There are two breeds of copiers: trend scouts who watch designers like hawks, have an instinct for the commercial and a talent for picking the winners; and style stealers, who copy designs and then present them as their own.
Every journalist is driven by the thrill of the chase. The discovery of new stuff is Drapers' quarry, whether we're chasing a retail opening, scoping next season's trends, or pounding the pavement in pursuit of the latest looks.
Ever since Drapers featured a double-page spread pinpointing the average womenswear boutique in the UK (Drapers, August 23), I have been haunted by the statistic that the average amount of new labels that any one shop will buy in a season is just two.
