Fast-fashion chain Zara is in the TikTok spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Over the years, several smaller creators have accused the brand of stealing their designs. Old habits die hard, and it doesn’t seem like the brand has any plans of keeping this questionable behavior in check. Looks like Zara is compensating for its creative dearth through its ingenuity in theft. Read along to know more.
‘We have been Zara’d’
There is a very clear line that separates inspiration from plagiarism. You cannot plagiarize an idea and then whitewash it using the label of inspiration, no matter how big a brand you are. Zara has faced several accusations over the past years for stealing designs from smaller creators and businesses without proper credit or payment. In 2016, Zara came under the radar after Indie creator, Tuesday Bassen claimed that the fast-fashion chain stole a series of pin and patch designs from her. Zara denied the allegations back then.
The brand has come under scrutiny yet again for the very same reason, thanks to a TikTok which went viral after the user stated that he too has been ‘Zara’d.’ The video which garnered over 174,000 views was posted by Ethan Glenn, the founder of the brand Every Other Thursday. Apparently, Zara was so desperate that it copied another brand’s name and font of one of its pieces. Talk about plagiarism at its finest.
“Today on the shelf at Zara in London, we have been Zara’d,” says Glenn in the video. The video also shows a shirt from Zara reading “Every Other Sunday” in a serif font. We must give the brand credit for at least changing one word. That must have taken some effort. Glenn proves his point by showing a hat on his brand’s website which came out a year and a half ago.
More than the act of plagiarism, Glenn was curious about the intent behind changing the phrase to “Every Other Sunday” which is apparently devoid of any meaning or sense.
“The real question is, what does “Every Other Sunday” mean? That just sounds dumb,” he says in the video.
The Comments
Commenters were all in support of Glenn, with some even suggesting that Zara stealing the brand name was even a sign of his success and growth. A couple of chagrined users also asked Glenn to sue the brand for their despicable move.
“SUE TO GET THAT DREAM HOUSE AND CONVERTIBLE G WAGON!!!!!” a user suggested.
