The power of social media never fails to amaze us, and recently, this power has been used for good. Founded by renowned Indian artist Orijit Sen and his wife Gurpreet Sidhu, People Tree is a small independent artisanal clothing and accessory brand based in New Delhi. Sen and Sidhu faced a firestorm of Dior fans when earlier this year Sen and his daughter took to social media to call out the fashion giant for plagiarism. Sen’s own created Yogi print design seemed to have found its way onto a Dior dress adorned by Sonam Kapoor on the cover of Elle India’s January ‘18 edition. The similarities in the two prints are by no means small, and it became even more evident as people began posting their own purchased items from People Tree that adorned the print and Sen and Sidhu painstakingly dug through their trunks and design archives, unearthing original hand-drawn artwork and hand-carved woodblock of the design that was picked up by Dior for their collection, without any credit given where it’s due whatsoever.
The news spread like wildfire on social media, as thousands of comments poured in, in support as well as criticism – “they aren’t that similar” and “why would Dior rip off a small Indian brand?” were just some of the statements that came up pointing out that People Tree here jumped the gun in their public accusation.
It’s common to seek inspiration from other creatives and designers and to be influenced by the work of others – but this wasn’t such a case. It seemed like an uphill battle, but as more and more social media users shared the story, more news publications and media houses picked it up, putting pressure on Dior to acknowledge the situation. How much longer could they stay silent? It wasn’t the first time that the fashion house has faced such accusations and complaints either.
Contrary to what many thought at the time (thankfully), a small independent Indian label took on an international fashion giant, and they won. Well, Dior hasn’t (so far) taken responsibility for their actions nor made any public statements regarding the same, but in a Facebook post Sen let all of People Tree’s supporters know that they successfully reached an “amicable settlement out of court with Christian Dior, with regards to their use of our Yogi artwork.”
“As a part of this settlement, we have had to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement that constrains us from revealing further details about the nature of the settlement.
However, what I am at a liberty to reveal is that we are now able to proceed with our long-standing dream of setting up a properly equipped studio and workshops for collaborative crafts, art and design projects - where we will be able to sponsor and host invited artisans as well. The studio is being set up in Goa, where we are based,” he wrote.
Although getting a public acknowledgement of Dior’s misgivings would have been great, this is nevertheless a tremendous achievement for multiple reasons. Not only does it shine light on the good that can come from collective campaigning for the betterment of lives but it also holds people responsible, especially in the art and design world, for the rampant plagiarism that occurs at the cost of unknown hardworking designers, artisans and textile weavers across countries like India, where the abuse of their creativity and skill is very easy. It’s not just at the level of artisans but also among labels themselves – you can get a gist of what we mean here by scrolling through Diet Prada and the Indian version of it, Diet Sabya’s pages.
Calling out people for taking credit for the hours of work put by someone else into creating something beautiful is important. More so for a group of warm-hearted and well-wishing people like those at People Tree, who as Karuna Ezara Parikh writes in her article give “jobs to those in need, let their house be used as a centre of the arts, for block printing sessions, for refugees.” She adds, “They managed somehow to balance doing what businesses never do – making a profit and making a difference. With a store a stone’s throw away from Jantar Mantar, they’ve always been witness to and actively involved in calls for justice over the years, becoming over time a haven for those straying from the mainstream, in fashion, politics or society.”
We are so happy for People Tree’s win and hope that it sets a precedent for other fashion houses around the world to learn from.