Danielle Bernstein, You Need To Learn To Get Your Own Ideas
Source: Page Six Style
It's about time we all took a stand. If you were writing an essay and you stole an entire paragraph from a book, it would be plagiarized, right? Well, yes. In the fashion industry, this does tend to be a touchy area since designs work differently than an essay does. But, let's be real—in the fashion industry, you either have talent or you don’t, and with influencer and blogger Danielle Bernstein, we aren’t quite sure what we’ve got. But one thing we are sure of is the fact that she’s left a paper trail proving that she’s stolen other brands' ideas by asking for free products and replicating them on multiple occasions. Bernstein’s most recent offense: copying a Brooklyn based lingerie brand, The Great Eros’s signature nude packaging print and replicating the pattern on her WeWoreWhat activewear line. I bet you're wondering why this hit the headlines so hard, or maybe the opposite—why haven’t I heard about this before? Let’s dive into the deets.
In early August 2020, The Great Eros sent a cease and desist order to WeWoreWhat accusing the brand of replicating their print on WWW merchandise, which included the pattern on wallpaper and other items. After receiving the letter, WeWoreWhat brand and owner Bernstein denied the connection between her brand and The Great Eros, and the replication of their tissue paper design on any of their products. WeWoreWhat claims that the Silhouette pattern in question was inspired by the human form and Henry Matisse’s line drawings. WWW also argues that they did not take part in copyright infringement as “goods are labeled, advertised, marketed, and sold in such a manner that there is not likelihood of confusion between [The Great Eros’s] goods sold wrapped in tissue paper bearing the purposed copyrighted design on one hand, and the sale of goods using WWW’s Silhouettes Design on the other.”
Source: Page Six Style
Left: WeWoreWhat Bathing Suit Featuring Silhouette Design, Right: The Great Eros Silhouette Tissue Paper
The Great Eros has evidence of Bernstein requesting a gifting of free products from their brand after visiting their showroom on August 23rd, 2018 and also receiving a web order from the founder of Onia, WWW’s manufacturer on August 15th, 2020. A coincidence? We think not, and neither does The Great Eros’s council, Jeff Gluck who stated to TLF, “This misguided charade is nothing more than yet another nasty attempt by Danielle Bernstein to intimidate and silence independent creatives and small business owners. She believes that rules don’t apply to her. This type of privileged and entitled mindset may have worked for her in the past, but it stops now. We will be relentless in our pursuit of justice on behalf of the Great Eros and the entire independent small business and creative communities. She secretly filed this lawsuit while pretending to hold settlement talks. I have never seen anything slimier in more than a decade of practicing law. If she wants a war, we are happy to oblige. My client and my firm are grateful to everyone for the incredible outpour of support.”
Source: Diet Prada
Left: Bernstein Requesting Free Product, Right: Confirmation Of Bernstein’s Order
After their court date in October, WWW and Onia filed for a Declaratory Judgement Suit against The Great Eros. A Declaratory Judgement suit outlines the responsibilities and rights of the involved parties and does not require action or award any damages for violations of the law. A Declaratory Judgement also prevents lawsuits and helps resolve disputes. In this particular case, a Declaratory Judgement suit can be harmful considering the fact that WWW is profiting off of The Great Eros pattern and designs. However, this is not the first time that Berstein and WWW have replicated designs by other companies claiming it was based off of “vintage” items found in the thrift store, or even worse, her blatant lies that she came up with the idea herself when she, in fact, did not. For more information on this lawsuit, please visit WeWoreWhat vs The Great Eros Public Case Files as this court battle unfolds in the upcoming months.
In late June 2020, Bernstein reached out to brand By Second Wind via direct message on Instagram asking them to gift her free masks. Five days later, Bernstein reached out to the brand again via direct message on Instagram letting them know that she was also launching masks with a detachable chain, which is a special feature of the Second Wind’s specialty masks. Bernstein reassured the brand that their masks would not be the same; However, the masks are pretty much identical, from the unique loop design to hold the chain, and its linen fabrication as seen in the images below.
Source: Diet Prada
Left: By Second Wind Mask, Right: WeWoreWhat Mask
In mid-July 2020, Bernstein posted a photo on Instagram wearing a pair of linen marigold shorts and captioned the photo: “Woke up to so many DMs about these shorts… they’re vintage gym shorts from the 90s and I’m already remaking them for my brand! I really love them and am always inspired by vintage pieces I’ve collected over the years!” In reality, Australian Etsy Shop, Art Garments, owned by Grace Corby who curates, collects and sells vintage items like these on her Etsy shop for pre-order. Receipts show that Bernstein purchased two pairs of these shorts on November 11th, 2019. Bernstein has since updated the caption to this post as reads: “these are from Etsy and I totally thought they were vintage but they are made to order—someone on my team ordered them for me a while back. I will not be making them.”
Source: Danielle Bernstein
Pictured in the Art Garments Etsy Shorts
Yes, designers take inspiration from vintage and archive pieces of the past, however what makes a designer great is their ability to morph these iconic pieces into their very own with a contemporary twist. While we aren’t sure if Bernstein’s actions are just another PR stunt to bring attention to herself and her brand to compel others to purchase her product, or if she thinks that her followers have not been paying close attention to her complicit behavior, one thing is for sure: Danielle Bernstein, you need to learn to get your own ideas.