One has a pattern based on the repetition of a recognisable black inverted triangle, the other is an inspired-by

Prada Symbole and H&M ‘Shopper’. Photos: respective brands

We do not usually call out the imitative output of fast fashion brands since the copying is expected, however uncannily similar one is compared to the other. And luxury labels are easy targets. But sometimes, it is so amazingly blatant and is such an arrant semblance that it is hard not to make the comparison or identify the startling similarities. When we spotted the H&M bag on the brand’s website, the first thing that came to our mind was Prada! And what kept coming to our view was the Symbole tote, first launched in May last year. Sure, the H&M pattern—repeating what looks like photo corners—is not the same as Prada’s, but you can’t ignore where the inspiration came from. The near-sameness is right down to the orientation of the tote, the practicable size and proportion, the handle that is in the same fabric as the bag, and the two tones of black and beige (another lighter version is also similar to Prada’s beige/chalk white).

To be certain, with the Dior Book Tote now so widely copied, it is hardly surprising that the Prada bag—itself a late entrant, compared to the Dior—has spawned lookalikes. Prada has no monogram in its archive, so they created a pattern that is not based on a logotype or other brand emblem (such as Dior with their Oblique logo). Rather, the motif is in the shape of the distinctive Prada plaque: an inverted triangle as potent in its appeal as the Nike Swoosh. The letters and the ampersand of H&M probably do not lend themselves to fetching repeated patterns, so the brand came up with something not entirely different from the source of their inspiration, and just as graphic. Interestingly, both Prada and H&M do not call their bags the tote, as Dior does. Prada describes theirs as a “handbag” and H&M called theirs a “shopper”. Either way, one is a symbol of luxury, the other is not.

Prada Symbole (large), SGD5,300 is available at Prada stores. H&M Shopper, SGD54.95, is available at H&M stores