Kim Kardashian gets shade for ripping off design of sunglasses

Kim Kardashian has been accused of copying the design of a pair of sunglasses by designer Emilio Pucci.

The item in question is a green-lined pair of sunglasses from a collaboration between Kardashian and fashion eyewear brand Carolina Lemke. It looks just like a pair of sunglasses from the brand Emilio Pucci, down to the shape and the green lining around the glasses. The difference between the two products is that Kardashian's sunglasses are slightly more rounded and curved.

Kardashian was modeling the similar-looking pair of sunglasses for Emilio Pucci a year ago, so she cannot claim she did not know about his design.

Instagram account Diet Prada, which calls out brands for knocking off smaller brands, said to Kardashian: "Funny how those SS17 @emiliopucci shades you wore in August 2018 ended up in your eyewear collab with @carolinalemkeberlin that launched in April this year. Hypocrisy at its finest!"

Neither Pucci nor Kardashian West have commented on the allegations. But Laudomia Pucci, daughter of Emilio Pucci and deputy chairman of the brand, commented on Diet Prada's post with a heart emoticon, subtly indicating her approval of the message.

This allegation of copying is an irony since Kardashian had just won a US$2.7-million-lawsuit against women's fashion brand Missguided for copying the designs of clothes she had worn.

Kardashian won against Missguided in a lawsuit claiming that the company used her persona and trademarks to sell replicas of her outfits, and tried to gain exposure by constantly tagging her on Instagram. Missguided would direct Kardashian's followers to its website where it sold outfits that had a similar look to Kardashian's.

The court ruled that Missguided led consumers to mistakenly believe that the brand is associated with Kim Kardashian, or that it sponsors Kardashian.

The clothing company did not respond to Kardashian's suit, resulting in a loss at court.

Diet Prada made a mention of Kardashian's recent win in court in its message about the Emilio Pucci sunglasses: "Hey @kimkardashian, so it’s def not cool to use someone else’s name and likeness when promoting knockoffs, as evidenced by your win against @missguided."