‘Cheated but flattered’ Did Penneys ‘copy’ this Irish designer?
Zoe Carol Wong is the creative force behind the fashion brand Zoe Carol.
With stockists including the likes of the Kilkenny Shop and Só Collective, it's safe to say you've seen her designs around the place.
The designer has been in the game for years, but last week, she saw the "ugly side of fashion."
The Galway-native was sent a photo last week of a top in Penneys that looked extremely like one of her pieces from her SS16 collection.
Both blouses included a collar, no sleeves and a very similar bird design:
Zoe took to Instagram shortly after receiving the photo and wrote that she felt "cheated and flattered" at the same time.
"Can you spot the difference? Our lovely stockist @grainnemahervault in Belfast sent me a snap that she captured in @penneyseire this week in Belfast.
"That's our Nankin blouse from SS16 collection 'Marguerite in Paris' on the left. On the right is the #penneys version.
"I feel cheated and flattered all at the same time. Well played, Penneys, well played."
However, Zoe didn't stop there. She then wrote an open letter to the store on her blog, where she explained how sometimes life is just unfair.
"This isn’t a rant where I go on about how hard I work, my design process or even the fact that I feel somewhat robbed.
"The fact of the matter is, life is unfair. My design was open and free to the public and open to interpretation by anyone who saw fit. There’s no law against what you did and there’s no law to protect designers and makers.
"It’s not pretty and today was another day I saw the ugly side of fashion."
She continued to say that this incident has only made her more determined going forward.
"Despite this clear robbery of intellectual property, I don’t feel bad. I feel more determined to create and design things that people of all incomes want to buy. Not everyone could afford my collections. That’s ok.
"If you’re paying less than €20 for your blouse, it’s more than likely because they cut out the cost of paying a designer on top of other things (inexpensive fabric bought in bulk, low labour costs in developing countries and large manufacturing quantities).
"None of this is new to me but it’s always shocking when it happens to me rather than some cool designer in Brooklyn who’s in a lawsuit battle against Urban Outfitters and I’ve read about on Buzzfeed.
"Moral of the story? F*CK YOU PENNEYS but also you do you Penneys because this is life and life’s not fair."
Primark has since replied to the claims, saying: "Primark’s team of designers take great pride in bringing its customers the latest trends at affordable prices.
"The Primark buyers responsible for commissioning and developing the product in question were not familiar with Ms Wong’s company, or with its designs, and at no time took inspiration from them."
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