Authenticity has been a flashpoint for debate in fashion as long as the word "fashion" has been in use. Yet the boundaries between inspiration, homage, copying, and fraud have been complicated by the ease of spreading and copying information online. Calling out design similarities in fashion has become something of a spectator sport, with INSTAGRAM accounts dedicated to showing side-by-side comparisons. At what point does this becomes a zero-sum game for both imitators and the imitated? Really enjoyed this roundtable from VESTOJ and SHANGHAI-based LABELHOOD on what it means to be authentic when nearly everything is accessible online. The conversation features designers from three emerging labels in CHINA—PRONOUNCE, SIRLOIN, and YIRANTIAN. Love that their comments defy the easy assumptions often made in debates about authenticity. YUSHAN LI, co-designer of Pronounce, had this to say about e-commerce platform TAOBAO, where real and fake goods surface alongside each other: "Now that we’re in an age of full sharing and very fast communication, people send you a screenshot or tag you. So you see the copies, and you think that it’s happening more, but actually probably it happened before. It’s just the rate of communication which changed." So does calling attention to copying create a culture of responsibility? It's been a source of ambivalence in fashion for a long time. GABRIELLE CHANEL famously said that being copied is "the ransom of success" despite taking legal action against some (but not all) copyists in her lifetime. Li said she and her partner feel honored when they see their images reposted online despite the fact that they'd rather be credited. When it comes to directly representing China in their work, the two designers not originally from the country were the ones referencing Chinese culture, saying people connected to those elements of their designs despite their view of themselves "as tourists." Given recent reports from BOF and MCKINSEY that project emerging economies will exceed growth in the US and EUROPE for fashion and luxury, it will be interesting to see how media keeps up with the change... In brief: The UK's DOGWOOF is back with another fashion documentary (after "Dior and I" and "Dries") on VIVIENNE WESTWOOD. "Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist" will debut at SUNDANCE in January 2018... LI & FUNG divests from furniture, sweaters, and beauty... JD.COM's plans for smart stores.