Guess accused of stealing Banksy’s artwork

Guess has been accused by Banksy of stealing his graffiti artwork. The famous street artist said that the American clothing brand and retailer has “helped themselves” to his artworks.

It was Banksy himself who called out Guess for copying his designs without getting proper permission to do so. He claimed that Guess used his artwork for its latest fashion release and posted his complaints on social media.

Banksy also attached a picture of Guess’ store in London, located on Regent Street. The storefront of the said branch shows a background drawing similar to one of his famous graffitis.

The artists express his disappointment and anger by not only calling out the company but encouraging shoplifters to visit the particular shop as well.

BBC News mentioned that the Regent Street branch of Guess featured Banksy's Flower Thrower graffiti. In addition, there were clothing items with images of the artists’ works.

It was noted that the clothing retailer is selling its new collection under the "with graffiti by Banksy” banner. While Guess has yet to issue a statement regarding the allegation, it explained that the collection was created in partnership with Brandalised, which licenses graffiti designs of artists.

“The graffiti of Bansky has had a phenomenal influence that resonates throughout popular culture,” Guess’s chief creative officer, Paul Marciano, said in a press release for the launch of the collection. “This new capsule collection with Brandalised is a way for fashion to show its gratitude.”

Guess also said, “Using iconic motifs from Banksy’s graffiti, this collection combines the artist’s graffiti with GUESS attitude in tees, sweatshirts and coats for men, alongside cute, cropped sweats and fitted tees for women.”

Meanwhile, copyright lawyer Liz Ward who founded the Virtuoso Legal company, said that Guess appears to have legitimately obtained the Banksy artwork through a third party which is Brandalised, a company that has rights to use and commercialize Banksy's artwork on merchandise.

"It is not known if Banksy approved or even knew about this deal, she said. “If he did know about it, then perhaps his comments are there to create some kind of guerrilla marketing campaign. If he didn't know about it, then he must be quite annoyed, especially as such mainstream companies and brands don't accord with his anti-establishment views.”

Photo by: Heshan Perera/Unsplash