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EXCLUSIVE: Masaba Gupta says Diet Sabya OWES an explanation to every designer and design house
Recently in an EXCLUSIVE interview with Pinkvilla, ace stylist Rhea Kapoor and designer Masaba Gupta opened about Diet Sabya’s impact on the fashion world and how it is affecting designers and design houses.
Plagiarism has been a long standing fight in our country for as long as one can remember. For years together ‘creative artists’ have been getting ‘inspired’ by other artists work and minting money. Back then obviously we didn't have the kind of social connectivity which we possess today. About a year and a half ago, the cult of Diet Prada took over the World. The anonymous account would pull up brands and design houses for copying other label’s designs and aesthetics. Diet Prada went all guns blazing and did not mince any words and still continues to be one of the most successful Instagram accounts globally.
In a whole spin of irony, back in India, taking some “inspiration” from Diet Prada was Diet Sabya. An anonymous Instagram account calling out Indian designers and design houses for plagiarism with their now famous hashtag #GandiCopy. What started out as a major hit with a clean intention and motive has seemed to lose its plot. Recently in an EXCLUSIVE interview with Pinkvilla, ace stylist Rhea Kapoor and designer Masaba Gupta opened about Diet Sabya’s impact on the fashion world and how it is affecting designers and design houses. 
Masaba Gupta: This to me I think it has become a bit personal. They’re picking on how someone looks. I mean isn’t the whole point of Instagram is to be a little bit more positive about everybody else? You’re picking on how someone’s stomach looks or how someone is badly dressed, but to them they must be the best dresser in the World. So, the job focus has moved which I don’t like, having said that I think they started off on a great note, if they went back to that then that’s great. But I think they owe every designer and design house an explanation.
Rhea Kapoor: First of all we have to be extremely clear about one thing that everything has a mother. Everyone got inspired by something or the other. Now how do you draw the line between inspiration and plagiarism? If you claim to be the person that can draw the line, my suggestion for you is to do as much homework as possible. One part of the homework is to reach out to the person you are accusing and ask them if they have anything to comment. This is because you are putting it on a public platform and you don’t know how is it going to affect them, one. Two, it has also become a space where people put out their uninformed opinions and I don’t know how healthy that is. Third, for example, there was a whole thing of our images being photoshopped. We then put out raw images, both of us put them out on our social media within 30 seconds saying that look this is the complete raw image. And, after that, I don’t know if there was a withdrawal, I don’t know if there was an apology. Also, it is not something that I expect but I’m just saying that if you’re going to be someone who claims to tell the truth then tell it.
Like Masaba said, I really respected the idea when it came out because I think it has been a huge problem in our industry. We deal with designers on a daily basis. My friends get copied! From Masaba to Shehla to Anamika to Abu Sandeep, they’re copied non-stop and I know how frustrating it is for them, so in a way it was a great thing. Obviously Diet Prada was the mother and Diet Sabya is the ‘inspiration’. Today if people knew where half of the embroideries that Abu Sandeep do, where it comes from. Half the inspiration where Masaba’s prints come from. If Diet Sabya could do something about that, imagine how much they would be giving young people because young people have no idea about that.
What are your thoughts? Do you think Diet Sabya has now turned nasty and is picking on people? Comment below and let us know.
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