US fashion brand Ralph Lauren accused of plagiarizing indigenous Mexican designs
The wife of Mexico's president and head of a Mexican cultural affairs commission has accused American luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren of plagiarizing indigenous designs, terming it an attempt to appropriate work of the country's pre-Hispanic cultures.
“Hey Ralph (Lauren): we already realized that you really like Mexican designs,” writer and researcher Beatriz Gutierrez said in an Instagram post. “However, by copying these designs you are committing plagiarism, which is illegal and immoral.”
In the post, an image of a sweater with a colorful pattern can be seen hanging in a store. Ralph Lauren is also written on the label of the dress.
“At least admit it (accusation). And I hope you compensate the damage to the original communities that do this work with love and not for (to) profit millionaires," she wrote in the viral post.
She attributed the designs used by the brand to the indigenous communities of Contla and Saltillo, saying the work causes harm to the original communities and hopes that from now on this work will be done with love and not just for more profit.
Ralph Lauren said that it was “surprised” to see that the clothes are still being sold after issuing an order to collect them a few months ago.
"We are deeply sorry this happened and, as always, we are open to dialogue about how we can do better," the company said in a statement.
The American fashion retailer has announced that they have committed to creating all new products made using indigenous designs from summer 2023 under the "credit and collaboration" model.
Since coming to power in 2018, Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador has launched an aggressive campaign to reclaim the country's pre-Columbian heritage, including suing auction houses in the United States and Europe and repossessing dozens of Mexican antiquities. .
In July, the Mexican government asked Chinese fashion retailer Shein to explain the use of indigenous Mayan elements in one of its products, which prompted the retailer to removed it from the retail store's website.
Mexico has made similar complaints against France's Louis Vuitton, Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera, Spain's Zara and US retailer Anthopologie.
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