Did Guess Just Copy And Paste Telfar's Design? Yes.
Guess, this bag looks awfully familiar.
A new Guess bag is garnering some well-deserved backlash for blatantly knocking off Telfar’s cult-favored Shopping Bag, aka the Bushwick Birkin. The similarity is truly hard to miss. With the tote's compact size, rectangular shape, and familiar shoulder straps. However, the most laughable detail is the specific placement of the embossed circular logo – we reckon there's enough there for Telfar Clemens to file a trademark infringement.
The bag began popping up on third-party retailers like Hudson's Bay, Macy's and Dillard's and Twitter users were quick to drag the Telfar replica – and rightly so. This is more than a case of inspired design, it's stealing the work of a Black queer designer who has had to fight tooth and nail to get his dues. Since 2005, Telfar has gone from personal project into a cult brand – everyone has a Telfar now.
Everyone has it because Telfar actively wants it to be available for anyone who wants it — torpedoing the very idea of exclusivity. That's an extremely rare move for a brand with such a hot item. Then there's the Shopping Bag's affordable price point (starting at $150), which coupled with the sleek design and egalitarian business model has made it so much more than an "it-bag," it's a status symbol with a cultural backing that can't be duplicated.
But guess what? This isn't Guess' first rodeo, as social media users began to point out, the brand has become quite an aficionado when it comes to ripping off designs. Guess' current roster of purses include blatant copies of Prada's popular nylon bags – down to the triangle logo! – Christian Dior totes, Louis Vuitton's flower-print hand bags, and Chanel's classic quilted purses.
So if you want to buy fake designer bags without the hassle of going to the black market, header over to Guess.