PRETTYLITTLETHING HAS removed a jumpsuit from its website after model Leomie Anderson accused the brand of copying one of her designs.
Anderson, the founder of Lapp the Brand, an athleisure wear clothing line, called out the fast-fashion brand, also referred to as PLT, on social media after discovering an item very similar to one she created on their site.
Her creation, a grey flightsuit, features a jersey belt with a black buckle and reflective piping. It retails for £125 and is sold exclusively via the Lapp the Brand website. PrettyLittleThing’s product, also grey, featuring a similar looking belt and white piping, was sold for $50 (£39).
“I guess your brand is poppin [sic] when @OfficialPLT decides to copy. I worked for months on this design for @lappthebrand for them to come and copy in cheap thin-ass fabric. Clap for yourselves, you basic frauds,” she wrote on Twitter.
The tweet generated 1,600 retweets and 4,700 likes and a number of commenters said they no longer bought clothes from the site because of situations similar to Anderson’s.
Anderson, 26, said she was frustrated by the brand’s actions as independent brands take significant risks when making a product and because it has the means to collaborate with designers.
I guess your brand is poppin when @OfficialPLT [2] decides to copy. I worked for months on this design for @lappthebrand [3] for them to come and copy in cheap thin ass fabric. Clap for yourselves you basic frauds. pic.twitter.com/IwEKqfdoxA [4]
— l. anderson (@Leomie_Anderson) 24 April 2019 [5]
“They pay influencers to push their stolen designs but don’t want to pay the designers #makeitmakesense,” she said.
Supporters of the south London model criticised the retailer for producing the jumpsuit.
“You can tell the quality is much cheaper,” one commenter wrote.
“This is just embarrassing,” another said.
Lifestyle blogger Fisayo Longe said that all brands like PrettyLittleThing know how to do is copy.
“I don’t even know how they’ve managed to brand themselves as desirable amongst celebrities. They are all the same trash,” she tweeted.
Hours after Anderson publicised the issue, she updated her followers to let them know that the jumpsuit had been taken down from the PrettyLittleThing online store.
“Thanks to all of you sharing and my management, the jumpsuit has been removed and no more units to be sold! Thank you to everyone sharing and supporting @lappthebrand. I just wish more indie brands could get this level of justice when stolen from,” she tweeted.
Anderson launched the flightsuit on her website at the start of April. It is not known how long PrettyLittleThing product was on sale for.
While the issue has been resolved for Anderson, the incident and previous controversies have deterred some shoppers from spending their money on the site.
“Why I don't shop at @OfficialPLT anymore. They overtly rip off smaller brands (a lot owned by black women),” one commenter said.
PrettyLittleThing is an online only fast-fashion retailer. It recently collaborated with Jennifer Lopez on a collection inspired by the pop star’s latest music video Medicine. Kourtney Kardashian and Maya Jama are among the celebrities who have collaborated with the brand in the past. It also boasts a range of celebrity ambassadors including Nazanin Mandi and Malika Haqq.
Boohoo, which owns PrettyLittleThing, has reported a 38 per cent rise in pre-tax profits.
PrettyLittleThing’s sales have soared 107 per cent to £374.4 million.
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