GUESS vs. Banksy

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If you couldn't guess, GUESS is the topic of my blog this week. It is an international clothing brand that has recently come under fire for profiting off designs used without consent from world renown graffiti artist Banksy. GUESS operates 1,500 retail stores in the Americas, Europe and Asia. It was initially established in 1981 by the Marciano brothers as a jeans company, but has successfully expanded into a lifestyle brand overtime by combining the legendary glamour of 

Hollywood with inspiration from natural French chic style. GUESS advertising has become iconic from utilizing a sexy, spirited, Americana black and white style featuring stars such as Anna Nicole Smith, Paris Hilton, and Amber Heard before she was canceled. Some products the brand manufactures and designs are jewelry, fragrances, handbags, apparel, watches, footwear, and more (Guess, n.d.). 

For the Fall/Winter 2022 season, Guess announced its new capsule collection created in partnership with the company  Brandalised. According to  Paul Marciano, Chief Creative Officer of GUESS, “The graffiti of Bansky has had a phenomenal influence that resonates throughout popular culture,” and “This new capsule collection with Brandalised is a way for fashion to show its gratitude (Guess, n.d.).”

Banksy is an anonymous and mysterious British graffiti artist known for his antiauthoritarian art, often done in public places. For example, he just recently finished a series of thought provoking pieces in war-torn Ukraine (Mancoff, 2022). Upon finding out about GUESS's use of his imagery, Banksy's response was swift and furious. He posted on his Instagram account to his millions of followers a frustrated message that accused the fashion retailer of exploiting his artwork without consent. The post included a picture of one of the brand’s store displays that showcased clothes incorporating some of his iconic pieces like 'The Flower Thrower' and 'Flying Balloon Girl.' His message? A call for shoplifters to do their thing at the store on Regent Street and a justification: “They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”(Bonadio, 2022).

Many instagrammers responded positively and offering support, which comments such as "Thank you for raising awareness of copyright theft! It’s no different from material theft yet people act like they’re entitled to your work somehow. A big corporation knows better, they just thought they could get away with it which makes this so much worse" from user @cosmic_background.

According to Pest Control, the office that handles the paperwork for Banksy and is his sole point of contact, Banksy makes art, not merchandise. They define art as creating something that didn’t exist before, and merchandising as a cheap reproduction. Therefore, if something looks like a Banksy product or event, it most likely isn’t authentic or authorized. The company then explicitly states: "Please do not use Banksy’s images for any commercial purpose, including launching a range of merchandise or tricking people into thinking something is made or endorsed by the artist when it isn’t (Pest Control Office, n.d.)." It further establishes their boundary by saying just because Banksy wrote "copyright is for losers" in his book, doesn’t give companies free rein to misrepresent the artist and commit fraud (Pest Control Office, n.d.). 

Though seemingly contradictory, artists can be anti-establishment and still take legal action to protect their intellectual property. Banksy and Pest Control have used copyright law and protections as a tool to challenge commercial exploitation of their images, which is the antithesis of the art's message. Banksy doesn't want to be associated with marketing and profit-oriented activities, when his desire is to make a profound and thought provoking impact on the world (Bonadio, 2022).

After being called out, GUESS closed their store temporarily by covering up the window display at the front of the store, and placing security outside. From my research, no official statement or response has been given from the brand about the situation so far. However, the company Brandalised posted a response to Banksy on Instagram with a quote the artist had said in 2012, insinuating that he is hypocritical and they are doing nothing wrong (Muk, 2022).

Obviously this hostile exchange between the artist and clothing companies are going to negatively impact consumer perception. Having an activist make an example out of a brand, and call his followers to commit crimes against them is pretty extreme. An ultimate implication for GUESS is that it could lose credibility from this fisasco, as consumers become more informed and increasingly favor ethical brands. Instead of clapping back at Banksy, or brushing off the concern by saying the brand was showing gratitude, I think GUESS should apologize to the artist. Moving forward, they should check with their legal and creative teams to ensure designs and collaborations are original, or they have permission from artists they are using imagery from. Ripping people off is never ok. Give credit, and money, where it is due.

References:

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClGt3p4Mljx/

Pest Control Office. (n.d.). Use. https://pestcontroloffice.com/use.asp

Guess. (n.d.). GUESS, in partnership with Brandalised, to create a special capsule collection with graffiti by Banksy. https://guess-hub.mmbsy.be/guess-in-partnership-with-brandalised-to-create-a-special-capsule-collection-with-graffiti-by-banksy

Bonadio, E. (2022, November 25). Banksy’s copyright battle with Guess – anonymity shouldn’t compromise his legal rights. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/banksys-copyright-battle-with-guess-anonymity-shouldnt-compromise-his-legal-rights-195233

Mancoff, D. N. (2022, August 14). Banksy. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Banksy

Muk, I. (2022, November 22). Guess store forced to close in London after Banksy encourages shoplifters to “help themselves.” Mixmag. https://mixmag.net/read/banksy-accuses-guess-stealing-shoplifters-graffiti-news