Guess Store Closes After Banksy Sends Shoplifters Over To Avenge His Art
Banksy’s Flower Thrower. Photo 61915992 © Rrodrickbeiler | Dreamstime.com
A new mural has popped up at Regent Street in the West End of London. It’s a Banksy—but it’s also not. Guess why?
The anonymous street artist has made a rare statement against a commercial entity on his Instagram, claiming that he had no involvement with a new capsule collection by Guess that is wholly inspired by his work.
The Guess x Brandalised series—which has been released for the Fall/Winter 2022 season—features T-shirts, sweatshirts, dresses, faux fur jackets, coats, and vests, emblazoned with motifs “inspired by Banksy’s Graffiti,” as the company describes on its website. Its marketing is often accompanied by the tagline “with graffiti by Banksy,” which could lead shoppers to perceive that the faceless graffiti artist had a part in the project.
Pieces from the selection can go from anywhere between €40 (US$41) and €270 (US$280).
Banksy, who often makes political statements through his art and condemns capitalism, says the campaign happened without his permission. He’s now getting even by directing shoplifters to a Guess store at Regent Street, which has updated its shop window with mannequins dressed in the garments, with Banksy’s Flower Thrower in the backdrop.
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“Attention all shoplifters: Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking; how can it be wrong for you to do the same for their clothes?” the artist pens.
Update: Guess has temporarily closed its Regent Street store.
That the Flower Thrower painting was used to draw attention to the display may not be a coincidence. In 2020, Banksy lost ownership rights to the famous spray-painted work in the EU, as the court ruled that he could not prove he was the copyright owner of the art if his identity remained hidden. His opponent was Full Colour Black, a greeting card company.
Guess describes Brandalised, the other brand behind the collection, as “an urban graffiti license whose mission is to offer Banksy fans affordable graffiti collectibles.” DesignTAXI learns that the collaborator is directly associated with the same greeting card firm that contested Banksy’s intellectual property rights back in 2020.
Banksy’s ongoing feud with Full Colour Black—and, by extension, its sister firm Brandalised—has been heating up lately. It was only this week when a board of appeals ruled in favor of Banksy in another suit against Full Color Black, which argued that Banksy’s team had applied to trademark his 2002 Laugh Now artwork in “bad faith” and had no intention of using it.
This time around, the judge said Banksy could retain his trademark without having to reveal his identity.
This means future collaborations with Brandalised cannot legally use Banksy’s Laugh Now work.
Banksy has an authenticating office, called Pest Control, that manages the licensing of his artwork. However, it would be too late to file for an injunction against Guess to stop selling the “Banksy-inspired” pieces, as the tie-in has been scheduled to run till mid-November.
[via Banksy and Guess Europe, images via various sources]
