Uh-oh, Uniqlo…

I was surprised to read this story from The Korea Times, since it’s usually big Korean mass-market clothing companies doing the knocking off, but Uniqlo got busted for being copy cats.

Korean clothing company, Coevel caught Uniqlo in the act of copying their “Navajo” socks. It’s a pretty blatant rip-off, and while Navajo inspired designs aren’t particularly unique, the Uniqlo design looks like a direct pull from Coevel’s. The Southwest decor craze of the late 70s, and the pastel version of the late 80s, seems to be on the rise again. Even Shepard Fairey’s  Obey Clothing came out with a series of “Navajo” clothes and accessories.

Uniqlo issued a public apology on their Korean website, but there’s been no official statement about how the issue will be resolved, and the CEO of Coevel is readying her legal team. Too bad there aren’t any royalties for the Navajo Nation.

Here are the socks in question:

No mention of it on the You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice But We Did blog, but there are plenty of rip-offs to go around these days.