Hip Hop fashion legend April Walker has filed a lawsuit alleging infringement on her widely known “WW” Walker Wear trademark by Virgil Abloh’s Off-White brand.
“I’m taking legal action against Virgil Abloh’s company Off-White, Saks Fifth Avenue, Farfetch, and all other relevant parties and for the record, taking a stand not just for myself, but for all women and black and brown creators across the world,” she explains in a recent Instagram post.
Known throughout world as the first woman trailblazer in the “streetwear” genre, Walker’s work in hip-hop fashion is nothing short of iconic. Outside of clothing, she has styled many of Black entertainment’s biggest names including RUN-DMC, Shaquille O’Neal, Queen Latifah, and more.
“Despite the foundations we laid, many female brown and black designers still face the same “invisible” challenges, including that the big fashion houses like Off-White take our designs without permission and companies like Saks enable the conduct by selling articles with the stolen designs.”
At press time, neither Virgil or Off-White have responded to Walker’s allegations.
