Shirt designer accuses Forever 21 of copying her creation

Apparel designers are known to value their creations, such as ready-to-wear outfits and couture dresses. But in a recent post on Instagram, a female Designer accused retail store Forever 21 of allegedly copying one of her designs.

Wildfang’s chief executive officer and designer Emma Mcilroy said that Forever 21 created a Shirt that looked completely similar to one of her designs. She was referring to a clothing item that reads “Wild Feminist” on the front. The Wildfang designer posted a photo of the shirt taken from the retailers official website.

On her Instagram page, she captioned the image with the hashtag “trademark infringement,” and told Forever 21 to stop ripping off their designs. Wildfang claimed that it owns the brand called “Wild Feminist,” and has used the hashtag of the brand ever since registration. Wildfang is a women’s clothing store based in Portland, Oregon that offers clothing, accessories, and shoes.

Wildfang's blogsite describes their store as, "We are a Band of Thieves, modern-day female Robin Hoods raiding men’s closets as we roam from town to town in these stolen styles of ours. We are Hellions and Heroines, Rascals and Rockers. We are ladies who’ve been known to raise a little hell on occasion."

The designer sent a message to Forever 21, saying that when their designs are ripped off, they lose funds that go to charities whenever they make a sale.

According to her, 10 percent of every item that they sell goes directly to foundations such as the ACLU and Planned Parenthood.

Forever 21’s alleged infringement

The alleged trade infringement leveled against the renowned clothing store reportedly happened in other scenarios. Refinery29 reported that Forever 21 has previously been involved in alleged rip-offs from other companies.

Allegations are that they imitated styles and designs from them, and embedded these in their products to sell to the mass market.

These companies include the athletic brand Alala, jewelry line Sorelle, Frank Ocean, and famous brands like Gucci and Adidas. This time, they are accused by Wildfang, a clothing designer that creates shirts for the benefit of certain charities.

“I was a bit heartbroken when I heard about them ripping off the designs, to be honest. It is an item that we are very proud of, and we strived hard to create that design,” Mcilroy added.

Legal action

Wildfang’s Emma Mcilroy told Refinery29 that she is planning to take Legal Action over the alleged infringement. The website reached out to Forever 21 to comment on the allegations but has not yet received a response.

At this time the item is still being sold on the website of the world-renowned retail store for $10.90. Forever 21 is a major retail chain that has stores in some of the biggest shopping malls around the globe.