It’s never a good look when musicians are accused of nicking their beats (Lana del Rey and Radiohead comes to mind), and the same goes with sock designs.

Well, any designs really, but this time around it’s Zara under fire and it’s to do with their new sock range.

They stand accused of ripped off a MaXhosa by Laduma design, and fans of the local brand are causing a ruckus.

It started with Instagram user Thebe Ikalafeng, who shared this post comparing a few images.

First up, the caption from said post:

Appropriation or appreciation? I’d say this is just daylight @maxhosa intellectual property theft by @zara. There’s a big difference between taking inspiration and illegal expropriation. #Maxhosa designed and launched this #Khanyisa cardigan and sox (slide left) range globally 2014.

In 2018 @zarashamelessly copied the design as is and put in retail in earlier this month. As a global #African I understand that inspiration is global and no one has universal rights, but theft on the other hand should be universally condemned. We appreciate that Africa’s rich culture is now ‘en vogue’ but not at all costs. But our protected intellectual property rights should be respected as much as we respect that of other global brands. #Maxhosa and all Africans should not take this lying down. If they can do this to a relatively well known brand like @maxhosa you can imagine what they’ve been doing to lesser known designers with little resources or recourse.

Everybody in Design and retail knows it’s the foundation of Zara to replicate and sell quickly – and perhaps apologize. Fast fashion straight from the (others’) runway is how there’re fashioned. But it does not mean we all have to accept it. We should all stand up and reject such blatant intellectual property expropriation and theft. #ThebeOnBrands.

Well, you decide for yourself:

The jersey on the left is the MaXhosa by Laduma design, and here’s the image Ikalafeng shared showing it in full:

Pretty, pretty similar, right?

Via Business Insider SA, here’s Laduma Ngxokolo, designer for and founder of the local label, in another spiffy jumper:

He doesn’t look impressed, and he isn’t when it comes to those socks:

Ngxokolo’s company told Business Insider SA that it will issue a statement later on Tuesday on the issue.

As we mentioned earlier, there’s plenty of buzz on social media, with some big names wading in to side with MaXhosa by Laduma.

It doesn’t help that Zara has a history of rubbing people the wrong way:

Zara, a Spanish firm which is part of the world’s biggest apparel retailer Inditex, has been under fire for allegedly ripping off designs for a number of years. Fortune magazine reported that the company stood accused of stealing the designs of twelve artists.

Zara has also been accused of cultural appropriation and offensive designs. It has used a white supremacist symbol on one of its items in the past.

Given that history, they may find sympathy hard to come by.

Given that Zara’s owner, Amancio Ortega, has an estimated net worth of around $67 billion (R824 billion), I’m not sure he’ll care.

[source:businsidersa]