Is Versace Guilty Of Copying?

Has Versace copied an American Apparel T-shirt created by British-born artist Kesh? The LA-based creative shared images from the Italian label's spring/summer 2015 collection, expressing her disgust that the $650 T-shirt is selling out at Selfridges, two years after her original high-street version debuted for less than $30.

"This hurts," Kesh said via Instagram alongside a picture of the T-shirt on the Selfridges website. "$650. Versace rip off. Sold out in three sizes. What is this madness? From huge designer labels to small boutiques, to giant pop stars, to fame-hungry former friends. What is this? Why can't these companies, these brands, these people create their own work? What happened? Why do these people think that everything that they lay their eyes on instantly belongs to them? At least make it better than the $30 original Versace," she added. "This looks like a first draft."

The T-shirt by Kesh - real name Kesshia Kumari - was presented as part of a collaboration with American Apparel for spring/summer 2013 and featured an artwork created by Kesh.

"This collection was made from the original artwork from my first solo show," Kesh told New York magazine in a statement. "A show that took more than two years to develop. This is also my face, being sold for $600 more than the original. It's unacceptable." Her representative confirmed that litigation was the next step: "Kesh is absolutely going to sue," she asserted. Versace had no comment to make when contacted this morning.