Uniqlo sues Chinese fast fashion giant over bag ‘copy’
UNIQLO has sued Shein over allegations the Chinese fast-fashion giant copied its hugely popular bananashaped shoulder bag.
Fast Retailing, the Japanese owner of Uniqlo, has demanded that Shein immediately stop selling “imitation products” and pay compensation for damages caused by the alleged copycat sales.
Shein’s products “closely resemble” Uniqlo’s £15 crossbody bag and could damage customer confidence in the brand, according to a lawsuit filed in Tokyo. Shein sells its own crossbody bag for as little as £3 on its website.
Uniqlo’s “round mini-shoulder” bag has become one of the chain’s bestselling products after gaining popularity on Tiktok. It became a social media sensation after one user posted a video showing her unpacking items from the surprisingly spacious bag.
The 42-second clip showed that the nylon bag had enough room for a Vaseline tin, a pack of biscuits, a wallet, a set of keys, a phone charger, a hairclip, a pair of headphones, a camera, a perfume bottle and an Epipen. The hashtag uniqlobag has since amassed hundreds of millions of views. The accessory has also gained popularity in the fashion industry, with Vogue declaring it the “hottest product of the year so far” in April 2023.
The banana-shaped bag has been compared to Mary Poppins’ bottomless handbag and the 1990s aesthetic of Prada’s bestselling Re-nylon collection, which propelled nylon bags into the fashion mainstream.
Uniqlo offers the bag in a wide variety of colours and it has now become its bestselling bag of all time.
The lawsuit comes after Uniqlo announced that it was investigating the sale of “counterfeit and imitation versions” of its bag and warned of legal action against manufacturers and companies selling the fake goods.
Shein, founded in 2012, has grown to become the world’s biggest fashion retailer, known for its ultra-low prices and aggressive marketing campaign.
The Chinese e-commerce company employs nearly 10,000 people.
Uniqlo was contacted for comment. A Shein spokesman said: “Shein respects the intellectual property rights of others and takes all claims of infringement seriously. We are investigating.”