La marque de luxe Balenciaga accusée de plagiat

Il y a un an de ça, un recruteur de la marque de luxe s’est rendu dans une école de mode et de design en Allemagne. Le travail d’une artiste nommée Tra My Nyugen leur a plu et ils ont ainsi demandé des photos de ses œuvres. Et c’est ainsi qu’il y a quelques jours, Balenciaga publiait une photo d’une moto recouverte de vêtements, sans crédit, ni même de description.

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A post shared by Balenciaga (@balenciaga) on Jul 21, 2020 at 6:09am PDT

L’étudiante s’est évidemment empressée de raconter l’histoire et de remettre le contexte

Elle avait choisi de draper des vêtements autour d’une moto et d’en faire une « sculpture portable ». Son projet de master mettait en scène la culture de la moto féminine au Vietnam. Il y avait donc dans ses photos et dans ses idées, un héritage culturel qui n’a pas aujourd’hui lieu d’être sur l’Instagram de Balenciaga.

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I’m so angry and speechless! @balenciaga has yet proved again for stealing, appropriating and profiting from POC artists’ ideas. Last year a recruiter from @balenciaga came to my uni @udkfashion @udkberlin to have a look over our master’s class projects. She requested my portfolio TWICE!I send her my portfolio with process and editorial pics! I never got a reply after that. They have never asked me for permission!!! STOP APPROPRIATING ‘low seen/read culture’, this is so typical of @balenciaga!!! I feel betrayed and hurt as it’s a part of my culture, it’s an artistic process and not a random fashionable aesthetic you can profit on! My master’s project was about female motorbike culture in Vietnam. Rooted in my own family history, from my mother selling her mother bike in order to migrate to Germany, Vietnamese motorbike culture have been a core focus of my work for the past few years. The idea was to deconstruct the emerging street style in Vietnam, dubbed as ‘Street Ninja’. I collaged UV protection clothes from Vietnam over a motorbike to create ‘wearable sculptures’. By doing so, the project suggests a strategy for reimagining the female motorist as protagonists, countering their discriminatory experiences. What is your inspiration? Why are you even draping garments over a motorbike? What do you want to tell us with this pic! TELL ME!!! I demand an apology and also DELETE this pic! I am not your moodboard! PLEASE SHARE!!! @diet_prada @1granary @ichbinkeinvirus #outcall #balenciaga #belanciege #ripoff #culturalappropriation #appropriation #dietprada

A post shared by ??? ?? ?????? (@tra.my1) on Jul 23, 2020 at 6:10am PDT

Dans son post qui a été relayé par Diet Prada, elle expose les mails avec les recruteurs de la marque, qui n’ont pas hésité à mentir sur un possible stage contre les photos de son projet. Aucunement, ils n’ont évoqué s’inspirer du travail de l’artiste, c’est donc ainsi un total plagiat.

Morale de l’histoire

Balenciaga publiait aujourd’hui une présumé explication à ce malentendu. La marque réplique qu’il y a aucune inspiration sur Tra My Nyugen et que la team de recruteur et celle des médias ne travaillent pas ensemble et donc ne s’échange pas leur information. Qui croire face à des preuves si évidentes ?

C’est lors de telle histoire que nous pouvons prendre conscience de la place des grandes marques de luxe dans la société. Ainsi que le monopole qu’ils prennent sur le travail des autres. Peu importe le chiffre d’affaire ou la renommé de la marque, plagier la création d’un artiste est punissable par la loi et par la morale. Ce n’est pas la première fois que cela arrive. L’impact pour des grandes maisons est minime. Il s’agit uniquement de mauvaise publicité qu’ils peuvent cacher avec une très bonne nouvelle collection. Mais quant au travail de cette artiste, il ne se récupère plus et contre son gré, il ne lui appartient plus. Ce qu’il y a de positif de nos jours, c’est que justice est faite par les réseaux. La visibilité d’une telle affaire ne se passe plus seulement dans les coulisses de Balenciaga, mais sur la toile et devant des millions d’utilisateurs.

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@balenciaga needed 4 days to come up with the most un-empathethic and double-dealing statement. Within 4 days I have not been contacted personally by them. For 4 days, that's the strategy they come up with to sell us the story? It was all silence for 4 days acting like the whole internet didn’t see my post about how betrayed I felt you appropriating my very personal work.

You ignored me, deleted comments from other people and I, post new contents on your feed like nothing has happened plus won’t take the picture down! This behavior is a toxic manipulative corporate strategy to silence the victim of this situation.

Instead of apologizing to me and deleting the stolen concept feed, you chose denial: @balenciaga has all the time in 4 days and resources to organize an additional photo shoot.

Just want it to be clear, I don't believe your story. How did you come up with your ‘research’ is really easy to debunk within one google search.


In the first place, it was a healing process for me to write down my feelings when I saw the stolen concept on @balenciaga feed hoping they would acknowledge their mistake. The whole situation put me in a lot of emotional stress which I never signed up for. Gladly, the immense encouraging reaction to this situation is something I never expected. Thank you.
 So many artists have been in the same situation and are sharing their stories with me. It shows that people are tired of this oppressive fashion industry. I’ve had many conversations with people about how I should handle this situation. How can we keep the momentum going? How can we take this to the next level? I don’t want this to end like other fashion brands scandals blowing up and fading quickly. How can artists and their community protect themselves from exploitation by big companies?
In the meantime, I will think about my next steps as an individual together with a few people who are helping me. This is just the beginning, I don’t think that @balenciaga realize how ignorant they have been.  If you make a mistake as a BRAND you own up to it as a BRAND. Never make the excuse that the social media and recruitment team are run separately from each other.

A post shared by ??? ?? ?????? (@tra.my1) on Jul 28, 2020 at 7:13am PDT

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