The Myth of Originality

trends, the Creative God Complex, and the illusion of new

If you’ve followed my writing, you know I’m endlessly fascinated by internet culture, the disappearance of mystery, and the rise of what I can only call sameness. I wonder if original thought isn’t just on the decline—it might not exist at all. With billions of people on this planet and near-universal internet access, the odds that you’re the only one who’s ever had a specific idea are almost nonexistent. You may feel like you came up with something completely on your own, but chances are, someone else had that same thought. Maybe they didn’t have the resources, connections, or money to bring it to life. Maybe it was a just a passing thought. You’ll never know.

If you follow the same niche fashion corners of the internet that I do, you already know where I’m going with this. Stylist Juliana Salazar, recently called out the jewelry brand, Dorsey, accusing them of copying her design. On the surface, her message reads like a call for accountability- a sentiment I fully support. But as I read through her words, I didn’t feel what I thought I would- rather, it brought up a range of emotions. And a cautionary tale of the ego.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve felt copied or seen my ideas echoed elsewhere. And to receive the “Great minds think alike” or the fake-surprised “Wait, do you have this too?”. It’s more than enough to make me spiral for days. When you’re good at something or have good taste, people tell you. Over and over again. Eventually it gets in your head. And if you aren’t careful you’ll have thoughts, or worse, say out loud, I did that first. I started that trend. Everyone copies me. I call it the Creative God Complex. You convince yourself that you are some sort of genius, and when your ideas show up somewhere else, you feel robbed. I’ve seen it in myself since I was a teenager and it’s a really tiring thought pattern. An unproductive one that just slows you down.

The truth is that there’s nothing to prevent this from happening. A lawsuit maybe, or a patent. You could disappear from the internet entirely, stop sharing your work. But that idea would resurface eventually- because it was never just yours to begin with. You can air out screenshots of emails and DM’s in an attempt to prove something belongs to you. But public shaming is an extremely cheap version of accountability and standing up for yourself. And the risk of looking like the asshole, outweighs whatever point you were trying to make.

We scroll through old references, archives, old books, and Pinterest boards, then convince ourselves we’re creating something brand new. We encourage people to take from us- shop my links! steal my taste! Routinely posting our work, outfits, and interiors for public consumption. We buy into dupe culture. Then in the same breath we turn bitter. Surprised even. Someone does something similar or perhaps does it better. And beyond that, we are lying to ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that every idea comes from somewhere. Every “original” thing you do or say was inspired by something.

What confused me with this particular accusation- and the bracelet at the center of it- is that it involves two massive, already established trends. The bezel tennis bracelet. Every jewelry brand makes one and every influencer has one. And *the cord*. Miu Miu SS24 practically baptized the cord trend. And even then, all the Arcteryx wearing outdoorsy freaks are out there rolling their eyes at us.

So no— this bracelet wasn’t chiseled from marble or carved out of a wax mold.

That said, I genuinely love both versions. When Kimai’s Salazar Bracelet launched, I drooled. I even linked it in previous newsletters. The internet was already overflowing with single bezel diamond-on-a-string bracelets. This felt like a beautiful extension of that. And Dorsey? What they do well is offer accessibility. A range of materials at different price points. You can get the same style but in silver, gold, lab diamond, lab white sapphire, and moissanite. A business model for the girls and their budgets. I love all of the pieces and the Paracord James Bezel is a no-brainer for summer. I got the Khaki, somehow managed to get it on my ankle, and it’s probably never coming off. No seriously, it might be stuck lol.

The timing of all of this is especially ironic if you caught the recent Cutting Room Floor episode with Steve Madden. I couldn’t get enough. Fashion people collectively exhaled at the sheer bluntness. He’s a business man. This is a business. Social media feeds on trends. The industry depends on them. Good ideas catch on as much as mediocre ones. If Dorsey hadn’t made that bracelet, another small brand would have. Then Zara. Then Amazon. We all know the drill.

So what is original in all of this?

Honestly? Not having an ego. Letting things go. Being kind even when you feel wronged. Giving people the benefit of the doubt in a culture that thrives on calling others out. It’s resisting the urge to spiral. Instead, recognize that your creativity isn’t a finite resource. It doesn’t run out just because someone else tapped into something similar.

Create anyways. Create without constantly needing credit. Trust the right people will see you. Stay soft in a world that rewards outrage and virality. It’s understanding that your taste, your perspective, your execution are what make something yours, even if the bones of it have existed a thousand times before.

Being able to do what you love again and again, despite disappointment- that’s power. That’s longevity. That’s art. Letting go doesn’t mean giving up. It means choosing peace over pettiness. Trust over control and acknowledgment. Growth over ego.

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Syd