is currently taking the online world by storm as it zealously exposes all the copycat designs in the world of fashion. What’s more, it has managed to get a whopping 21K followers within a month, including our very own celebs, Sonam Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar.

The creators seem to be focused on calling out the fakes in the business. “Copying isn’t cool and we will make sure the online universe knows that... About time serial offenders, influential or upcoming — be called out for their mediocrity,” they say.

Among the ‘offenders’ are Deme by Gabriella, a Mumbai-based label that lifts a design and makes an exact copy, as also famous designer duo Falguni and Shane Peacock, who Diet Sabya claims, is a little ‘too inspired’ by US designer Alexander Wang.

Interestingly, the Instagram account reveals that celebrated fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is the “country’s most copied designer”.

Bhumi Pednekar’s Nikhil Thampi dress is the same as Gigi Hadid’s Brandon Maxwell dress

But for self-professed fashion crusaders, Diet Sabya itself seems ‘inspired’ by another Instagram account Diet_Prada, which is also on a mission to unmask copycat designers!

The creators however, are quick to shrug off any comparisons, insisting that only the idea is the same.

Another Instagram account — @whodiditfirst, that has now been deleted, caught the attention of not only of fashion followers but designers too. It came in the focus after one particular post for which well-known Italian fashion designer Stefano Gabanna even commented on and reposted the image

Kiara Advani’s Ritika Bharwani outfit is the same as the model in Cushnie et Ochs’s outfit

— admitting, and apologising that Dolce & Gabanna once copied Vivienne Westwood’s SEX choker.