New Delhi, April 16 (IANS): Designer Shantanu Goenka has accused certain boutiques in his hometown Kolkata of plagiarising his creations, and says concrete steps need to be taken against the "flourishing" market of replicas.

The couturier, whose designs spell exquisite luxury, got to know about plagiared designs when he stumbled upon the social media pages of some of stores. He got photographic proof of the copied designs, which the stores were claiming to be their original creations.

“These boutiques in Kolkata are pioneers in shamelessly copying designerwear. The designers who worked at these boutiques previously, who detested the idea of copying other designer’s works, have come forward to support the statement with photographs as proof,” Goenka said in a statement.

He added that “since we take no concrete steps against plagiarism, the boutiques tend to flourish in this grey area”.

“I hope this issue is addressed in press and within the fraternity, because it’s not just my clothes which are being copied, but you will be shocked to find that the entire business is running through copies of famous designers, which at times they even quote as originals,” he added.

Goenka is not the only designer whose creations are imitated by shopkeepers across the nation. Replica saris and lehengas by designers like Masaba Gupta, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Manish Malhotra sell like hot cakes as far as wedding wear is concerned.