Lifestyle

Some People Think Cara Delevingne Stole Her Feminist Sweatshirt Design

Cara Delevingne never stops making headlines. But, it's not always a good thing.

This weekend, the model-turned-actress jumped into a hotbed of controversy when she Instagrammed herself and model Adwoa Aboah in sweatshirts that read, "The future is female."

The design was a recreation of a top worn in 1975 by Alix Dobkin, a notable queer singer-songwriter.

Delevingne designed the top herself in collaboration with the clothing brand Represent. Proceeds from the sweatshirt support Girl Up's campaign to promote the health, safety and education of girls in developing countries.

Here’s what’s problematic.

Delevingne was seen wearing a shirt with the same phrase one other occasion. That time, it was made by Los Angeles design collective Otherwild, who donate proceeds from the top to Planned Parenthood.

When Otherwild realized Delevingne had essentially recreated its shirt design idea, the brand was less than pleased.

Otherwild declared a social media war on Delevingne in a now-deleted Instagram post, which acted as a rallying cry for commenters to call Delevingne out on stealing the design.

Delevingne fired back in the comments, claiming Otherwild didn't own the design. What's more, she referenced the top’s original roots.

It's true that Otherwild doesn't explicitly own the slogan Delevingne re-printed. However, it's still ethically a d*ck move. Otherwild is a small, queer-woman owned business unlikely to compete with Delevingne and her massive fan base.

Long story short: If you’re shopping for a Christmas present, snag the top from Otherwild.