Versace Steals T-Shirt Design From Young Designer
Left: Kesh x American Apparel “Face Le New” Big Shirt, Right: Versace “Medusa” Tee
When it comes to issues of plagiarism, seeing mass-market brands copy and reproduce runway pieces for a fraction of its cost is the norm. We more or less turn a blind eye on it because it doesn’t really have economic repercussions for either party involved. No one who wants to spend $10,000 on a backpack by The Row will change their mind upon seeing a $40 dollar version made of pleather, you know. But when the accusations of plagiarism go the other way around, our inner social justice warriors really come out.
Kesh is a young British artist and designer whose bold work has caught the attention of the art and fashion world at large – and Kanye West of course. In 2013, American Apparel invited her to collaborate on a small collection. One of her designs, the “Face Le New,” a deconstructed self-portrait, quickly became a hit among all the cool kids and was worn by everyone from Cara Delevingne to Jourdan Dunn. The shirt retails for $50 and is still for sale on the American Apparel website.
So you can imagine Kesh’s surprise when she logged on to the Selfridge website and found that Versace was selling a tee with an oddly similar design. She took to her Instagram to voice her disappointment at the blatant plagiarism, as well as the $650 price tag on it.
“this.hurts. $650.versace rip off. sold out in 3 sizes. what is this madness? from huge designer labels to small boutiques to giant pop stars to fame hungry former friends. what is this? Why can’t these companies . these brands . these people create their own work? what happened? why do these people think that everything that they lay their eyes on instantly belongs to them?” Photo: @kesh/Instagram
The likeness between the two tees is so striking that it would be hard for Versace to argue that it’s “just a coincidence,” or that it all comes from “similar inspiration.” The odd thing is lately Versace has made a push to support young designers, inviting Christopher Kane and J.W. Anderson to design capsule collections for the Versus brand. If the designers at the brand were such big fans of Kesh’s designs, it would’ve garnered them a lot more cool points if they had just asked her to collaborate with them. And while Kesh may not be known by everyone, once Kanye and Cara have been photographed wearing her pieces, Versace can hardly claim ignorance.
The small silver lining is that now many more people will be familiar with Kesh and her work. The designer plans to sue Versace, and we’re certain this is not the last we’ll see of her.
More from Yahoo Style:
The Sincerest Form of Flattery? Forever 21 Knocks Off Mansur Gavriel’s Bucket Bag
Rihanna Wears Head-to-Toe Green Versace at the iHeart Radio Awards
Ellen Page Admits Fashion Has Helped Her Feel Free
