Amid the launch of her new clothing company Khy, Kylie Jenner has been accused of stealing work from artist Betsy Johnson (not to be confused with American designer Betsey Johnson).
For context, Kylie announced her new clothing brand earlier this week, which includes 13 pieces — including faux leather dresses and coats — between $48–$198. The first drop is original designs made with the brand Namilia, a brand founded in 2015 which heavily uses leather. “The whole line is really inspired by my personal wardrobe, and the different moods that I’m in,” Kylie told WSJ magazine.
Meanwhile, Betsy is a Grimsby-born creative director, consultant, and stylist. She has previously walked the Balenciaga red carpet, oversaw a YEEZY Gap campaign, and appeared on a Playboi Carti album cover.
Her recently-announced line, PRODUCTS, has been met with positive reviews and centers around a limited collection made with Giaborghini and UY Studio. Each piece is monochrome and heavily features black leather coats with distinct silhouettes. It explicitly plays with the idea of class, with Betsy telling Hypebeast in September, “Fashion for the last eight years: the rich wanting to look poor, adopting all the tropes of working-class life but never knowing the true extent of how it feels to really stress about your bills."
"What if fashion became a place where the rich really looked rich? It was this frustration that became the starting point for this project; it's more of a curated visual essay through products," she continued.