BETWEEN TOPE ABIOLA AND A DISGRUNTLED CUSTOMER

Not a lot of people in the fashion industry would have missed this one. but in case you did, here’s a recap of the drama between tope abiola , creative director of tope fnr and a disgruntled customer.

according to an instagram user, her friend contacted tope to make a dress she would wear for her Tope AbiolA wedding reception, an outfit inspired by the work of a western designer. though the body shapes are different, the duo agreed on a price – N105,000 – and the designer went ahead to buy the materials and make the agreed style. the drama started after the bride received the finished product a few days to her wedding and to her horror, she claimed it was made with cheap materials, was terribly ill-fitted, and looked nothing like the inspiration they agreed on.

the user also stated that the drama would have not made it to social media had the designer treated the complaint differently. this post led to other complaints from readers who have also had ugly experiences with the designer mostly based on customer service.

although it’s no secret that upcoming fashion brands sometimes rely heavily on the ideas of high-end designers, these brands typically deny such accusations of straight-up plagiarism except when caught pants down. it is the creative industry and originality is part of the job description and so these sort of actions are majorly frowned upon. while there are all sorts of debate as regards the customer’s size and the poor choice of fabric, our question is should a creative designer blatantly copy the work of another designer and pass it off as hers ????