Mansur Gavriel Finally Reacts to Accusations That It Stole Shoe Design

It’s a story we’ve seen time and time again in the fashion world: One designer accusing another of copying, stealing, or being a bit too influenced by their original designs. In some cases, the accusing party comes out victorious (See: Christian Louboutin’s long-running case against YSL’s red-soled shoes.) In others, not so much.

The latest chapter involves two fairly new characters—Mansur Gavriel and Maryam Nassir Zadeh—with the latter, an independent, New York-based designer, claiming that the former, an accessories brand revered for its minimalist handbags, had copied a mule sandal from her spring 2015 collection.

The scandal began last week following Mansur Gavriel’s Spring 2016 presentation, where the brand debuted its first-ever footwear. Soon after, the model who’d signed on to star in MG’s upcoming campaign resigned—citing a “conflict” over the similarities between a watermelon-colored, suede mule sandal in the collection and an almost identical one by Nassir Zadeh.

Though she didn’t immediately take legal action, Nassir Zadeh did research the situation further, poring over old records from her Lower East Side store and finding receipts from purchases made by Mansur Gavriel designers Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel—”proof,” as she sees it, that the shoes’ similarities were no accident. She told Business of Fashion,

“Since I was notified of Mansur Gavriel design’s likeness to my shoes, I did research into Maryam Nassir Zadeh store records. I found proof of purchase receipts [from my store] from Rachel Mansur dating March, April and May 2015, of the exact styles and colours in question, as well an earlier purchase of Maryam Nassir Zadeh sandals from Floriana Gavriel in July 2014. For me, this is clear proof that they had my designs as a reference to develop their shoe line by emulating my shapes, materials and colours.”

Now, for the first time since the accusations were made, Mansur Gavriel has publicly responded. In a statement also issued to Business of Fashion, the label says it feels “deeply saddened” by Nassir Zadeh’s stance on the matter, and compares her claims to MG potentially saying that it owns the silhouette of a tote or bucket bag—both equally common, impossible to copyright shapes.

Read Mansur Gavriel’s statement in full, below.

“Recently it has come to our attention that fellow New York City brand Maryam Nassir Zadeh is claiming similarities between her designs and our newly launched Spring/Summer 2016 shoe collection. This deeply saddens us as any similarity is completely coincidental. Our line has been developed and designed over a period of 18 months, drawing inspiration from classic shoe silhouettes and the iconic colours and materials of our handbag collection.

Mansur Gavriel was founded in 2012 with a dedication to providing clean, classic handbag designs crafted in the highest quality Italian leathers. It is our design philosophy and concept to concentrate on a few classical shapes in a wide array of colours and materials. That same philosophy guided us in designing our shoe collection which consists of 4 styles, 5 heel heights, 2 fabrications and 16 colours, resulting in 320 SKUs. The colours selected for this collection all tie back to the interior and exterior colours of our core handbag collection, which has been on the market since June 2013.

We respect Maryam Nassir Zadeh as a designer and retailer, and are customers of her store. However, we believe that neither she nor we can claim ownership of a mule or slide or block heel or colour, for that matter. We are well aware of rampant imitation of young designers in the marketplace and have personally experienced this many times. However, we are also well aware we do not own the silhouette of the bucket bag or the tote.”

Nassir Zadeh has yet to respond, but with the amount of press she’s received from the whole situation already (and press equals sales), it seems like getting the law involved would likely be more money than it’s worth in this situation.

Watch this space.

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