MattCreamer.com

this column from The New Yorker’s James Surowiecki is worth reading. Basically, Surowiecki, of “The Wisdom of Crowds” fame,  takes a counterintuitive view on how piracy is impacting the fashion industry. It’s not, he argues, contrary to every other business model based on intellectual property. Since the fashion business’ growth depends on consumers regarding its products as highly disposable i.e. changing out your wardrobe every season and stocking it with new arrivals, anything that encourages that is good. Nothing makes a piece of haute couture seem more chuckable than seeing it become popular, and that’s only helped along by the proliferation of cheap, counterfeit knock-offs. Hence the “Piracy Paradox.” Argh.