
Photo: Regretsy
Fast fashion retailers often get accused of stealing other designers’ work, but this case is a bit different. H&M is being accused of stealing an original design from the work of a East Atlanta-based artist, Tori LaConsay. Tori emailed Regretsy to point out that a sign she had painted in 2008 as a love letter to her “tight-knit” neighborhood was swiped by H&M and subsequently used on things like bath towels and door mats. The items in question were sold on the UK’s H&M site (see above), but we don’t see them there now, not surprisingly.
LaConsay wrote to complain to H&M and got he following response from a customer service rep: “We employ an independent team of over 100 designers. We can assure you that this design has not been influenced by your work and that no copyright has been infringed.” After that, she sent her tale to Regretsy and H&M has now responded to the controversy via social media. Read more »
There’s nothing so synonymous with Brit label Fred Perry as the laurel wreath. Hell, it’s been their logo for sixty years–the brand first stamped the symbol on their famous polo shirts in 1952. So imagine our surprise to find the above left cream-colored sweater for sale, not on Fred Perry’s site, but at other Brit label Topshop’s. Read more »

Photos: Getty, Jason Wu
Douglas Hannant and Jason Wu share a similar design aesthetic and clientele (classy, high-end), but do they also share similar designs? The NY Post is reporting that “sources” noticed that a look from Jason Wu’s pre-fall 2012 collection was strikingly similar to a Douglas Hannant frock that Anne Heche wore in September. Read more »

Rihanna, Rihanna, Rihanna: When are you going to learn to stop ripping off photographers’ work?
In October, the songstress settled out of court for an “undisclosed sum” with David LaChapelle over her S&M video, which allegedly cribbed directly from his work–and she faced another lawsuit from photographer Philipp Paulus over a scene in the same video, which was undeniably similar to an editorial he shot a year beforehand. But, from the looks of her latest video “You Da One,” Rihanna has even more legal troubles ahead of her. Read more »
On the left is a Spring 2011 ad campaign for David Yurman featuring a bed-headed Kate Moss sultrily lifting her fingers to her mouth to show off the jeweler’s rings. On the right is an ad campaign for the supermodel’s line for Fred showing a bed-headed Kate Moss sultrily lifting her fingers to her mouth to show off the jeweler’s rings. Uh oh.
And the similarities don’t end there. Kate Moss’ Fred campaign features a number of photos that seem to crib directly from the model’s Peter Lindbergh-shot campaign for Yurman last year (check out the other comparison shots below–the similarities are glaringly obvious). Read more »

Left: Carven; Right: H&M
H&M Spring 2012 collection has lots of punchy colors, structured silhouettes, and a jacket we swear we’ve seen somewhere before…Ah, that’s right, we have! Because Carven put out the exact same jacket for spring 2011.
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Photo: Splash via Frockwriter
Say what you will about Kim Kardashian, but the girl shows up for work. She touched down in Sydney yesterday with sis Khloe to promote the launch of a line of Kardashian Kollection bags exclusive to Australia (the designer/entrepreneur the sisters worked with on their Sears kollection, Bruno Schiavi, is a Sydney native). Only, maybe her head’s not all right following her filing for divorce and the entire world calling her marriage a sham, because instead of karrying Kardashian Kollection to promote her line, she was snapped carrying Balenciaga.
Funny choice of designer, actually. One of our favorite Aussie fashion writers, Frockwriter, points out that one of the bags in the Kardashian Kollection handbag range is an obvious Balenciaga knock off. Of course, it’s not the first time the Kardashians have been accused of knocking of a handbag. Monica Botkier sent a cease and desist letter to Sears after the Kardashian Kollection knocked off her 2009 ‘Trigger Clyde’ bag.

Balenciaga on the right, der
As we took a look through the Kardashian Kollection’s Australian handbag line we noticed a lot of other heavy “inspiration.” Read more »

Jessica Rogers of SomedayNewYorker work on the left. Nicki Minaj at Carolina Herrera on the right.
Earlier this week, Nicki Minaj made headlines when she sat next to a soberly-dressed Anna Wintour, wearing a rainbow, shoulder-pad-dress-concoction completely covered in neon pom-poms, at Carolina Herrera’s Spring 2012 runway show. Everyone had a good laugh, and prasied Minaj for her gusto and originality…except that, as it turns, the hip-hop singer was wearing a flagrant rip-off of another designer’s work.
Young designer Jessica Rogers, 21, of SomedayNewYorker, has been producing garments nearly identical to Minaj’s–which both the singer and Rogers refer to as “Puff Ball” style–for almost three years now. What’s more, Rogers tells us that Nicki Minaj‘s stylists had contacted her in the past about using some of her clothing–among them a Puff Ball dress–however once Rogers sent further images of her work, she never heard back from Minaj’s team. Rogers said she even followed up a month later, sending more images of her puff ball garments, eager for the prospect of working with such a big-name star.
But it seems like Nicki Minaj–or more likely, her stylist–had different plans, copying the vulnerable young designer’s work without so much as a mention. “When I saw the photos [of Minaj at Carolina Herrera] I was in tears,” Rogers said. “I’ve worked very hard to make my dream of being a fashion designer come true. I have built contacts with Teen Vogue, Gaga, Katy Perry, and Marina and the Diamonds has worn my garments. [Now,] I feel like everything has crumbled down.”
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We’re not exactly surprised Steve Madden ripped off Miu Miu–actually the mass retailer has already done it before–but we are a tad taken aback that they’ve chosen to copy this shoe in particular. Read more »