Zara, the fast-fashion juggernaut that owns Inditex, known for its ultra-cheap prices and designer guises, won’t let anyone give it a taste of its own medicine. At least that’s what LA-based Tillico tried.
According to industry watchdog The Fashion Law, Inditex is taking Tillikon to court over what it calls a “massive fraud.”
The charge? Trying to pass off Zara clothes as original Tiliko designs.
Zara in 2010 Founded in 2021, Tilco is filing claims of copyright infringement and false advertising, specifically over product photos displayed on Tilco’s website.
As anyone can clearly see by searching for Tilco products on Zara’s website, the product and model shots are identical. Confusingly, the material descriptions sometimes change – Zara lists the turtleneck sweater below as “64% polyester, 18% acrylic, 10% wool, 5% alpaca, 3% elastane,” while Tlico lists it as “20% wool, 80% polyester.” “
A reverse search for model listings on the Tilico website sometimes brings up results from Chinese wholesale websites.
There’s no guarantee that this is the case, but it’s not unlikely that Tilco is simply offloading Zara products from Chinese manufacturers — perhaps the companies that make Zara’s clothing, although that’s just speculation — to stock the website with stolen Zara photos.
What’s even more surprising is that while Zara advertises imitation, Tilco masquerades as a “sustainable” fashion brand and sells its clothes at an alarming premium.
A dress that retails for $49.90 at Zara, for example, sells for $328 at Tilco. Additionally, positioning itself as a sustainable brand, Tilico has secured distribution from multi-brand retailer Wolf&Badger for some time and in Vogue Purchase summary.
The final nail in the coffin comes simply when checking out the “Our Story” and “Thilikó For Good” sections of the Thilikó website.
These are the cornerstones of a truly quality-conscious brand: a strong mission statement, a breakdown of steps taken to ensure ethical production, and a clear explanation of the brand’s values.
Instead, you’ll find a copy of an article posted with the same images from Nanushka’s biography and New York bag brand Behno, with the exception of Tiliko’s name.
In general, it is very difficult to argue against the case.
The latest product Tilico uploaded to its site is problem-wise, replacing stolen Zara photos with selfies taken by Instagram influencers.
Zara is seeking to win some money from Tilco and prevent the company from continuing to use the images; The influencer’s photos represent Tiliko’s next step.
Although there isn’t much that can (or should) be said in Tiliko’s defense, it’s not like Zara has proven to be very sympathetic over the years.
Even last month, Zara was accused of copying a style created by lingerie designer Mary Young.
Not only can these independent designers not hope to financially stand up to Zara in court, but clothing styles are rarely protected by law, which is why you see more legal battles over logos and branding than clothing styles.
But in this case, the latter is small and the ball is, surprisingly, in Zara’s court.
