INTRODUCTION
Enthusiasts of fast fashion love the rapid delivery of trendy designs at uber-low prices from a convenient, mobile-friendly platform – but not everyone is a fan. Independent brands and designers fill social media platforms with stories and connected imagery, largely consisting of strikingly similar side-by-side comparisons, detailing how fast fashion companies have repeatedly stolen their original works for profit right before their eyes. In an emotional Instagram post, a Nigerian-based designer shared: ‘Tonight we feel crushed, [Shein] has stolen our [] sweater design’. The caption is under a photograph depicting Shein’s carbon copy of the original designer’s pink and green crocheted sweater that took their all-female team hours to design and days to crochet. Through its replication, Shein reduced the intentionally hand-crafted and sustainable sweater to a discardable, machine-made copy that was purchasable for less than 20 dollars …
Susannah Theus, US Copyright Law Is Fashionably Late to Regulating IP Compliance in the Fashion Industry, 85 Louisiana Law Review (2025).
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