Marks & Spencer have found themselves going through challenging times recently, and to top it off they’ve now been accused of “stealing” the work of young designer Rachel Taylor.
The M&S t-shirt in question (left) next to Rachel Taylor’s printed tea towel design
An etched floral design that appeared on a women’s t-shirts sold by Marks & Spencer has caused backlash from the designer, who posted the below post on her blog.
“I’m a posting this today as I understand the importance of standing up for yourself as a designer & your intellectual property rights… to not be scared… to speak out & protect what’s rightfully yours. I have received numerous emails lately from concerned clients, customers & supporters of my work,” she said.
“It appears that British superstore Marks & Spencer have a design that is well… what can I say… more than ‘strikingly similar’ to my ‘Etched Floral’ hand drawn original design (first published in 2008). It’s one of my signature designs & I just want to point out that I never granted permission for Marks & Spencer to use my design…”
Marks & Spencer responded with public apology via Twitter, saying, “We’re sorry with the upset caused. We bought the t-shirt in good faith from a supplier & after complaint, withdrew from sale”.
Image: Rachel Taylor Designs
If that is the case it worries me what they don’t know about the manufacture and working conditions for the people making them. M&S and all the, other large clothing companies need to start investing in proper designers, not just CAD monkeys scouring the internet for ideas.