People say there are no new ideas in fashion, just as every story is an adaptation of something before it. Whether this is true or not, the fashion house of the late Alexander McQueen is currently in trouble with notorious motorist club the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Corporation for plagiarism. Hell hath no fury like a etc.
A complaint filed in federal court in California on Monday by the Hells Angels alleges that the Alexander McQueen brand, owned by France’s PPR Gucci group, breached trademark protections. The objects under appraisal include a handbag, dress, silk scarf and the “Hell’s Knuckle Duster” ring, all sporting the winged death’s head design and range in price from $500 to over $2000.
Hell’s Angels insignia
McQueen designs
Pretty much anywhere the symbol has been advertised is making the Hell’s Angels get pissy, with both US department store Saks and online fashion website Amazon receiving “complaints” from the biker organisation.
In a statement the Angels’ attorney Fritz Clapp said: “the Hell’s Angels interest was not primarily economic, but focused on getting [the particular products] out of the market since they represent membership insignia, and anyone wearing them would be considered an imposter by club members.” Translation: get knee-capped?
The lesson to be learned here is an oldie but a goody: skulls are tacky as fuck. (Hell’s Angels regalia excluded.)
By Lucy Cormack
Via Financial Times
