Weekend update: WeWoreWhat Inspired or Copied?

Another day, another WeWoreWhat controversy. WeWoreWhat is a fast-fashion brand founded by influencer Danielle Berstein after she started her fashion blog, and it has had its share of controversies.

In the past few years, WeWorewhat has faced numerous accusations of copying designs—especially from small businesses. For example, in July 2020, Diet Prada (a fashion watchdog on Instagram that has pointed out several WeWoreWhat controversies) revealed an allegation of WeWoreWhat copying Second Wind’s (a Latina-owned company) chained masks. Bernstein reached out to the owner of Second Wind for mask samples, and Bernstein later informed her that she was also going to release masks with chains. Bernstein later denied copying the mask design, but she did delete the photos of the masks from her Instagram.

Recently, on March 28 2021, Ngoni Chikwenengere, founder of We Are Kin (a sustainable Black-owned brand), posted on Instagram about Bernstein copying her Silk Strappy Maxi dress. Bernstein similarly reached out to Chikwenengere for a free dress, and hoping that her business will gain some exposure, Chikwenengere sent her the gift despite having to pay out of pocket. WeWoreWhat later released a very similar dress called Tie Back Midi Dress. The signature back straps seem like an exact replica, and the only difference is in the dress length.

We Are Kin / Instagram: @wearekin.co 

WeWoreWhat

Chikwenengere and other small brand owners have expressed how damaging it is for fast-fashion brands to knock off smaller, high-end companies. It seems like small brands are becoming warier of WeWoreWhat as more of these unethical cases are unveiled.

Although the fashion industry is full of creative minds and sources of inspiration, there must be a line drawn between giving credit and exposure to your source of inspiration and silently stealing and profiting from other designers. Fast-fashion brands and their cheap material and labor sourcing have been threatening for ethically sourced, small clothing businesses. Making a cheaper replica of a clothing piece means that these smaller brands lose sales. What is more outraging is to see successful brand owners like Bernstein asking these small brands for free clothing, to shamelessly copy their designs. This issue is reflected in the overall fast-fashion industry, and WeWoreWhat’s controversies prove that we need to keep holding fast-fashion brands accountable. 

For a dress made from 97% polyester and 3% spandex, the price of WeWoreWhat’s Tie Back Midi Dress ($89) seems quite hefty. In comparison, We Are Kin’s Silk Strappy Maxi dress is made from 100% silk remnant (a much more sustainable material) and is handmade to order (they also adjust the dress length according to your height). Although the price (€150) is higher, We Are Kin’s dress is much more valuable and sustainable. So, you decide: which dress would you buy?

Ashley Leung