Hasta La Ideas

Another week, another allegation that the Kardashian family has engaged itself in design theft. You might recall back in August, that designer Monica Botkier wrote on her blog claiming to have had a handbag she’d designed blatantly ripped off by three of the reality TV-staple sisters, a bag they were selling as part of their then-new collection at Sears. That potential theft was removed from Sears’ site almost immediately, and appears to have been retooled to look less similar (the new bag is on the upper left hand side of this page). Now the possible copycat has struck again, this time in the singular and that singular referring to Kim Kardashian, and a number of pieces from her recently launched Belle Noel jewelry collection. Last last week, designer Alexis Bittar told the NY Post that he happened to wander into the family’s Manhattan store, Dash, and found a near exact copies of several things he’d designed (Styleite has a number of great side-by-side comparisons). Most regularly highlighted was a set of earrings in the Kardashian collection named “Pharaoh” that look remarkably similar to something the designer had previously made. Bittar told the Post that, unlike Botkier, he has no plans to sue, saying that he’s not sure the TV star even knows about the design process behind her line and that it’s possible that “her designers just go shopping and knock things off.” However, while a lawsuit doesn’t seem pending at this time, he also told the paper that they will no longer be lending her jewelry. “She has been barred.”

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