Looks like What About Yves is in big trouble.. Jeanine Heller has landed herself in some hot water, again!
It seems as though parody T-shirts were all the rage a few seasons back; the designs were popular with the street style set and seen as a humorous fashion nod. Major labels like Chanel, Hermes, Celine and most recently, Yves Saint Laurent have gotten this satire treatment through various parody mock-up tees. However, as it turns out, these elite brands were certainly not amused.
Luxury Goods International (LGI) owns the trademark of the French brand Yves Saint Laurent and is currently filing a court case against Jeanine Heller, the founder of the New York based clothing line What About Yves. She is being sued for trademark infringement, trademark dilution, false designation of origin and unfair competition. And it all stemmed from this simple tee.
In their lawsuit with the New York Southern District, YSL claims that Hellar attempted to pass off her merchandise “in a manner calculated to decieive the Plaintiff’s customers”. In a very strongly written complaint, YSL claimed that Hellar:
“[Is] engaged in a pattern of deliberate and willful infringement designed to confuse and deceive consumers as to the source and origin of its products and trade upon the valuable intellectual property, good will and reputation of luxury brands.”
But this isn’t her first rodeo with the justice system: in October last year (2014) a suit was filed by Chanel for similar trademark infringements, in addition to being arrested for violating an order of protection filed by Taryan Manning the Orange is the New Black actress, for accusations of stalking and harassment in September of the same year.
Here is a quick run-down of the back-story: Heller began selling this parody tee in January, 2013, following YSL’s announcement of dropping the “Yves” from the classic French label. This decision caused a serious furore in the fashion industry (deemed by some to be disrespectful) and Heller took advantage of the name change controversy. Despite the numerous warning notices of the shirts infringing nature, Heller still continued to play with fire. Surprisingly, she also tried to register the ‘Aint Laurent Without Yves’ with the U.S Patent and Trademark Offices (USPTO) in April of the same year. Luckily, the move was challenged. In 2014, after the matter went unanswered by Heller for some time, she eventually reached out to YSL. However this was not to apologise, but to deny any wrongdoing and offer to sell them the rights to her parody slogan: how nice of her. LGI is requesting that the court orders Heller to immediately and permanently cease sales of the shirts at issue, and pay an array of damages for its trademark violations. I think we all know how this lawsuit is going to end. One simply cannot mock Yves Saint Laurent and get away with it. Fashion justice is coming…