Launched recently, DietKochi has become the talk of the town quite fast. Like its sibling pages, Diet Sabya and Diet Prada, these fashion enthusiasts call out the plagiarism and imitations of the fashion world. They educate and inform the audience about the latest trends in their quest to find designs that have been copied or made with pure “inspiration”.
Allow us to introduce DietKochi for their brilliant research on plagiarism in the fashion industry in this fun conversation about a lot of interesting topics. Read ahead and let us know how it went.
Let’s begin with the very basic question. What made you begin a Diet Kochi page?
We, at DietKochi, believe in bringing back ethics and accountability in fashion.
Creative and new ideas need to be celebrated and promoted so we can nourish talent from Kerala. We are a platform that supports innovative ideas and aims to generate good discussions around things related to fashion.
The journey of fashion and styling is still in its initial stage here. What do you hope to see ahead?
We agree. To keep our answer simple, we would like to say that- “We would like to get surprised!”.
What are your expectations from the designers of Kerala?
A good first start is understanding the term ‘designer’ and doing justice to it. We are a platform for fashion discourse and want to refrain from commenting explicitly on what designers should and should not be doing.
Do you agree with us when we say that many fashion influencers in our industry showcase elitism rather than fashion?
Influencers carry a lot of responsibility. At DietKochi, we celebrate and promote creative and new ideas. We would encourage fashion influencers to do the same.
We would love to see you explore a chapter on the behavior of prominent designers of Kerala with their customers. We have heard that there are many popular designers out there who have set a financial bar just because they have worked with movie stars. What do you think of it?
We have received many messages regarding this. However, commenting on anybody’s behavior is not something we do.
What’s fashion to you? What can impress diet Kochi?
We want to quote the legend. “I am a fashion person, and fashion is not only about clothes—it’s about all kinds of change.” – Karl Lagerfeld
Experimentation is very rare in the Malayali fashion world. Do you wish to see a change in it?
Oh yes, we would absolutely love to see it. It’s a chicken and egg problem between designers designing experimental clothes and customers choosing to wear them. In many industries, film actors are the forerunners of fashion. However, not the case in the Malayalam film industry. At least not yet.
How do designers take it when you point out their “copy adi” or so-called “inspired by” taglines?
Some of them block us. A few create anonymous accounts to post counterarguments. Some resort to name-calling. A few were receptive, acknowledged our points, and said they would be careful in the future. That’s very commendable.
The posts are way more impactful than what it looks like on the page. Many people, including brand owners, regularly watch our posts and stories without following us. You’d be surprised that more than half of our story views come from regular non-followers.
It hasn’t been much time since your page has come on board. But it’s creating fashion ripples all over the Malayalam fashion world. How do you take in the support and encouragement received?
Instagrammers of Kerala views us as a fashion platform. We feel great about it. We appreciate all the support and encouragement received from everyone, including prominent celebrities.
Thrifting is still in its struggling phase here. What are your thoughts on it?
Thrifting is a great concept and must be promoted. It’s sustainable and economical. It should not be reduced to something the elite does to get rid of old or unused clothes at prices that almost match the MRP. It should be a good quality item at a nominal fee or free for it to be called thrifting.
If you don’t mind, can you share a concept map to explain how you guys find this plagiarism in fashion attire?
We would like to continue keeping our secret sauce a secret.
We are highly disappointed in the men’s fashion line in our industry. What are your thoughts on the same?
This is an excellent question. Kerala needs more exploration of men’s fashion.
We know that DietKochi is at a nascent stage right now, but in just a couple of weeks, they managed to strike up a conversation that we thought we didn’t need. Their idea of changing the copycat culture in Kerala’s fashion industry is sure to make designers more conscious of their creative thoughts. At the end of the day, we must understand that creative inspiration or plagiarism is a big ‘NO’. We’re enthused to see what they have in store for us.
