Hipster sandals given the boot for looking like charity brand
A HIPSTER fashion brand popular among celebrities has withdrawn £400 sandals which bear a remarkable resemblance to pairs designed for poverty stricken children in Africa.
Acne’s £400 “African–inspired” sandals are virtually identical in design to those made by The Shoe That Grows, a non-profit organisation which makes shoes that expand with children’s feet so they don’t have to buy new ones.
The fashion house, which is considered highly trendy among “millennials” and has been worn by the likes of Rihanna, Cara Delevingne and Alexa Chung, is coming under strong pressure to make a donation to the charity.
Acne denied copying the charity’s design but has withdrawn the shoe from sale in the days since the resemblance was brought to its attention.
Fashion experts are calling on Acne to “stand up for its values” by donating a portion of its profits to The Shoe That Grows. Tamsin Lejeune, chief executive of the Ethical Fashion Forum, said: “My message to the Acne team is stand up for your values and use your influence to make a difference where it really matters. Why not connect with The Shoe That Grows team and collaborate – for example, by continuing to sell its shoe – with a donation to The Shoe that Grows? Or, even better, by donating Shoes That Grow to an African child, for every pair sold?”
The Shoe That Grows’s footwear was launched in 2013 and is designed to be a durable, adjustable sandal that can expand up to five shoe sizes.
As well as donating thousands to children via charitable donations, the US-based company also made the shoe available to the public, with each pair bought online paying for two further pairs to be donated to children living in poverty around the world.
This year Acne released a similar shoe made of 100 per cent leather as part of its Pre-Fall ’16 catwalk show.
A spokesman for Acne said: “The similarities in design were not intentional but we do see them, therefore we have decided to stop selling the shoes for further investigation.”