A Dolce and Gabbana dress for £40? Dreams do come true...

A Dolce and Gabbana dress for £40? Dreams do come true...

Those of you that often lust after the latest designer dresses, but not the price tag, are in for a real treat. 

Peacocks has launched a premium collection of pretty summer dresses inspired completely by the latest designer looks swept off the catwalk. The brand is called Peacocks By Design  and includes replicas of some of fashion’s most sought after designers. 

This floral maxi dress by Dolce and Gabbana (below) is normally retailed at £2835. The Peacocks By Design version is £40. 

This pretty green and yellow floaty tea dress by Erdem (below) sells for £1070, but in Peacocks you can buy a similar one for £35. 

Head womenswear buyer Antonella Bettley said: “This range is exceptional value. For a low budget price you’re getting fabulous tailoring, with lots of fabric and attention to fashion forward details. There is no need to pay the earth for fabulous design.”

Left: Louis Vuitton, price on request. Right: Peacocks By Design, £38

Designers use the most expensive fabrics and the most skilled seamstresses in creating their work. The detail that goes into their fashions is so intricate and time consuming that dresses can cost thousands of pounds. Peacocks has simply taken these designs as inspiration and produced them in cheaper fabrics using simple stitching techniques, so that they can sell the designs to women all over the UK who have more accommodating bank balances. 

Last year, Peacocks also re-created the £9000 Chloe ‘Louise’ bag. Priced at just £10 it sold out within 48 hours. 

However, other high street stores have paid the price of copying high end designers in the past. 

In 2004 Primark paid £23,000 to settle court claims that they had copied a Monsoon top and butterfly dress and a year later had to withdraw six more lines after Monsoon threatened further legal action.

In 2007, the French fashion house Chloe forced Topshop to destroy 1000 yellow dugaree dresses priced at £35, amidst claims it was a copy of their own £185 design.

The Peacocks By Design debut collection is available now on the Peacocks website and in its flagship stores in sizes 8-18. To browse the collection click here. WW

Left: Jasper Conran, unpriced. Right: Peacocks By Design,  £35