Moschino and designer Jeremy Scott are being sued over the design of Katy Perry’s Met Ball dress.
Graffiti artist Rime – whose real name is Joseph Tierney -has alleged the fashion giant and Scott used his own distinctive artwork design on the gown.
In documents submitted to the courts, Rime states that the detail and colour of the print resembles the work he completed for The Seventh Letter art organisation in Detroit in 2012.
The lawsuit reads: “Rime is a well-known artist. Defendants Moschino and Jeremy Scott – two household names in high fashion – inexplicably placed Rime’s art on their highest-profile apparel without his knowledge or consent.
“If this literal misappropriation were not bad enough, Moschino and Jeremy Scott did their own painting over that of the artist – superimposing the Moschino and Jeremy Scott brand names in spray-paint style as if part of the original work.”
Although not a defendant in the suit, the document goes on to name the ‘Roar’ singer several times because she allegedly wore the gown in May “as if” she was responsible for the artwork.
Rime has asked for compensation for damages and wants the design removed from the dress – which was also modelled by Gigi Hadid on the runway – and Moschino’s autumn/winter collection.
It continues: “The idea of putting graffiti – or ‘street’ art – on ultra-expensive clothing was meant to provoke and generate publicity for the brand/designer. Towards that end, Defendants paid Ms. Perry to advertise and display the clothing at the Gala, a high-profile party thrown annually by one of the nation’s most venerable institutions, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
“Not only did Ms. Perry and Defendant Scott advertise, wear, and display the clothing at the event, they arrived at the event in a spray painted Rolls Royce, and even carried around Moschino branded cans of fake spray paint during the event, as if Defendants were responsible for the artwork.”
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