AOC 'Tax the Rich' Gown Copied from a Street Designer? 'Original' Artist Wants THIS To Happen As Payback
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Met Cortez's Gala gown appears to be an identical duplicate of one designer's work, at least according to the designer. Will the congresswoman find herself in a lawsuit? The designer only wants one thing - and it does not entail court time.
AOC in her "Tax the Rich" outfit became viral. Naturally, as the message is quite bold, literally and figuratively, the whole ensemble went viral.
However, before people could praise and her team's ingenuity, an IG user came out to say that the design could have been plagiarized from her.
The IG user known as the Velvet Bandit, says the whole dress looks like her own design, specifically referring to the font and typeface used for the text themselves.
"This dress bears the same likeness as my handwriting," Velvet Bandit wrote, adding that her own "Tax the Rich" item became viral on TikTok when she placed her art up all around Sausalito, CA. She starts off threatening, but then she calms down.
The street artist does not appear to be in the mood to take this to court, however. There appears to be no threats of a lawsuit or anything similar. If anything, she actually admires AOC. She stated that she likes both AOC and Aurora James, the designer of her outfit, and would want nothing more than to collaborate with both.
She claims she's a lunch lady and a single mom who doesn't have the time or clout to approach celebrities for work.
Instead, she's asking people to tag and/or share this with the congresswoman and her designer, along with the following "They need a female street artist working on their team, dontcha think? It would be an honor. Obviously they have fabulous taste."
While the whole thing was swiftly (de)escalated, it does not mean AOC should escape accountability. However, both AOC and Aurora James have not yet commented on the issue.
Even without this "ripped off" accusation though, the dress is already drawing mixed reactions. While some recognizes the value of the message, others are calling the wearer a big hypocrite for even releasing the message at a wrong event that she is personally invited on. Some are decrying the fact that she's condemning wealth inequality at the lavish, star-studded red-carpet event when she personally had the chance to attend, which means she's also technically "the rich."
The New York congresswoman however is persistent that her choice of timing is correct. "The medium is the message," Ocasio-Cortez captioned an Instagram photo of herself and designer Aurora James showing off their controversial collaboration. "The time is now for childcare, healthcare, and climate action for all..."
"And yes, BEFORE anybody starts wilding out - NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city's cultural institutions that serve the public. I was one of several in attendance," she added.
