Kai Collective has a story to share.
Imagine coming home after work to pour your heart out into a design that you love. You spend hours perfecting the design. Those hours transform into days, then months, then years. After you build up enough confidence and practice, you’re ready to share it with the world.
Even though you tremble with fear you decide to take that leap of faith. To your surprise, you’ve been deemed an “overnight success” and the celebrities that you look up to are supporting your brand! This brings about an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment, gratitude, and excitement- until you start scrolling on Instagram. A bigger brand has ripped off your design and claimed it as their own as well as sell it at an incomparable price. Unfortunately, this is the reality for Kai Collective founder Fisayo Longe who has accused Fendi of blatantly copying her brand.
Who Is Kai Collective?
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Fisayo Longe has come a long way since the creation of her London-based womenswear brand in 2016. The UK-based designer started her brand after gaining an audience from her blog MirrorMe that launched back in 2012 (We covered her design skills in our latest post 5 Black Designers To Shop For Your Next Vacation).
Her Gaia Collection specifically is what made her a favorite among stars such as Saweetie and Beyonce. That’s also the design accused of being similar to Fendi’s new collaboration with Kim Jones. After noticing the candidly similar design of her new robe collection meant to drop next month, Longe replied on Instagram, “We already have it ready to ship so should we release it today? Gaia dropped and the fashion industry just ran out of ideas?”.
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Not The First Brand To Copy Kai Collective
The Nigerian designer has also dealt with this issue in the past. She recently spoke with The Native regarding allegations of the popular retail giant Boohoo also selling similar knock-offs of her designs by saying, “ I really really want small businesses to know that we have rights, because right now it feels like we don’t. I want them to know that depending on the design, it might be worth spending on protecting it.” The creative director and designer decided to take legal action against the retailer by sending a cease and desist letter back in March of 2021. This is an important lesson for her fellow entrepreneurs to take note of – with success, imitation usually also follows.
Kai Collective Orange Gaia (June 2020) and Fendi Resort 2022 (July 2021). Black women continue to be the blueprint. I see you, Kim Jones. You might not want to release these items in the UK and US because the print is protected and you will be receiving a cease & desist for sure. pic.twitter.com/KJFA4ACs0q
— Fisayo Longe (@FisayoLonge) July 22, 2021
Big vs. Small Designers
According to Prizeshoppers.com, Longe is seeking around $35,000 in damages from Boohoo. She can move forward with legal action because she “has a registered design right over the ‘Gaia’ Print; this affords them protection against infringers. Without registration, the protection of such rights against infringers is a lot more difficult to prove in court,” says Fashion Consultant and Intellectual Property lawyer, Kike Ojewale.
Though Longe has an uphill battle against these two major retailers, she encourages her fellow creators to never allow anyone to take what’s rightfully theirs. She admitted that “Getting press and recognition for your work takes years and it’s just insane that when you finally get recognition, it is copied by brands that are much bigger and more powerful than yours” makes her feel “surprised to see a brand like Fendi that I have looked up to for many years, do such a similar copy,” Longe said in a statement to Fashionista. We support Fisayo Longe’s brand Kai Collective and stand by her statement that “Black women continue to be the blueprint.”y667\.
