GUESS FACES BACKLASH FOR KNOCKING-OFF TELFAR’S “THE SHOPPING BAG”
The fashion brand Guess is accused of stealing a handbag design from the independent black-owned company Telfar, owned by designer Telfar Clemons.
Last week, protesters flooded social media, bringing awareness to Guess for duplicating Telfar’s vegan leather gender-neutral bag, called “the shopping bag.” Telfar bags feature vegan leather and double strap handles, and cross-body straps. Telfar is known for highlighting the importance of Black fashion and bridging the gap between luxury goods and accessibility.
The Guess knockoff tote bag features a rectangular shape similar to Telfar Clemon’s bag. The similarities between the G-logo isn’t hard to miss. The Telfar shopping bag price ranges from $150 to $257, while the Guess bag goes for $78 to $95.
— K E I S H (@MikeishaDache) March 27, 2021
Influential fashion YouTuber Odunayo Ojo mirrors these sentiments, “I like that Telfar fans on social media fought on the brands’ behalf. It doesn’t implicate Telfar and it’s a way for designers can get what they’re worth. After all, guess could have collaborated with Telfar,” he shares.
As a result of all the backlash, Guess pulls the bag off its shelves this week but is still available for purchase at large retailers, including Macy’s, Hudson’s Bay, and Dillards.
“Signal Brands, the handbag licensee of Guess, Inc., has voluntarily halted the sale of its G-Logo totes,” said the company in a statement. Continuing it noted, “some on social media have compared the totes to Telfar Global’s shopping bags. Signal Brands does not wish to create any impediments to Telfar Global’s success and, as such, has independently decided to stop selling the G-logo totes.”
In the whole big scheme of things, this was the very least that they could do. Fast fashion retailers have been stealing from designers, especially Black designers, for who knows how long. The proper way to go about things is to enter into a design deal, not steal.
So far, Telfar hasn’t addressed the rift raft on social media other than sharing the New York Times story on their Instagram page. However, Telfar Clemon’s business partner, Radboy, told the media outlet that he and Clemons are thankful for the public’s support
