Isaac Mizrahi Spring 2011

The invitation to Isaac Mizrahi’s show looked kind of cheap, as if it had been dashed off on a copy machine to save some cash. But it turned out to be part of the show, which the designer called “IM Xerox.”

He had created prints on skirt suits, trench coats and dresses that looked, indeed, as if they had been shot out of a copier. The lapels, the pockets, the pleats and the hardware were not real, but facsimiles. Mr. Mizrahi’s prints were blurry, like copies of copies of copies, broken down and faded. He also showed a pastel floral print that was made like a grid of many different floral prints, and several of his signature paillette-covered evening looks that were slit up the back like hospital gowns.

There are many ways to interpret Mr. Mizrahi’s decision to make reference to a technology that is rapidly becoming obsolete. (Quite a few designers sent their invites by e-mail this season, so even the printed card may soon be a thing of the past.)

He could have been saying something about how our reliance on electronic devices has changed our perception of reality, or he could have been thinking that there really is no such thing as an original idea in fashion. Everything’s a copy of something. In fact, Martin Margiela did something quite like Mr. Mizrahi’s copied looks many years ago with a jeans collection that included a print of jeans superimposed on a real pair of jeans. Was Mr. Mizrahi copying Mr. Margiela? Perhaps that was the point.