Jeremy Scott finds himself in legal hot water again, this time over his designs for Moschino. Graffiti artist Joseph Tierney aka Rime is suing the Italian label for ripping off some of his artwork and superimposing it onto a gown (shown here) from the label’s Fall 2015 collection. Rime’s tag was also used on a bag that was sent down the runway.
Tierney is further pissed at the publicity the dress in question garnered when Katy Perry wore it as Jeremy Scott’s date to this year’s Met Gala. Both she and Scott wore garments featuring the appropriated artwork. “Ms. Perry was widely photographed in the clothing, as she always is. She even made a number of ‘worst-dressed’ lists as a result,” the suit says. “The Defendants were obviously thrilled with how the episode played out, heavily promoting images of Ms. Perry wearing the clothing in their marketing, advertising, media and sales materials. The only person harmed was Rime. Not only was his art exploited by Defendants, but his credibility as a graffiti artist was compromised by inclusion in such a crass and commercial publicity stunt.”
Rime wants Scott and Moschino to stop selling the offending pieces and is seeking damages for the use of his artwork. Jeremy Scott previously got into a pickle with Jimbo and Jim Phillips for getting a little too inspired by the skateboard artists’ designs for Scott’s Fall 2013 collection. Indeed, the ghoulish faces Scott plastered on sweatshirts bore too close a resemblance to the work of the artists to go unnoticed. Scott later settled and issued a statement saying, “I regret that certain pieces of my February 2013 Fall Winter fashion line incorporated imagery that was similar to images owned by NHS and Messrs. Phillips. I now recognize my mistake and out of respect to their work and their rights, the clothing and handbags at issue will not be produced or distributed.”
[via Vogue UK]
