Designer sues company for selling counterfeit gowns that add pounds to customers' 'waist and hips'

By Margot Peppers

PUBLISHED: 14:59 EST, 2 December 2013 | UPDATED: 17:42 EST, 2 December 2013

A fashion designer suing a company for selling counterfeit dresses has claimed that the knock-offs add pounds to women's frames.

Texas-based Sherri Hill Inc has filed a lawsuit against Merle Dress, accusing it of selling cheaper and less flattering versions of their own designs, including a $177 number which 'makes the customers appear heavier around the waist and hips', according to the New York Post.

The company - a red carpet favorite of Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez and Bella Thorne - has also asserted that the counterfeit dresses are uncomfortable and poorly made, giving Sherri Hill a poor reputation by association.

Sherri Hill
Merle Dress

Knock-offs: Texas-based Sherri Hill Inc (left) has filed a lawsuit against Merle Dress (right) claiming that it sells cheaper versions of their designs which 'make the customers appear heavier around the waist and hips'

While Sherri Hill's designs cost around $450 each, Merle Dress sells prom dresses and formalwear for between $100 and $200, taking business away from the retailer it imitates, the lawsuit claims.

A look at each of the websites reveals just how uncannily similar the designs are.

Indeed, one blue strapless prom dress from Sherri Hill, which costs $450, is the spitting image of a $133 Merle Dress in lime green.

Both of the looks have a sweetheart neckline, crystal beading on the bodice and a tulle skirt.

 

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While Sherri Hill executives claim that the counterfeit version makes customers look heavier, the model who wears the dress on the Merle website appears slim and petite.

Dusty Hill, the son of Sherri and the president of the company, explained: 'The worst-case scenario is that a girl receives the dress and thinks it's really a Sherri Hill dress.'

He added that the counterfeits are not only poorly made, but they also are much less flattering than real Sherri Hill dresses.

'We looked at this sample and put it on a mannequin,' he said. 'It would make the girl look very heavy.'

Sherri Hill

Famous fans: Kendall (left) and Kylie Jenner (right) model for the label and are just two of its many teenage fans

Selena Gomez
Bella Thorne

The real deal: Selena Gomez wore a white and silver embellished Sherri Hill dress for a performance in May 2011 (left) and Bella Thorne opted for a blue number at an event in 2012 (right)

Merle Dress isn't the first retailer to be sued by Sherri Hill; last year, the company was awarded $5million in a default judgement after filing a lawsuit against a counterfeit company selling dresses under the Hill name.

But what apparently makes Merle Dress particularly offensive is its massive online presence, with more than 464,000 Facebook likes and numerous Google ads.

'We looked at this sample and put it on a mannequin - it would make the girl look very heavy'

While Merle Dress doesn't use the Sherri Hill name, other counterfeit websites do, even going so far as to use official images from the Sherri Hill website to sell inauthentic dresses.

To warn customers about the dangers of counterfeit gowns, Sherri Hill has a section on its website called 'Prom Dress Authenticity'.

It reads: 'Knock-off dresses are created and sold with the intent to defraud consumers. . . Please help us eliminate such practices by buying from authorized retailers, registering your purchase below and reporting fraudulent sellers where you find them.'

Comments (62)

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The solution? Design nicer dresses and sell them at a reasonable price.

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Like a dress-up princess costume, such styles suit only the very young. The notable difference is the dropped waistline on the overpriced "original" versus the straight waist in the cheaper copy. No designer can patent that old trick, so I'm surprised the copies don't include that important feature. Would add cost, I suppose.

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Why doesn't this Sherri make a cheaper line of dresses herself then she will eliminate the competition. There is obviously a market for it..!

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Lol they could just sue them for copying, the fat thing is so irrelevant! Love their dresses, although everyone here seems to hate it. Yes they look very young, but there are only so many years in your life that you can get away with wearing what you want!

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Oooh, thats right. The girl in the green dress looks like a proper dump truck compared to the girl in blue!!

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They both look horrible and tacky

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ok, every single prom dress company has copied sherri hill, i have seen the exact same style EVERYWHERE starting at $15 so im not really sure how this is only coming up now.

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I wouldn't buy either... however it does show that these dresses can be made for considerably less than the asking price. Why anyone would want to spend $450 on a dress beats me!

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Dusty Hill, the son of Sherri and the president of the company, explained: 'The worst-case scenario is that a girl receives the dress and thinks it's really a Sherri Hill dress.'================= No, let's be honest here, the worst case scenario for you is that you will lose money. However, I think you'll find that the people 'with' money will continue to buy your originals and the people who buy the (very convincing looking) copies will be the people who could NEVER have afforded to buy one of the originals and so wouldn't have spent their money with you in the first place. It's annoying and irritating, but this is a completely different market and I would just forget about it and continue to sell dresses to those who can afford them.

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In actual fact, the worst case scenario would be anyone thinking these dresses look good!

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Interchangeable between a beauty pageant or ice dancing or prom or bridesmaid wardrobe. Its very typical of USA fashion. Travel anywhere and you'll see the shops overrun by these things. Yuck.

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