A few months ago, Britt wrote a story about a small-but-successful label called Bird, launched in 2006 by Los Angeles-based handbag designer Elizabeth Carey.
After Juicy Couture launched its own label, also called Bird, in 2009, Carey's name and sales were cannibalized. She first attempted to reach out to Juicy Couture founders Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy informally about the issue, but soon enough Liz Claiborne, the conglomerate that currently owns Juicy Couture, was involved.
Carey was forced to sue the company. She told Britt in April that she wanted to accomplish only one thing: “I want people to support young designers. I trademarked my company and did everything I was supposed to do. It’s a good lesson for people who want to start a brand, to know this and know that it’s out there. A big conglomerate shouldn’t be allowed to do this.”
Yesterday, we were informed that Carey was forced to give up the fight. Her collection will re-launch as Liz Carey handbags this fall.
