If youāre thinking about getting a dress from Rixo London, think again
Rixo is anĀ āindependent fashion brandā based in the UK. It was founded by two white women, Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey. For reference, these are the founders (taken from the Belfast Telegraph):
Now, take a look at the dress on the left, which is supposedly one of their prints and designs. Hereās a closer look at the print:
The panel on the right is theĀ āMoonlit Skyā print on Rixoās dress. The panel on the left? An illustration called Star, Moon, Cloud, and Sky Drawing made by Filipina artist Feanne back in 2014.
Feanne has been making art since she was much younger. She has reproduced her work on accessories and clothing either on her own or in collaboration with independent Filipino designers. Check out her work below:
The thing is, though, Feanne never authorized the use of her illustration on Rixoās prints. They never secured the license to reproduce it from her. For clarity, she summed up the issue in posts in her Facebook and Instagram page:
She posted side-by-side comparisons of the elements her 2014 illustration and RixoāsĀ āMoonlit Skyā andĀ āOriental Skyā prints, which came around 2016. Iāll let you be the judge (hint: THEYāRE THE SAME):
Worst part is, Rixo has REFUSED to acknowledge the copyright infringement. Instead, theyāve been blocking people left and right on their social media accounts, and have been deleting comments. Theyāve even resorted to blocking JOURNALISTS from the Philippines who just wanted to get their side of the story!
Further, Rixoās lawyersā letter to Feanne claimed that this was all just aĀ āvain attempt to piggy back off the huge success and trending leading fashion designs and printsā that Rixo allegedly creates. One of the founderās sisters, Gemma McCloskey, even posted a comment on Feanneās Instagram, calling herĀ ādisgustingā andĀ āpatheticā:
I dunno about you guys, but you know what this feels like to me, aside from ART THEFT and COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT? It feels like PRIVILEGED, WHITE, WESTERNERSĀ stealing from people they think are much smaller than them, people they think are unimportant because theyāre on the other side of the world.Ā
Itās the First Worlders BULLYING the Third Worlders YET AGAIN, because they think they can get away with it.
Well you know what? We do NOT give up easily.Ā
To everyone out there ā we shouldnāt let these things continue to happen! When will we stop letting these people get away with making money off the hard work that the rest of us have done?Ā
Please, please, PLEASE help lend a voice to artists and creatives everywhere, especially those from smaller countries.Ā
BOYCOTT RIXO. STOP buying their stuff. Give them a piece of your mind, and TELL THEM what theyāre doing is NOT okay. Theyāre CLAIMING to be independent creatives, while HARMING real creatives elsewhere.
PLEASE REBLOG AND SPREAD THE WORD.
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