Forever 21 Is Being Sued for Knocking Off Rihanna's Shoe Designs
By Perrie Samotin. Photos: Courtesy of Brands.
In 2013, Rihanna won a $5 million lawsuit against Topshop after the British retailer starting selling a T-shirt printed with her image without permission, and now Puma—with which the pop star has a footwear partnership—is suing Forever 21 for knocking off key Fenty x Rihanna designs, including the line's signature $80 Leadcat Fenty Fur Slide, the recently released Bow Slide, $90, and the $99 suede Creepers, according to TMZ.
The site got its hands on the lawsuit, which states that by Forever 21 selling so-called copies, demand decreases and stops the footwear from being seen by consumers as a luxury. Adding insult to injury: Forever 21's versions of the shoes in question only cost between $18 and $25. The suit, filed in Federal court, also demands the chain cease selling the styles and turn over all profits made.
Puma also took action against Topshop earlier this month in a German court, getting a preliminary injunction to stop the British store from selling the near-identical slides and creepers. "We will continue to take action to enforce our global intellectual property rights both against other brands who seek to trade off our designs and reputation and those who trade in counterfeit products," the brand said in a statement to style blog Snobette.
Rihanna's been the creative director for the Fenty x Puma range for over two years and managed to boost the athletic brand's sales by moe than 17 percent in 2015, bringing the company's fourth-quarter earnings that same year to near $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. Her shoe drops are usually frenzy causing, to say the least: Last April, the line's fur slides sold out in under 30 minutes and crashed Puma's website.
Forever 21 has a long history of legal troubles: Over the years, more than 50 copyright violation lawsuits have been placed against the retailer, according to reports. Diane von Fürstenberg, Gwen Stefani, Anna Sui, and Trovata are among the designers who have taken action. Ironically, the fast-fashion chain was the plaintiff in a fashion suit in January, when it accused other brands of copying a best-selling pair of slouchy Ikat pants, according to The Fashion Law.
It's unclear whether Puma plans to go after the dozens of other brands churning out fur slides that look exactly like RiRi's, including Urban Outfitters, Steve Madden, and Nine West.
This story originally appeared on Glamour.
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