A designer says Forever 21 copied her tie-dye shirt design and is selling it for half the price
- California designer Amber Richele is accusing Forever 21 of copying one of her tie-dye designs.
- Richele said the retailer is selling a $15 top with shoulder pads that looks strikingly similar to her $45 padded muscle T-shirt.
- "Forever 21 is notorious for doing this kind of stuff," Richele told Insider. "They steal from independent designers, especially designers of color."
- A spokesman for Forever 21 told Insider they "recently became aware" of Richele's allegation and are "in the process of reviewing it."
A California fashion designer has accused Forever 21 of copying one of her tie-dye designs and selling it for half the price.
Amber Richele, 35, told Insider that she was shocked when one of her Instagram followers sent her a private message with a link to a tie-dye muscle T-shirt with shoulder pads on the Forever 21 website.
"Girl, isn't this your shirt?" the message read.
Richele said the shirt looked nearly identical to the padded muscle tee that she sells on her own online shop.
Richele's handmade design costs $45, while Forever 21 is selling its top for $15.
"I've had that design since June, and it's one of my more popular designs," Richele told Insider. "They decided to take my design, mass-produce it, use cheap labor and cheap materials to do it, and sell it for half the price. It was really frustrating to see."
"Forever 21 is notorious for doing this kind of stuff," she added. "They steal from independent designers, especially designers of color. They're forever getting dragged for it, but they still keep doing it."
Forever 21 is no stranger to controversy
The brand, which was jointly acquired by three companies in February after filing for bankruptcy last year, has frequently been accused of stealing designs. Multiple smaller brands, including Wildfang and Word, accused the company of copying its T-shirts in 2017.
Forever 21 was also sued for $10 million by Ariana Grande in 2019. Her lawyers said the retailer attempted to sell products by hiring a model who looked "strikingly similar" to Grande and using clips from her songs "to promote their brands for free."
Richele said she's 'definitely fighting back' against the company
The designer shared side-by-side comparisons of her creation with Forever 21's shirt on her brand's Instagram page, and told her followers that "they messed with the wrong one."
"I'm pissed because I spent hours of trial and error trying to get that shirt right," she said in one Instagram story. "I spent a ton of money, also buying the materials, testing it, shooting it, I made every single one by hand."
Richele told Insider that she's currently in contact with an intellectual property lawyer to send a cease and desist letter to the company, and hopes that Forever 21 will remove the shirt from its website.
A spokesman for Forever 21 told Insider that it "respects the valid intellectual property of third parties."
"We recently became aware of this allegation and we are currently in the process of reviewing it," the company's statement read.
The muscle tee was still being sold on Forever 21's website at the time of writing.
Richele's brand isn't just a passion project — it's currently her sole source of income
The designer launched Shop Amber Richele in mid-May, shortly after the store where she works as a visual merchandiser had to close due to the pandemic.
"I have wanted my own clothing line for years, but I always got stuck with where to start," Richele said.
But inspiration struck on TikTok, where Richele saw dozens of people making tie-dye designs while stuck at home during the lockdown.
Richele decided to make her own sweat suit, and posted about the process on her blog and YouTube channel. She had planned for the suit to just be a one-off for herself, but then her followers began to ask if she was going to sell the design as well.
After receiving some extra encouragement from her family, Richele decided to launch her own brand and become the self-proclaimed "queen of tie-dye."
"I'm the kind of person who, when I get really passionate about something, I go full force," Richele said. "I work nonstop until it's done."
"I bought all the domains, set up the business structures, and got the right licenses within three to four days," she added. "Then, I started working on my prototypes."
Richele has launched two collections in the last four months
The designer has created 31 pieces in the garage of her Vallejo home since May, spending countless hours just testing out different types of dyes and patterns for her summer and fall collections. For just her muscle tee alone, Richele spent "about a month" turning the design from an idea into a reality.
"It's not like I have a ton of employees," she said. "I make all the pieces, pack all the orders, I come up with all the designs, select all the colors, it's all me."
Richele hopes that by speaking out, she can encourage people to seek out and support small businesses rather than rely on fast-fashion brands.
"I'm still able to pay my bills and feed my family and support myself because people are supporting my small business," Richele said. "You're supporting someone like me who's making everything in their garage."
"When you support a small business, you're putting money directly into the local economy and you're supporting someone's dream, you're supporting their art, you're supporting their creativity and entrepreneurship," she added. "And if you keep supporting them, they can grow and hire people in their community and expand."
- Read more:
- I used to shop for clothes exclusively at Forever 21. Here's why I stopped going over time, and why I'm not surprised the store has filed for bankruptcy.
- Ariana Grande is suing Forever 21 over ads she says featured 'a look-alike model' wearing her signature hairstyle
- We shopped at the last 3 Forever 21s in Manhattan since the company filed for bankruptcy and saw firsthand why the brand continues to struggle
- 5 easy ways to help support your favorite local businesses starting today, according to small-business owners