A popular fitness influencer and entrepreneur called out Shane over allegations that the fast fashion giant stole the design of one of her skirts.
Cassie Ho, CEO and lead designer of activewear brand Popflex, took to social media to accuse Shane of plagiarizing her Pirouette Skort.
“They stole my design. SHANE STOLE MY DESIGN,” Ho said in an Instagram post. “I wish I could say ‘I can’t believe it!!!'” but I actually can. I’ve seen numerous videos and articles written about Shane outright ripping off the designs of independent designers, but guess what? As much as the comments show sympathy and anger, it’s the dollar that speaks the loudest in the end.”
The post shows multiple side-by-side views of the original black skirt sold by Popflex next to the allegedly stolen skirt, both of which have a pocket to carry a smartphone. The publication also includes a sketch of the Pirouette Skort, as well as a technical package detailing the design aspects of the mesh skirt.
The allegations leveled by the California-based designer are just the latest in a general trend — dozens of small businesses and individual fashion designers, as well as high-profile companies such as Dr. Martens and Stussy, sued the giant for copyright and trademark infringement and other related complaints.
Ho has not indicated whether she intends to take legal action against the fast-growing fashion firm and has yet to respond to Sourcing Journal’s request for comment.
Shane did not respond to Sourcing Journal’s request for comment.
The influencer shared a longer version of the Instagram post on her popular online fitness lifestyle blog Blogilates, detailing the sourcing, manufacturing and design processes and costs that went into the Pirouette Skort, which retails for $60 on Popflex, while the alleged fake version cost only $13 to Shane.
“[Shein] stole my design so they didn’t have to pay me for the trend forecast, idea, or viral videos I made. They should not have taken any risk,” Ho said. “They didn’t have to pay my technical designers who did the technical package and who graded all the dimensions. I did. They didn’t pay my pattern maker to figure out how to make the pattern. I did. They didn’t pay my sample maker to make the numerous samples we tested over several months. I did.”
Among his claims, Ho said Shane didn’t use the quality fabric it took Popflex “months” to create, and that the e-commerce giant likely didn’t use as much fabric to make the skirt.
“Combined with the intricate craftsmanship that goes into making this specific design, the raw cost of the Pirouette Skort, not counting steps 1-6 and not counting freight, duties, taxes, etc., is already over $13 a piece,” Ho said.
Ho, who modeled for the skirt shoot, even noted that Shayne took the “extra calculated step” to choose an Asian model to emulate her in their images.
In the rant, she pointed to a June 2021 tweet by designer Mariama Diallo, founder of womenswear line Sincerely Ria, who called out Shane for copying her label’s look and design.
Ho also took on the Shein x 100K Challenge, a four-episode series similar to “Project Runway” in which up-and-coming designers battle it out to feature their wares in the e-tailer’s collections. In particular, Ho attacked Shane’s insistence on calling the series a “philanthropic” initiative.
“There is nothing philanthropic about this show. Shein X 100K is basically a job interview where candidates fight for money and then help Shein make even more money. Philanthropy is about giving for the good of others, not for yourself,” Ho said. “I don’t know how much they paid Khloé [Kardashian] I’m barely on the show, but I’d bet that’s more than the $100,000 these 30 designers were fighting for.
On Tuesday, Ho shared a video on TikTok asking her followers to #boycottshein, pointing out the quality differences between the Pirouette Skort and the skirt sold on Shein. For example, the video shows that the Popflex item is made with more expensive, performance flat stitches, while the Shein product uses less expensive, non-performance single and double mesh stitches.
The video calls out some of Shane’s other alleged instances of plagiarism and pursues reports of the company’s poor working conditions in its factories—accusations that even angered The Rolling Stones enough to demand that Shane quickly end their merchandising deal.
Blogilates has a large following, with the YouTube account amassing 7.93 million subscribers and a total of 2.2 billion views. Blogilates, which also serves as Ho’s personal social media brand, has generated 3.4 million followers on TikTok and 2.3 million followers on Instagram.
Ho originally introduced the Pirouette Skort in a YouTube video in August. The video’s 26 million views and 2.1 million likes helped the garment sell out completely in “a matter of days,” the entrepreneur said.
After seeing the initial response to the skirt, Ho made some changes to the design for comfort, such as removing the front seam, lengthening the back of the skirt, and removing the elastic from the upper waist band to prevent pinching. Popflex re-released the Pirouette Skort on January 5th.
Closing out her blog post, Ho called on the recent re-seller to remove Pirouette Skort from her website and never steal designs from her or other independent creators ever again.
Ho said he hopes “that I can help shed some light on this completely messed-up business excuse and help you find better ways to spend your hard-earned money. I’m not saying you should buy my stuff, I’m just saying you shouldn’t support a business that robs hardworking people and then sells it back to you for a profit.
The controversy comes as Shein made a huge profit for his business in Latin America. The company, once valued at $100 billion, has appointed Marcelo Claure as chairman of Shein Latin America, where he will oversee the company’s strategy and stakeholder affairs in the region.
Claure, founder and CEO of global investment firm Claure Group and former CEO of SoftBank Group International, is giving Shane another cash infusion with a $100 million investment. In her role, Clare led the formation of an advisory board for the region to help provide local expertise.