Source: Edward Berthelot / Getty
One of the culture’s greatest architects feels like her legacy is being infringed upon. April Walker has filed a lawsuit against Virgil Abloh’s Off-White™ brand over her “WW” trademark.
As spotted on Hype Beast the house that Virgil built will have to do a bit of explaining in court. In the complaint Walker Wear alleges that he and his team took their logo likeness, tweaked it slightly and made it their own. Referred herein as the “Virgil Abloh Cheat Code” the paperwork says his brand “chang[e] others’ designs by only ‘three percent’ and then claim the design as his own”.
The thievery in question revolves around an Off-White™ varsity jacket from. The piece features “WW” on the chest written in collegiate font which bears a striking resemblance to Walker Wear’s iconic “WW XXL Athletic” design. April’s logo “consists of two stylized W’s, centered and slightly overlapping,” and which “typically appear in silver, set off against a dark blue or black background” reads the legal documentation.
April also makes it very clear in the filing that this is far from a coincidence. She asserts that “given Ms. Walker’s iconic status in the streetwear fashion industry and Mr. Abloh’s knowledge of the industry, Off-White was almost certainly aware of the mark prior to designing, producing, and selling the infringing jacket.” Her legal team argues that “the similarity of the marks – particularly given that ‘WW’ appears to have no particular significance for a brand called ‘Off-White’ – further suggests the defendants’ bad faith in using the mark.” Additionally lawsuit claims that it is causing confusing among the two brands.
Counsel for Off-White™ told The Fashion Law that they can’t comment on the ligation.
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