H3H3's clothing line "Teddy Fresh" has recently revealed a new "Dino" jumper design, which turned out to be an almost carbon copy of a 1995 pattern from a knitting book.
First Published November 30, 2021, 00:49
The H3H3 duo, Ethan and Hila Klein, have been in the clothing business for four years now since they created their highly successful streetwear brand Teddy Fresh in 2017.
The brand's identity focuses on vibrant outfits which hark back to 90s fashion and style, with vivid colours and a saggy look. Since its establishment, Teddy Fresh has quickly grown in popularity and has become a respectable brand, with numerous high profile collaborations like the ones with the cartoon series SpongeBob SquarePants and Looney Tunes.
Nonetheless, the recent discovery of a plagiarised design threatens to stain the brand's reputation.
Ethan Klein claims one of Teddy Fresh's employees submitted the controversial "Dino" design
In a recent episode of the H3TV show, Ethan Klein talked about the recent discovery related to their "Dino" jumper design, confirming that they have checked the claims and admitting that the design was indeed copied from a 1955 knitting book.
The resemblance was first spotted by a Reddit user named AmberLouiseb, who saw the almost identical design in a 26-year-old book with knitting patterns. Upon closer inspection, it's clear that the designs are almost identical, and that the sweater design is a direct knockoff.
The Reddit thread was later deleted which they explained as not wanting all the attention it got.
And while Ethan admits that the design was copied he claims that it was one of their former employees who submitted the design, and says that person has not been working for Teddy Fresh for over seven months now.
"We had an idea to make a dinosaurs sweater," Ethan said. "You have to understand, we have over 50 people on Teddy Fresh, graphic designers, designers, everything, and the person who designed it left already, like seven months ago."
Ethan claims that they weren't aware that it was an exact copy until it was posted on Reddit, and says they could not have possibly known given how obscure and old the source material is.
"It was like some cosmic coincidence [that] someone even found it in the thrift store," Ethan explained.
He says that they love the design and were very happy with how it turned out, calling it one of his favourites, but reveals that until they get in contact with the author of the book (or any relatives), they will refrain from selling the sweater.
"I don't even know if he's alive, I think he is. So we are trying to reach him, or any relatives or anyone that knows him, so that we can potentially cut him in," Ethan said. "Otherwise, we are just holding it in our warehouse until we figure out how to contact him."
Ethan thinks they can "probably legally sell it" adding that he hasn't talked with his lawyers about it, but says that they don't want to do it. "I'm not gonna sell it unless we can find some info about this guy and cut him in. It sucks because I love this sweater it's so f***ing sick."
Ethan refused to reveal the name of the designer at the centre of the plagiarism, saying that he doesn't want to put too much blame on anyone, as they share partial blame as well due to an oversight they made.
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Featured image courtesy of H3H3.
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