DJ Premier has a tattoo on his right forearm that reads, “Reputation is the cornerstone of power” — but that ethos isn’t just limited to the rap game.
On Tuesday (April 26), the legendary producer called Spanish-based fashion retailer Zara’s reputation into question for allegedly stealing Gang Starr‘s logo for a new line of jackets.
Premo uploaded a short video on Instagram showing a leather jacket and a bomber jacket, both featuring a “Never Break” patch on the back that looks an awful lot like Gang Starr’s iconic circle-and-star emblem, which the beloved group has used since 1991.
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“No way,” the person filming the video says as they inspect the jackets up close. “Wow.” DJ Premier demanded answers, writing “REALLY??? @zara” in his caption.
DJ Premier’s complaint was met with outrage from many of his rap peers and followers alike, with Pharoahe Monch, Jeru The Damaja, Kardinal Offishall, Termanology and Marco Polo among those expressing their disapproval in his comments section.
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“oooooooooo they gonna have to cut a BIG check for that foulness!!!! @zara y’all [trash],” Polo wrote, while Jeru joked, “Dear @zara could you please jack my logo I would like some of that money y’all about to fork over.”
Zara — who boasts over 2,000 stores worldwide and whose parent company Inditex nearly triped its profits to €3.2 billion ($3.4 billion) in 2021 — has yet to issue a response.
Zara is no stranger to accusations of plagiarism. In 2016, a dozen independent artists came forward claiming the Spanish retailer stole their designs. Los Angeles-based illustrator Tuesday Bassen filed a lawsuit against the fashion giant alleging they appropriated four pieces of her original artwork without permission or compensation.
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“Over the past year, @zara has been copying my artwork,” Bassen wrote on Instagram at the time. “I had my lawyer contact Zara, and they literally said I have no base because I’m an indie artist and they’re a major Zara clothing corporation and that not enough people even know about me for it to matter.”
In response, Inditex “immediately opened an investigation into the matter and suspended the relevant items from sale” while putting their legal team in contact with Bassen’s lawyers to “clarify and resolve the situation as swiftly as possible.”
