A cure is still yet to be found for the plague that is designers copying each other in fashion. It’s an unspoken praxis that many collections take ‘inspiration’ from other collections, sometimes shown only days before. In some ways, it can be healthy in the development of trends (remember the cerulean sweater scene from The Devil Wears Prada?). In most cases, however, it’s an obvious symptom that designers are lazy, bankrupt of ideas, or both.

Dolce & Gabbana designer Stefano Gabbana posted an Instagram today where he freely admitted to knocking off Vivienne Westwood’s iconic 1989 ‘sex’ necklace in a 2003 Dolce & Gabbana collection. “Okay it's true!!!” he wrote in the post’s caption. “We were stupid and ignorant when we did this!!! We say SORRY to the Genius #viviennewestwood as we pay much attention to her work!”

Gabbana also used his Instagram to call out Chanel, whom he felt created similar column heels in its most recent 2017 Greece-themed Cruise collection. Only later did he follow up to say he was guilty of doing the same. He also commented on the image posted by @whodiditfirst, writing: “Is true!! Our unique fall in our job!! We was ignorant... and we say sorry to the genius Vivienne Westwood... SORRY 🙏🏻🙁.”

The Instagram was a repost from the account @whodiditfirst, which juxtaposes nearly identical garments from rival fashion labels. There are many Instagram accounts that point to the blatant ripoffs rampant in the industry. One such account is @Diet_Prada, which keeps a watchful eye on the fashion facsimiles. It’s doubtful it will ever truly go away, but it’s nice to see a designer fully own up to past mistakes.