Artist Amira Rasool had accused Taylor Swift of selling merchandise for her new album, “Folklore,” that looked exactly like Rasool’s brand logo. She posted her concern on social media and questioned the intentions and stealing. Taylor Swift’s team replied with a statement and later Taylor Swift directly responded to her saying, “Amira, I admire the work you’re doing and I’m happy to make a contribution to your company and to support the Black in Fashion Council (launching on 8/3) with a donation @thefolklore @amirarasool @bifcglobal #blackinfashioncouncil.”
Artist Amira Rasool sells clothes, accessories and home decor under an online label called The Folklore. The boutique has products from African designers. The artist questioned Swift on Twitter asking after using the name ‘Folklore’, will she be stealing Black women’s logos too? She said the designs were ripped off her company’s logo and she is sharing her story so that it brings to light the trend of large companies/celebrities copying the work of small minority-owned business owners. She promised to go after the blatant theft that has happened.
Swift’s team in response to the accusations have issued a statement to ‘Good Morning America’. The statement says that the complaint has come to their notice. The use of specific words ‘the’ before ‘folklore album’ on some of the ‘folklore’ album merchandise was of concern for a designer. They shared that no merchandise using ‘the’ before the words ‘folklore album’ has been manufactured or sent out yet so they have made sure that everyone who had or ordered it has been notified that they will receive the merchandise after the design change.
Rasool has commended the step taken by the brand after her complaint. She wrote on Twitter, “I recognize that she has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page.” She also wrote that this is a great first step and they are in talks with Taylor’s team about the next steps to make the situation right.