At this point in their lives, most college seniors are preoccupied with finishing their last few college courses and the stress that comes along with the post-college career job search. Gigi Hadid, however, is preoccupied with much bigger things than shuffling resumes and crafting cover letters.
The 21-year-old is currently busy being one of the biggest fashion models in the industry. She has starred in seven music videos, four of which landed on the US Billboard 100, including Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” Calvin Harris’s “How Deep Is Your Love,” DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean” and Zayn’s “Pillowtalk.”
She has graced the cover of Vogue in 10 different countries, been featured in Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue three years in a row, and in 2015 became the first-ever model to cover the CR Fashion Book twice. She even added “award show host” to her already impressive resume this past summer after hosting the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Video Awards in Toronto.
Now, the model and social media star is adding “fashion designer” to the lineup of jobs held. Last week, Hadid debuted her first clothing capsule for Tommy Hilfiger at Battery Park at New York Fashion Week in a carnival-themed runway show. Appropriately named Tommy x GiGi, the collection is a mix of vintage and nautical-inspired items that are similar to what one might find Hadid wearing on an average day.
“Creatively speaking, it’s something that’s really true to my style — most of the pieces are things I would wear all the time,” Hadid told Vogue. “ I wanted it to be something that when people look at it, they know I was the one who designed it and that it’s something I would genuinely wear. I’m very happy about it.”
However, not everyone is as happy about the line as the young model is. Leather-goods line GiGi New York sent a cease and desist order to the American clothing brand claiming that the logo involved with the collection violates GiGi New York’s federal trademark for its “GIGI” family of marks.
“GiGi New York’s mark utilizes a unique upper and lower case treatment that Tommy Hilfiger has copied, causing additional consumer confusion, despite this typographical treatment having no history of use by its spokesperson, Gigi Hadid,” the leather-goods brand said in a press release on Sept. 12.
Since Jan. 2012, the brand has owned their trademark for all of their products, which includes key cases, suitcases, and bags and wallets.
One of their biggest concerns about customer confusion is about the fact that the Tommy x GiGi collection features many synthetic pieces, while GiGi New York prides itself in its actual genuine-leather products. They also mentioned their desire to disassociate themselves from “the negative publicity surrounding Tommy Hilfiger’s overseas factories and their safety lapses.”
Tommy Hilfiger, however, doesn’t seem to be too concerned with the order in light of the successful launch of the buzzed-about line. “Tommy Hilfiger has notified GiGi New York that they do not intend to recognize their rights in GiGi’s trademarked logo and are not concerned about the consumer confusion engendered by their misuse,” the statement read.
