Ralph Lauren apologizes to Beatriz Gutierrez for copying designs

US fashion house Ralph Lauren apologized to Beatriz Gutierrez on Friday, October 21, 2022, after Mexico’s First Lady accused her of plagiarizing her indigenous designs and sought compensation for local communities.

US fashion house Ralph Lauren apologized to Mexico’s First Lady, Beatriz Gutierrez, on Friday after accusing it of copying Mexican indigenous designs and seeking compensation for local communities.

Mexico regularly condemns what it calls plagiarism by foreign designers of the motifs, embroidery, and colors of its indigenous communities. She had previously filed complaints against major clothing brands such as Zara, Mango, and SHEIN.

Ralph Lauren “We are very sorry that this has happened and, as always, we are open to dialogue on how we can do better.” said.

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The accusation came on Thursday, October 20, 2022, in an Instagram post from First Lady Beatriz Gutierrez, who is also head of the cultural affairs commission.

Gutierrez, who said that RL’s design matches those of the Mexican communities in Contla and Saltillo, and posted a picture of a jacket labeled Ralph Lauren in his post, in his Instagram post; ” Hey Ralph: We’ve already noticed that you really like Mexican designs. Plagiarism is illegal and immoral as you know.” said.

Journalist and writer Gutierrez continued:

“At least admit it. I hope you repay the original communities that did this with love, not million dollar profits”

In response to the post, Ralph Lauren said, ” We were surprised to learn that this product has been sold. When our team found out months ago this was in our product line, they issued a strict directive to remove the product from all channels.”said.

Earlier in 2020, French designer Isabel Marant also apologized for using the traditional patterns of an indigenous community in western Mexico.