Boycott @Forever21 for stealing from independent designers, Feral Childe

Hi there- I know this post is a bit different but I recently received an email from Alice and Moriah, the designers of the Brooklyn label Feral Childe that they are in a lawsuit with Forever 21. Feral Childe's original artwork has been used by Forever 21 without their knowledge or consent and frankly this infuriates and sickens me. As a reader of this blog I can only assume that you value creativity in fashion and support smaller designers. I know everyone– myself included –has enjoyed the "fast fashion" trend, where less expensive stylish clothes copy the runway in minutes. But like eating fast food, fast fashion has it's own pricetag which I've discovered more and more lately. In addition to some companies with questionable labor practices and products that are of such poor quality that you'll get rid of them in a season and add them to a landfill at a faster rate than quality products, there is blatantly stealing work. I'm not talking about being inspired by or even creating a similar version but straight out theft – as is the case with Feral Childe and Forever 21.

Their letter said it better than I can so to quote from it:

Feral Childe has always strived to bring you the very best in innovative, ethically-produced clothing that is made to last. When we first started out we could only dream about the day when we'd be able to design our own fabrics. With the support of our community--friends, family, collaborators, showroom, suppliers, contractors, and our loyal customers--we have grown the business to be able to offer our very original, very personal hand-drawn textile designs to you each season.

For the past fifteen years, we have dedicated ourselves to this artistic partnership. Feral Childe's designs are the product of these years invested in our deep friendship and artistic training. We create textile designs reflecting a singular aesthetic voice. It can take months for us to develop Feral Childe's prints. The creative process begins with the two of us sitting side by side drawing and painting together and continues as we comment, critique and edit until we perfect the print design.

Forever 21 has unfairly profited from Feral Childe's years of artistic development. Without any consideration or respect for the origin of the artwork, Forever 21's mass reproduction of our textile design without our permission is extremely unethical, and in direct violation of the law. It's frustrating that this enormous company, with over a billion dollars a year in revenues, would dare to poach the artistic creations of a small company such as ours.

Our Teepees design is protected by law, registered with the US Copyright Office. When we sent Forever 21 our cease and desist letter regarding this copyright infringement, Forever 21 denied liability and even stated that perhaps Feral Childe copied the design from another source. Once we received that outrageous response, our attorneys filed a lawsuit, currently pending in Federal Court in Los Angeles.

When I first started Style Defined NYC I had just moved to Brooklyn and was interested in learning more about the local talent. Alice and Moriah were two of the first designers I met. I was utterly impressed with their talent and thought process. We made this video together which I'm posting below so you can see for yourself how they do it.

Posted in: Feral Childe