Ultra-fast fashion giant Shein accused of copying Zara designs

theguardian.com:

The Chinese ultra-fast fashion website Shein has been accused of copying designs by high street rival Zara after dozens of images were shared on social media showing virtually identical garments from the two outlets.

On the video platform TikTok, the hashtags #zaravsshein and #zaradupe – where users share the very similar items from Zara and Shein, often wearing them – have had 38.3m and 39.8m views respectively.

Shein has already faced legal action alleging copyright infringement, including from global companies such as Levi Strauss, the Dr Martens producer AirWair International and Ralph Lauren. The hashtag #sheinstolemydesign has had 6.4m views on TikTok.

On Instagram, some of the most striking examples have been gathered by @dupesnation. However, some fashion influencers appear to celebrate Shein’s ability to replicate Zara’s designs at a fraction of the cost. One post, captioned “Dupe AllyLikes”, shows a pastel pink and orange Zara shirt costing €29.95 (£24.86) alongside an apparently identical shirt from Shein for €4.49 (£3.73), complete with the product codes required to buy it.

The profile for the Instagram account @zaravsshein says in Spanish: “Find Zara clothes at Shein twice as cheap!!! Every day new garment!!! References of all garments. Start saving!”

Shein has more than quadrupled its revenue since 2019, according to the Business of Fashion website, reaching $15.7bn (£12.1bn) in sales. It is now reportedly looking for $1bn in funding, and a $100bn valuation.

Alex Crumbie of the campaign group Ethical Consumer said imitation “seems to be the cornerstone of super-fast fashion”, adding: “These brands typically reproduce fashion seen elsewhere and turn it around in a week. Copying designs decreases the lead time.”

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