A fashion designer on TikTok says a corset she made with vintage fabric was ripped off by fast fashion retailers.
The designer, known as Ruth Wiggins (@jonnieandru), shared a video on TikTok showing the corset she created alongside a targeted ad showing the same design.
“NO because fast fashion is ripping this EXACT corset I designed a few weeks ago that was made from VINTAGE FABRIC. Unreal,” Wiggins wrote in the video’s on-screen caption. “Like this video to raise awareness that FAST FASHION STEALS from small businesses.”
Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and mass-producing them at low cost to bring them to retail stores quickly. Small fashion designers often claim to be the victim of large retailers such as Shein essentially stealing their designs without credit.
Wiggins’ TikTok video went semi-viral with about 23,000 views on the platform. Viewers had mixed reactions to her claim — some completely denied it.
“I don’t think they copied your piece in specific, there’s a lot of people that make these corset in this exact toile print ,.. that’s why it’s popular,” one viewer commented on the video.
Some viewers pointed out that the targeted ad Wiggins showed said “preloved” in the description, meaning it was being sold secondhand. The TikToker shut down those suspicions by saying she hadn’t even sent her design to production yet.
“It’s on Depop, that’s not fast fashion. They sell second hand pieces through the users,” one viewer said.
“I’m also a huge advocate for selling & reselling online! Small businesses are incredible. But this was a different thing,” Wiggins wrote in reply. “I LOVE creators on Depop – but this link does not take you to a Depop seller. Only to a generic page. It’s a targeted ad!”
“So in just a few weeks time, some business put into production a copy of something you made and then someone bought it… and reposted it for sale used?” another viewer commented.
“But this item hadn’t even gone to production for me yet. It’s a dupe,” Wiggins said in a reply to the comment. “It wasn’t an add to a real item! It’s not even ON a Depop. It’s a targeted ad – I’m a huge advocate for reselling and buying second hand!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Wiggins via TikTok comment.
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