While we were browsing the large selection of clothing, I noticed some cute, printed T-shirts. My sister flipped through them and pulled out one that had marshmallow sticks on it. "Hey, it looks like something AP would put out!" she said.
I unfolded the shirt to see... Sugary Carnival.
Pics for proof:
Click to make the pictures larger.
A grainy, DIY-looking screen print with "Angelic Pretty" blatantly replaced with "Knight's Bridge"
I'm not a particularly loyal fan of Angelic Pretty (sorry, I'm a BABY, Innocent World, and Putumayo type of girl!) but I AM quite against art theft!
Oh, and that's not all~ I flipped through the rest of the cutsews to find more ripoff prints and had my sister go try them on so I could take photos in the dressing room.
An AP-style pony on the back
Meet Chess Chocolate:
I like Chess Chocolate. This is a poor rendition of the print!
Logo replaced
Chocolate bar on the back
And not only did they steal prints, they stole Kira Imai's artwork, too!
Hello, Wonder Cookie!
Art by Knight's Bridge? I think not!
While many people may think "Oh, art theft happens all the time, especially in Asia. Especially with Chinese people," Knight's Bridge is NOT some street seller stealing prints from deviantART (yes, I have seen those, too). Knight's Bridge charges roughly US$50-60 for one of these T-shirts. Their skirts and blouses run between US$50-100+. The dresses can be upwards of US$200-300. They currently have a collaboration line with Tweety, so they are not some offbrand nobody you can find hawking their wares in rent-a-cubby shops. They are represented by a pop group called Hey Girl (黑Girl) and have very expansive collections ranging from schoolgirl look to preppy, punk, himegyaru, and businesswoman-appropriate. It comes as quite a shock that department store brands feel the need to rip off artists and hope nobody notices.
Where have you seen blatant art theft? Did you report it? I don't know Japanese and don't know if Kira Imai or Angelic Pretty would be able to do anything about it. I am thinking of sending the images to RinRin to give to Angelic Pretty since RinRin is American so she can understand English... though I'm not sure she'd be the right person to go to ^^; Any ideas? Thoughts? Don't care just leave it alone?
Edit: I received a splendid suggestion on G+ to alert the San Francisco branch so they can let the head office know if it really is a big concern. I will update if there is any new news ^u^v I also posted it on Plurk and it has been re-Plurked so the other Taiwanese Lolitas are aware and will make sure to spread the news!
