Eco fashion label, Feral Childe is fast fashion retailer, Forever 21´s, latest victim.
The U.S´s Forever 21 has been sued by designers from Anna Sui to Threadless to Gwen Stefani to Anthropologie for copyright infringement. Over the years, more than 50 designers claim that their creations have been ´repurposed´ – without permission of any kind – by the company. Their latest victim is eco-fashion label Feral Childe, which hand-designs all their prints (and tend toward the unique and funky).
Designers Alice Wu and Moriah Carlson didn´t even know one of their illustrations (which they typically print on sustainable fabrics like organic cotton or silk) had been appropriated until they spotted a girl walking down an NYC street wearing a dress with fabric that looked like theirs – but the dress wasn´t. Later at a party, they saw the frock on another woman, and this time ascertained that it had recently been bought at a Forever 21. They tracked it down online and in stores, and picked up one of the dresses to examine it up close.
Needless to say, the designers were pretty upset at the copy, and they are suing. Forever 21 is known to settle out of court and has done so in the past, moving on to keep copying others´ designs. Feral Childe told Ecosalon: “Without any consideration or respect for the origin of the artwork, Forever 21′s mass reproduction of our textile design without our permission is extremely unethical, and in direct violation of the law. It’s frustrating that this enormous company, with over a billion dollars a year in revenues, would dare to poach the artistic creations of a small company such as ours.”
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Via MNN
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