Fashion Nova sued for copying Jennifer Lopez's iconic Versace dress
Versace has slapped retail brand Fashion Nova with a lawsuit claiming it ripped off some of the Italian designer’s clothing concepts, including the idea for Jennifer Lopez’s iconic dress from the 2000 Grammy Awards, court papers show.
Celeb-endorsed Versace filed the suit on Monday in California federal court, demanding a trial by jury and seeking injunctive relief and unspecified damages.
Jennifer Lopez at the 42nd annual Grammy Awards in 2000 (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
Court papers detail how Fashion Nova, which was described as “a retailer and serial infringer specializing in ‘fast-fashion’ knock-offs,” had intentionally committed copyright infringement, trademark infringement and trade dress infringement for copying three of Versace’s signature designs: the gold and black “Barocco - 57” pattern, the “Pop Hearts” design and the “Jungle Pattern.”
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“[T]he green ‘Jungle Pattern’ dress … which famously was worn by Jennifer Lopez at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, was identified as one of the 'most iconic dresses of all time' in a 2008 poll,” the complaint states. “Similarly, the black and gold ‘Barocco - 57’ design depicted above is among the most well-known designs in the fashion world, and instantly recognizable by consumers as Versace.”
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Lopez recently made headlines when she strutted down the runway in a version of the famous gown, closing out Versace's show during Milan Fashion Week in September.
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The 35-page lawsuit includes photographs of some of Fashion Nova’s allegedly all-too-similar products and also explains that the retailer has a history of such fashion design infringement. Fashion Nova did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
“Since its launch in 2013, [Fashion Nova] has been sued at least eight times by other designers (such as Adidas) for the same type of copyright and trademark infringement as Versace asserts here," the court documents state.
Model and businesswoman Kim Kardashian-West also allegedly spoke out in February against fast-fashion brands, such as Fashion Nova, after a vintage Thierry Mugler dress was copied and sold online, WWD reported.
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Fashion Nova later responded to Kardashian-West, writing in a statement posted to its Instagram: "Fashion Nova is an ultra-fast fashion brand that is capable of executing design within hours and believes in fairness in pricing ... Kim Kardashian-West is one of the top fashion icons in the world that our customers draw inspiration from. However, we have not worked with Kim Kardashian-West directly on any of her projects but have been driven by her influential style."