Alannah Hill steals Once Upon logo!

On 14 December, 2009 · 29 Comments · In Design

Ripped off by Alannah Hill!

Alannah Hill has completely ripped off the “Once Upon” logotype that was designed by Tabitha Emma for the show of the same name. Yep – that’s the show I was recently part of. I’m pretty shocked, to tell you the truth, because I have admired their dresses for years from afar. Apparently this isn’t the first time they’ve dabbled in copyright theft either: I’ve just found out that some Alannah Hill dresses are copied from indie designers too! After hearing all of this news, I’m not so bitter that the label won’t extend their collections to plus sizing.

This kind of thing is completely uncool. It’s hard enough to be a young graphic designer or illustrator and working your butt off to break in to the market, while big brands are just plucking whatever they like off the internet for their own means. Google Image Search is not your own personal OR professional stock images collection. I don’t care if you’re Alannah Hill, whoever she hires for graphic design work, or ANYONE!

I’m pretty pissed off right now and I hate to post on such a sour note, but graphic designers are sick to death of being ripped off like this – especially by big companies who should have legal departments AND in-house/ contracted graphic designers who know better and should advise against this sort of disgusting practice.

Boo Alannah Hill. As a graphic artist and someone who likes fancy clothes, I’m really disturbed by this.

ETA
Because this post is getting a few hits, I want to make clear that the original logotype was designed by Tabitha Emma, not me! I am a part of the indie art/ design scene in Australia and I wanted to support Tabitha and Once Upon, who’ve welcomed me into the community with open arms. We are a tight knit group of young Aussie creative people, and it’s just sad we have to defend each other’s work from being plagiarised wholesale!

@LeeLooDogBlog posted a list of the stores where confirmed sightings of the decals have been recorded: Chatswood, Paddington, Pitt Street, Doncaster. If you’ve seen the copycat decal in a store you’ve walked past, please take a photo and post it on Twitter for @LeeLooDogBlog.

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  • SophieThatVintage

    You said it lovely! Backing Tabitha 100% – I wrote my letter of complaint to Alannah Hill's agency with hopes that many more follow suit!

  • http://www.haydenw.info haydenonline

    That's not right! That is a complete rip-off, I can't beleive that happened, I see graphic designers (like yourself) do AMAZING work, and it is very upsetting to see people using it without permission and claiming it as their own, that somebody else spent their time, and effort on to make that artwork.

    :(

  • http://www.definatalie.com definatalie

    Ooh who is the agency? I would like to register with them that I know where they got it from. I think they thought that no one would know, or notice!

  • Pete.

    Don't take this lying down. SMACK THEM DOWN!

  • SophieThatVintage

    This was the only contact email address on the Alannah Hill website that I thought would have any impact – let's flood his inbox: cameron@trishnicolagency.com.au

  • http://www.zineshop.com.au/ Susy

    Any chance you'll email me your complaint letter so I can write something similar? I think it's important to write to them but know I won't have enough time to be able to. My email is zineshop@gmail.com

    x

  • Caitlin

    They say all design is derivative, but this is completely ridiculous. I don't know how any “designer” with any shred of decency could do this.

  • http://www.nicholasperkins.com/blog/ Nicholas Perkins

    This is crazy. It's so obvious it is actually stupid.

  • KateF

    She's a thief, she loathes fat people (I cannot find the reference, but she said at Fashion Week that it would be ridiculous to put clothes on normal sized bodies. Frances at Corpulent had a reference on her website I'm sure), and she condones the wholesale torture and cruelty related to killing animals by purchasing fur for her clothing products.

    Really, why does anyone support this total waste of space of a human being? (Sorry, I know this is harsh, but honestly! Does this woman have absolutely NO moral fiber at all???)

    I've never been able to wear her clothes, but I will petition my thin friends to stop wearing this evil-bee-atches products.

  • arajay

    sadly, saying something is copyrighted does not make it so, at least not here in the USA. so even though it's a ripoff, there's nothing you can really do unless the proper paperwork & fees were filed.

    “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” —Albert Einstein

  • Desley Baird

    makes me wonder if her designs are actually her own creations or are they poached too? I support Natalie 100%

  • http://www.definatalie.com definatalie

    Fortunately in Australia, copyright protection is free, automatic and immediate and is not dependent on the work being published. Both the parties in this case are Australian, and the work was created here this year. For more information, check out:
    http://www.copyright.org.au/information/cit020/…

    I'm often glad that I am a creative in Australia because of this! It seems confusing and fraught with challenges in the US.

  • Alexandra Wilder

    Hey babe, this sucks! 'was brought to my attention on facebook by a buddy, I shall pass it on to my friends who wear Alannah Hill, they won't be impressed. This happens far too often, good luck with your future actions. x

  • http://nerines.blogspot.com/ nerines

    Well done! That's really a little frightening and sad….I don't know really what to say, I'll be a new follower though =)

  • arajay

    thanks for the link. i guess there aren't many aussie intellectual property lawyers :D it seems to me that your laws leave some pretty big holes eh? with no central registration database how do you prove who made what, and when?

  • miss mellie

    have you guys checked out:
    http://www.youthoughtwewouldntnotice.com

  • http://www.lianakabel.com/ Liana Kabel

    It is important to stand up and say something when you see such blatant ripoffs. It is the only way anything will change, because there is still too much of the attitude, that you can't do anything about it, everything has been done before and that it doesn't really matter. It does matter, and original ideas are still out there. We need to stand up and support eachother because this affects us all.

  • http://katwhite.tumblr.com/ katwhite_

    I have had to deal with lawyers after a large music/electronic store here in Australia stole one of my images. When it's a blanant rip off like this (and in my case too), the party is pretty stupid to deny the allegation. I was luckily a member of the Australian Graphic Design Association, so had access to their lawyers free of charge. Sent off a letter, and received compensation and was assured that the designer responsible would be taken care of. It's embarressing for businesses to have this happen to them when they trust a designer. And plus the courts are there to protect you. There's plenty of ways to prove plagerism and obvious rip offs. In this case Alannah Hill is liable for some hefty compensation. No name change, no change to the logo, completely stolen.

  • http://katwhite.tumblr.com/ katwhite_

    I just emailed Cameron. Fingers crossed someone is held responsible for this unfortunate situation.

  • arajay

    it seems a career-killing choice for Ms Hill, given the clarity of the law. i don't see how this could be a coincidence, given the proximity to (not to mention publicity of) the gallery show.

  • http://xbaudelaire.livejournal.com/ Imogen

    I saw that decal on her Sydney shop in The Strand today.

    I hate Alannah Hill. I used to live in Japan and when I moved here, I realised that she consistently rips off clothing and fabric print designs from my favourite Japanese brand “Emily Temple Cute”. She also copies designs from Metamorphose and Angelic Pretty.

    She is not a designer. Please do not buy from her shop.

  • jodie

    Damn and i thought i liked Alannah Hill designs, support the aussies and all that. what a complete and utter rip off. and for them to come out saying it was a “mistake” is pure bull. any competent designer (anyone with a brain even!) would know that you cant just take a logo designed by someone else and use it as your own. how have they been getting away with it for so long? and saying they didnt know it was copyrighted has nothing to do with it. even if something isnt copyrighted, you cant just use it as is. argh!! makes me so angry!!!
    i am a graphic designer myself, 2 yrs at tafe and then 1 yr in the industry and am currently studying fashion design, so while im still young and new to these industries, all thsi was drilled into me from day one. so all i can conclude is that this was purposefully done and the “mistake” they spoke of was thinking they wouldnt get caught

  • Guest
  • http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136061422307 Natalie

    Alannah Hill has been blatantly ripping off other peoples designs for years. Chanel and Anna Sui are some of the big labels that she has stolen designs from, along with other lesser known overseas labels from Japan.

    I created a facebook group aimed at bringing awareness to her counterfeit goods, find out more about it here.
    http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136061422307

  • livvy

    Shes buyn designs from fashion wholesalers aswell….

  • Me Too

    Lack of professional integrity because of lack of talent, usually go hand in hand.

    I've been in your position as well and fume when I think that future clients could have had a unique 'one off' product, carefully handmade by myself, for half the price of her mass produced chain store copies.

    Good luck with your future and I am sure that you will be recognised as a great designer.

  • http://femmeflaneur.com/2010/06/27/dear-alannah-i-see-what-you-did-there/ Dear Alannah, I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE. | femme flâneur

    [...] clothes aren’t the only thing she steals. Last December (2009), Alannah Hill was caught ripping off a student’s logo design to use for one of her shows. You can also read about it here on [...]

  • Amber

    Everyone gets their ides from somewhere, and our inspiration. Those chain stores you buy from? They are just rip offs from the famous European designers, for example Chanel and Balenciaga, except they come out 6-12 months later due to season change and mass production. Alannah Hill brings something to the Australian market which we are unable to purchase anywhere else in this country. And yes, there will be similar fabric print designs wherever you go, she probably purchases some of her fabric from these places, as so many designers do (duh). Fashion design is a hard industry. Your favourite designer probably has similar designs to someone else too, you just haven’t looked close enough into it. I’ve seen shops with similar logos before.. because they use the same font. The font up there happens to also be unsuprisingly similar to Alannah Hill’s shop title. Coincidence? I think not.
    I’m sure people copy her designs too. I doubt she goes around the world copying every little detail of other designers into her work. If I was troubled about a problem, I wouldn’t complain to the internet.

  • Amber (forgot to add)

    By the way, if she did copy that persons design knowingly, then she is just plain silly (to say it nicely). She could have at least paid someone to be unqiue!

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