Lilly Pulitzer, the sorority girl's go-to brand, is suing Gap-owned Old Navy for copyright infringement.
Lilly Pulitzer says that Old Navy has copied two of their print designs. The two prints are "High Tide" and "Sparks Fly." Lilly Pulitzer is asking for Old Navy to stop selling the items in question and to pay damages. Old Navy started selling shorts in the two designs when the weather started to warm up. I know because I bought a pair.
I purchased the "Sparks Fly" lookalike for around $10. I bought it for the sole purpose that it looked just like the Lilly Pulitzer print but was way cheaper. If I bought the shorts at Lilly Pulitzer, I would have to pay $64. With my budget, Old Navy was the obvious choice. The shorts themselves vary greatly from Lilly's shorts. The Old Navy shorts are built more like pajamas than anything else.
The prints in question are pictured below. The Lilly design is on the left and the Old Navy knock off is on the right.
The resemblance is unquestionable. It is clear that Old Navy's intention was to sell a knockoff Lilly print for cheap. Old Navy definitely deserves to be sued for this. The hand painted prints made by Lilly designers are Lilly's property. The designers paint the prints on canvas originally before they are turned into clothes. Any Lilly fan would do almost anything for a hand painted canvas.
Lilly Pulitzer fans have taken to Instagram to show how similar the clothes look. They also expressed their unhappiness toward Old Navy for stealing Lilly's designs. Old Navy has been trying to prep up their style to gain more customers. Upsetting the preppiest of the fashionistas, Lilly Pulitzer fans, is definitely not the way to go.
I am a die-hard Lilly fan and I support the company completely. While it is great to buy Lilly lookalikes for cheap, there is nothing like the real thing. Besides, Lilly Pulitzer does hold a huge sale twice a year. You can get real Lilly shorts for Old Navy prices during the sale. However, if you really want it, I would suggest you run to Old Navy as fast as you can before the shorts are pulled off the shelves.
This is not Old Navy's first time being sued for infringement. Last fall, the store was sued for selling sandals that had a patent. Back in 2012, the store was sued for selling shirts with the copyrighted image of hip-hop group Run-DMC. In 2011, Old Navy was sued for creating and airing a TV ad that included a woman with an uncanny resemblance to Kim Kardashian. It would appear that Old Navy's team either needs to do more research before they design clothes or make smarter choices on what risks they are willing to take.
I just hope their public relations team is ready to handle the publicity.
