Nouf+3.jpg
Nouf+2.jpg
Photoshoot 32 (dec '22).jpg
Nouf+3.jpg
Nouf+2.jpg
Photoshoot 32 (dec '22).jpg

The Perspective of Fashion Designers

$100.00

Two small, independent designers - Tomoia Sorojah and Tori Soudan - describe the joys and challenges of creating fashion in a big brand and fast fashion world.

Quantity:
Add To Cart

Two small, independent designers - Tomoia Sorojah and Tori Soudan - describe the joys and challenges of creating fashion in a big brand and fast fashion world.

Two small, independent designers - Tomoia Sorojah and Tori Soudan - describe the joys and challenges of creating fashion in a big brand and fast fashion world.

The Perspective of Fashion Designers

“They get away with it as, often, the people behind small brands don't have the knowledge or the finances to do anything about it.” - Deborah Breen, founder of Wilde Mode, after it was revealed fast fashion retailer Shein copied her designs.

“Fast fashion” is a term coined by the New York Times after Zara opened its first store in New York City in 1989. The term was used to describe Zara’s business model, which was to go from the design phase to production to sales in 15 days. This practice and business model is now adopted by many so-called fast fashion brands. These brands race to be the first to sample ideas from catwalks, trends, and celebrities.

The original players in fast fashion were Zara and H&M, which started out as small retailers in Europe in the 1950’s. Over time, new fast fashion companies were formed, such as UNIQLO, GAP, Primark, and TopShop. With the rise of social media and online shopping, a new genre of fast fashion called “Ultra Fast Fashion” emerged, which promoted faster and cheaper alternatives to the aforementioned brands. The major players include Missguided, Forever 21, Zaful, Boohoo, Fashion Nova, and the biggest one of them all in the United States, Shein.

Shein, a fast fashion website, was started in China in 2008 as ZZKKO and is now based in Singapore. The company has grown rapidly over the years due to the brand’s business model of responding quickly to the swift changes in fashion trends, and the affordability of their products. Quickly becoming the most-installed shopping app in America, Shein is a leader in e-commerce especially amongst teenagers and young adults. However, this rise to fame did not come without controversy. 

 

Designer Stories

Shein has been frequently accused of copying other designers' designs and selling Shein’s copied versions at heavily discounted rates. These designers have criticized Shein’s behavior, often via their social media platforms.

Bailey Prado (https://www.baileyprado.com/) has created a modern luxury brand with a focus on textiles and handmade crochet.  In a 2021 Instagram post Prado accused Shein of copying her designs (approximately 45 designs).  She claims that Shein responded by only taking down 10 items and still kept selling the other 35. https://www.instagram.com/p/CSSJOIcpM_T/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Chrissa Sparkles (https://shop.chrissasparkles.com/), a brand created in 2016 by Chrissa, a Filipino LA-native fashion designer, had the same problem. Chrissa created a pink heart sweater in 2019 that went viral and was copied by Shein. Her followers joined forces with others on the Internet and Shein stopped selling the item. Chrissa celebrated her victory on TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@chrissasparkles/video/6983429056821873925?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Elexiay (https://elexiay.com/) is a fashion brand that highlights Nigerian craftsmanship sustainably, founded by Elyon Adede in 2018.  Shein copied the design of Elexiay’s “Amelia sweater,” which takes Elexiay 4 to 5 days of crocheting to finish. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRZiYBNLX_O/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

Sincerely Ria (https://sincerelyria.com/) was created and launched in November 2020 by philanthropist and model Mariama Diallo. Diallo shared a post on Twitter that Shein copied her dress design and also her brand’s visual aesthetic on Shein’s website. https://twitter.com/MariamaDiallo__/status/1403426272789680129?s=20&t=jV1piOwVFlDwtkNVakszug 

Tiina Menzel, an artist on Instagram popular for her skeleton and animal art, stated that her artwork was copied by Shein and Romwe.  Despite her efforts to object to and report the copyright infringement, she claims that Shein/Romwe infringed on her copyrighted artwork nine times. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQe7ZoLDRBG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Tomoia Sorojah

Unfortunately, Tomoia Sorojah is one of the many designers who had her design copied by Shein. Tomoia is a Los Angeles based independent designer, and owner of SOROJAH DESIGN HAUS (https://www.sorojahdesignhaus.com/). Tomoia’s passion for fashion and designing began at 8 years old, sewing dresses for her dolls. She also credits her great grandmother, who taught her the basics of sewing and how to hand stitch pillows.  After she got her first sewing machine she started experimenting and building her skills. Her brand SOROJAH DESIGN HAUS strives to provide its customers with luxury and affordability by creating unique, made-to-order custom pieces that are designed and handmade by Tomoia herself. In 2014 SOROJAH DESIGN HAUS debuted its first official cruise collection named Sorojah x Marcep, that included designer gowns and accessories, such as a leather clutch made especially for each look. The brand has been launching custom pieces ever since the summer of 2019 after it first launched its “Clueless” sets. Tomoia’s designs have been worn by celebrities and influencers such as Paris Jackson, Robbi Jan, Kaliii, Alina Baraz, and Charli D’Amelio.

SOROJAH DESIGN HAUS had its designs copied by Shein and other fast fashion boutiques and wholesalers. Tomoia created the ‘Giselle Ruby Mini’ dress in August 2020, and it was the first of her designs to be stolen by fast fashion sites (in this case, by Shein). In December 2020, her “Montego” dress was copied and sold by other wholesale boutiques and even on Amazon. Tomoia shared her experiences on TikTok: 

https://www.tiktok.com/@sorojah/video/6974830046968155398?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

https://www.tiktok.com/@sorojah/video/6981494319748271365?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

We asked Tomoia how she found out that Shein and other fast fashion retailers copied her dresses, and what her reaction was. 

Here are photos of Tomoia’s dresses that were copied by fast fashion companies. First is a side by side comparison of the original design of Tomoia’s “Giselle Rubi Mini” dress (right) and the Shein copied version (left). Second is a photo of Tomoia’s “Montego” dress.

We asked Tomoia her opinion of fast fashion, and the level of protection she feels the law provides to small designers. 

 

Tori Soudan

Tori Soudan is an entrepreneur, designer, and owner of the Tori Soudan Brand (https://torisoudan.com/), an Italian made line of luxury products, such as shoes, handbags, and belts. Tori’s love for fashion began when she was 9 years old when her mother taught her how to make dresses, and her skills grew as she designed prom gowns for her classmates. Tori then studied abroad in Italy, where she was inspired to design footwear after she witnessed a master shoemaker in Venice demonstrate the process.  She studied design at Parsons School of Design, interned with American sportswear designer Tommy Hilfiger, launched her own brand and debuted her first collection in 2011. The Tori Soudan Brand sells its products both through direct sales online and at upscale salon events. Tori's products have been worn by many celebrities, including Zendaya, Carrie Underwood, Debbie Allen, Tasha Smith, Saweetie, and Angela Bassett. Her products have also been featured in publications such as InStyle, Vogue, and Essence magazines. (https://www.torisoudan.com/pages/press)

Tori is an experienced and established designer, but as an independent designer, she does have concerns about being a brand owner in a world influenced by fast fashion. We asked Tori about her experience of being in the fashion industry alongside fast fashion and micro trends, and her opinion of fast fashion in general. Her perspective was interesting, describing the joy of the creative process, and how it’s important for consumers to take a stand and support authentic products:

Fortunately, Tori’s designs have not been copied by Shein or other fast fashion companies, though she is aware that it could happen. We asked Tori if she has taken any steps to ensure that she is protected in case someone does copy her designs. We also discussed how big a problem copying is in the fashion industry, and in what ways the law can improve to provide more protection for designers.

 

Fashion Law

The law does not provide as much protection for fashion as it does for other types of intellectual property. Designers cannot copyright articles of clothing that serve a basic function; for example, a brand can not claim protection for all dresses just because they happen to create dresses. The only part of clothing that can be copyrighted is what makes it unique like artwork or patterns that are associated with certain brands or logos. “The reality is, in most cases, it's perfectly legal to knock off a dress design.” Julie Zerbo, the lawyer and journalist behind The Fashion Law blog (https://www.thefashionlaw.com/), told NPR. "And so, [with] a dress, a shoe, a bag, copyright law forces a brand that wants to claim protection to show the creative elements of this larger garment and separate them out," Zerbo said, and fast fashion brands often copy just enough of the designs to make the final outcome recognizable but without violating any legally protected aspects. So when it comes down to it, copies can be legal in the fashion world.

The law in the area of fashion is very complicated, but designers are not left without any options on how to protect themselves. Designers can develop a trademark (that includes the name of the brand or designer, for example), register that trademark, and put that trademark label on their clothes.  This would be helpful because if the designer has their trademark label on their clothes, people will be able to tell the real thing from a knockoff.  And if someone copies the label, they have a much easier way to sue - for trademark infringement. In addition, in our interview with Graham Wetzbarger (https://www.grahamwetzbarger.com/), who specializes in authentication of luxury goods, he mentioned a Fashion Law Pop-Up Clinic (https://www.fashionlawinstitute.com/fashion-law-pop-up-clinic/) that is arranged by The Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School.  The clinic matches small designers with a volunteer attorney who can provide advice and answers to designers’ questions.