Taylor Swift‘s Folklore album garnered plenty of attention late last week when the singer gave fans less than 24 hours notice before unveiling the 16-track project!
But amid the release and subsequent merch drop hitting her online store, one Black-owned business called out the 30-year-old for ripping off her logo! Amira Rasool, the founder of The Folklore, an online concept shop bringing “Africa & the diaspora’s top contemporary designer brands,” claimed Taylor ripped off her logo for the album-themed sweaters, shirts, and more.
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Taking to Instagram on July 24, Rasool pointed out the similarities, explaining to followers:
“This morning, it came to my attention that musician #TaylorSwift is selling merchandise to go along with her new album ‘Folklore’. She is currently selling merchandise with the words ‘The Folklore’ printed on them. Based on the similarities of the design, I believe the designer of the merch ripped off my company’s logo.”
Accusing Swift of “blatant theft,” she continued:
“I am sharing my story to bring light to the trend of large companies/celebrities copying the work of small minority-owned business owners. I am not going to let this blatant theft go unchecked.”
Well, just days later and the Grammy winner has responded, taking swift action to address the allegation. Releasing a statement through her team on Tuesday, a rep revealed:
“Yesterday, we were made aware of a complaint that the specific use of the word ‘the’ before ‘folklore album’ on some of the folklore album merchandise was of concern. Absolutely no merchandise using ‘the’ before the words ‘folklore album’ has been manufactured or sent out.”
They concluded by sharing what efforts they’ve taken to right this wrong:
“In good faith, we honored her request and immediately notified everyone who had ordered merchandise with the word ‘the’ preceding ‘folklore album’ that they will now receive their order with the design change.”
Rasool replied to the move yesterday, tweeting:
“I commend Taylor’s team for recognizing the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore’s brand. I recognize that she has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page. It was a great first step and we are in conversation right now with Taylor’s team about the next steps to make this situation right.”
And in a statement to InStyle, the founder revealed her lawyer has been in contact with Taylor’s manager since Monday over the issue, again echoing her (above) sentiments:
“Taylor’s team took swift action to have ‘the’ removed from all merchandise. I commend her team for recognizing the damage it caused to our brand. I recognize Taylor has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page. It was a great first step and we are in conversation right now with Taylor’s team about the next steps to make this situation right.”
T. Swift’s quick response is one others should follow, and hopefully they can all come to an amicable resolution.
[Image via WENN/Avalon]
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