Missguided USA loses lawsuit to Kim Kardashian over copycat designs

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 4, 2019

Kim Kardashian has won $2.7million in damages from fast fashion retailer Missguided’s American arm after she had accused it of copying the clothes she wore.

She had taken the company to court in California and said it was using her name to sell its clothes. The company didn’t defend itself against the lawsuit.

It will now have to pay the damages, which are equivalent to around £2.1 million, and must not use the reality TV star and mega-influencer’s “trademarks in connection with the sale, marketing or distribution of its products.”

Kardashian’s status as a global influencer and her popularity among the customers of businesses like Missguided mean she’s regularly pictured on their Instagram accounts and lookalike clothes often appear on their websites ultra-fast. Given her fondness for the highest-end designer labels, that means these too are being copied. 

She also wears clothes created by her husband Kanye West and one example quoted was of a gold dress he designed, with Missguided quickly posting a photo of a model in a similar dress saying: “The devil works hard but Missguided works harder.”

The big issue here was her claim that the retailer doesn’t only “replicate the looks of celebrities [but] systematically uses [their] names and image” to promote its offer. 

Kardashian has been a vocal critic of fast fashion firms that copy major designer labels and she had earlier tweeted: “It's devastating to see these fashion companies rip off designs that have taken the blood, sweat and tears of true designers who have put their all into their own original ideas. I've watched these companies profit off my husband's work for years and now that it's also affecting designers who have been so generous to give me access to their beautiful works, I can no longer sit silent.”

She also cited a Mugler dress she wore that had been copied within 24 hours, even though the original was only available on a waiting list and had not yet reached any stores.