Another Follow Up of the Day: Urban Outfitters has responded to claims made by independent jewelry designer Stephanie “Stevie” Koerner that the retailer’s “I Heart Destination” necklace line ripped off her own “United States of Love” collection.
Inadvertently aided by a recent Regretsy post, which responded to the controversy by pointing out the slew of similar designs posted on Etsy long before Koerner’s store came online, UO noted that “a quick search on Etsy” shows Koerner’s design is far from original. “We are not implying that Koerner stole her necklace idea from one of these other designers,” UO says in its statement, “we are simply stating the obvious—that the idea is not unique to Koerner and she can in no way claim to be its originator.”
UO goes on to say that they normally wouldn’t bother issuing a public retort, but the “media response” to Koerner’s allegation “is threatening to impact the dozens of independent designers” with whom UO has a legitimate business relationship. “For many of them, having their work sold at Urban Outfitters is a very positive turning point in their careers,” UO says, “and we will not allow their hard work and commitment, or ours, to be undermined by these false allegations.”
Now, about those Rick Santorum campaign contributions…
[urbanoutfitters / @mileycyrus / image: regretsy.]
