At some point in your life, someone has told you that you can’t plagiarize. In school, plagiarizing someone’s work can lead you to fail an assignment, a class, or you can even get expelled in extreme cases. However, it seems that the popular fashion brand, Free People, has done exactly this. Free People is a celebrity favorite brand that specializes in bohemian apparel. Think Coachella! For the past two years, the brand Lirika Matoshi has partnered with Free People in an effort to gain more exposure in the fashion world. Lirika Mathoshi is named after their designer, Lirika Matoshi, and is known for producing clothing that is “effortless romantic and intrinsically sophisticated.” While Free People is a popular brand, Lirika Matoshi has a large celebrity following as well, with celebrities such as Joey King wearing one of the brand’s designs on the red carpet.
However, in a now deleted post, Lirika Matoshi announced on social media that they have discovered that Free People has been stealing the brand’s designs. Free People copied Lirika Matoshi’s popular “Stars in Her Eyes” dress and has also mimicked the brands popular tulle sock styles, among other designs.
The brand was set to begin collaborating with Free People on a second project, this time working on a line of Vans checkered shoes. They announced that they will be cancelling the project immediately.
Lirika Mathoshi went on to say that Free People may be ripping off other smaller brands they have collaborated with but those brands have stayed quiet. The brand concluded their post with a simple message, “You are a big company, but our originality is BIGGER!!!” While Free People has not addressed the controvery yet, it is safe to say that the brand is in the wrong and should face the consequences of their actions.