Nay, for a couple reasons and one is that I just think that quote is frequently misused.

'Cause the full deal is like, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness." Right? So my understanding, which could be pretty off, is that it's supposed to mean that, you know, if you do something exceptionally well and/or reasonably unique people will imitate you. Those imitations will be mediocre. Flattery is always insincere, so we're not meant to be saying imitation is a compliment. It's nothin' to you, and it is what it is, because you are the exceptional one, so you roll with it and don't get twisted up about it.  

I'm not exceptional at all, so I'm the imitation. I don't like to categorize any attempt I've made to do something "flattery" because if I'm aware that I'm doing some kind of imitation of someone/something else, then I probably believe it's an homage or an expression of my sincere appreciation of that thing or person. But that is gonna be subjective.

I will say that being called some sort of imitation of something/someone you love, is (or at least can be) a pretty high compliment, imo. I mean even being told you're doing a straight up bad imitation of something you really love can exceed your expectations.

So the way this quote is used, like when someone says “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" in response to another person wanting to wear the same shade of eyeshadow they're wearing... that's a no from me. You bought that from a store, Taylor. You didn't invent colors.

The other reason I don't really agree with the sentiment is that I have liked plenty of things that you may call imitations more than the thing they're said to be imitating. I mean, that's a huge thing in music. But again, that's all gonna be subjective and you could argue that calling it an imitation is is inaccurate, too.