Kylie Jenner Spurned For Possibly Copying Fashion Designer’s Iconic Pieces
By Mikelle Leow, 06 Mar 2024
Images via Johansen (left) and Khy (right)
Kylie Jenner has woven herself into some tension again as Australian fashion designer Jessica Johansen-Bell is alleging that the socialite’s fairly new clothing line, Khy, has been lifting designs from her label, Johansen.
Johansen-Bell took to TikTok to voice her concerns after deliberating on them for a while. In a video, she compared specific pieces from Khy’s recent collection to her own designs released three or four years earlier.
“Am I tripping or did Kylie Jenner just rip off my entire collection?” she questioned in the video, before sharing photos from both lines featuring twisted sleeves and similar structures.
The designer, a cast member on the Netflix series Byron Baes, has been in the fashion game for about a decade, making her mark with unique silhouettes and detailing that she believes have been echoed in Khy’s pieces.
@jessicajohansenbell Innovation station
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She said some people had misinterpreted Jenner’s getups as part of a collaboration at first, and they congratulated her for pairing up with the beauty mogul. As her company previously styled Jenner, Johansen-Bell shared that she’d also assumed the pieces were from her collection.
khy drop 004 coming soon ð pic.twitter.com/1qdNH2hxvp
— Kylie Jenner Source (@kyliajennur) February 22, 2024
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This isn’t the first time Khy has faced allegations of copying designs. Shortly after its launch in October 2023, the brand was criticized for similarities to pieces created by designer Betsy Johnson.
khy drop 004 available now! ð¤ pic.twitter.com/ASUQ4cgLPU
— The King. Not @KylieJenner | Parody. (@DeviousKylie) February 28, 2024
Kylie behind the scenes of khy drop 004 in Paris ð¤ pic.twitter.com/8ef52ZN4rg
— Kylie Jenner Source (@kyliajennur) February 26, 2024
After Johansen-Bell aired her grievances online, others backed up her suspicions. "Wait, [because] when [Jenner] posted it I immediately thought it was Johansen,” commented MTV host Kamie Crawford. Other viewers urged her to “lawyer up.”
Johansen-Bell expressed her disappointment in a follow-up video, stating, “I’m trying to put pressure on Kylie's team to reach out and rectify the situation.” She criticized the practice of “big companies taking concepts of smaller companies, [monetizing] it, and [selling] it for a fraction of the price.”
“It has got to stop,” Johansen-Bell emphasized. “People like myself put their blood, sweat, and tears into creating a brand, a concept. And to have it just kind of taken away from you is so disheartening and unfair.”
[via Bored Panda and FASHION Magazine, images via various sources]