Kopy Kats?

When a discussion erupted on one of our favorite blogs—www.designobserver.com—about two eco-friendly cleansers that have similar packaging, we couldn’t help but recall an earlier episode. In a Spy-like photo comparison, Design Observer posted one bottle from the hip brand Method—allegedly by Karim Rashid—and another from the discount brand Solutions, and encouraged readers to share their thoughts. “The design was stolen,” Nathan Philpot wrote. “If they are in fact the same product on the inside, why do we care [w]hat they are on the outside?” Susie Nielsen countered. For the record, Rashid did not design the Method bottle in question; however, he did design one with a distinctly Karim-esque square base that the company is currently rolling out.

But consider these fishy look-alikes: Rashid’s Ego/Id vase for Mglass, a self-portrait of the designer’s profile, is remarkably similar to a bust of Mussolini by Italian Futurist Renato Bertelli in the Wolfsonian-FIU museum, in Miami. We recommend that Rashid visit www.comeclean.com, Method’s Web site for people wanting to publicly confess their sins.