Miley Cyrus just won't go away. The designer behind her VMA outfit has been accused of outright theft by two Australian designers.
Cami James and Nadia Napreychikov, who are behind Melbourne fashion label Di$count Universe (DU), claim the eye design on the outfits of Cyrus and her back-up dancers is a rip-off of their work.
The loud, glittery costumes worn during Sunday Night's performance of her new track Dooo It, were designed by Brad Callahan, also known as BCalla, in collaboration with Cyrus's stylist Simone Harouche.
The accusation followed a flood of social media posts from fans congratulating the incorrect brand and then, upon realising the similarities, voicing their fury. DU took to Instagram to drop some not-so-subtle posts proclaiming they were "heartbroken" and "distraught" after seeing the designs.
heartbroken but but moving on. #thosewhoknowknow A photo posted by DI$COUNT UNIVER$E (@discountuniverse) on Aug 31, 2015 at 1:54am PDT
At least we have YOU!!! ❤️❤️❤️ A photo posted by DI$COUNT UNIVER$E (@discountuniverse) on Aug 31, 2015 at 5:17am PDT
Things remained somewhat respectable. That was until Harouche spoke to Yahoo about the accusations and BCalla posted a screengrab to his Instagram. Then it was all-out war.
#peace A photo posted by @bcallabcalla on Aug 31, 2015 at 8:38pm PDT
DU wrote an official response to this Instagram because it would be "dangerous" not to.
We aren't ready to release an official statement but felt that this kind of thinking is way too dangerous to leave unaddressed. Prior to posting ANYTHING on social media we were inundated with interview requests and tags CONGRATULATING US for designing the finale looks of the VMA awards. To actually suggest that we ASKED for it is atrocious. No one ASKS to get hurt. WELL DONE @simoneharouche #VICTIMBLAMING at its finest. Instead of teaching people to stand up for themselves, let's teach them to shut the fuck up, or they'll get knocked the fuck down.
The intense claims are not as far-fetched as it might first appear. Cyrus and Harouche have worked with DU previously, with the pop star wearing its psychedelic T-shirt for a shoot with photographer Terry Richardson, which in turn went viral. She then backed this up by getting the shirt included in her official Bangerz tour merchandise in 2014, used the photo as her Twitter background image and wore an entire outfit of the designer's garb for an Australian television concert.
Later will be photoshoots of @Terry_World #MileyCyrus, #TerryRichardson pic.twitter.com/FpdjBrzUQr— MileyCyrus.TEAM (@MileyRussia2015) October 4, 2013
The Australian label has held its own for years, with the likes of Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Iggy Azalea, M.I.A. and Kimbra all getting a piece of the action. In an interview with the Saturday Paper, the designers detailed their web-only approach that led to getting noticed by the stars.
On Sunday night, at least two stars wore the designs on the VMA's red carpet.
Clearly the baddest b*tch at the #VMAS!!!!!!!!!!!! #BESTDRESSED #baddiewinkle backing it up in DU again A photo posted by DI$COUNT UNIVER$E (@discountuniverse) on Aug 30, 2015 at 5:42pm PDT
@rox_brown rocking THE REAL #DISCOUNTUNIVERSE at the #VMAS A photo posted by DI$COUNT UNIVER$E (@discountuniverse) on Aug 31, 2015 at 1:23am PDT
Miley even got a snap with the stylish grannie, Baddie Winkle, wearing DU. If the claims are correct, that is a pretty low blow.
@baddiewinkle in DU with miley!!!! #vmas #discountuniverse A photo posted by DI$COUNT UNIVER$E (@discountuniverse) on Aug 30, 2015 at 6:48am PDT
BCalla's style is similar in a way, and has also been worn by the celebrity types of Azealia Banks and Lady Gaga. He is known as a queer fashion designer and has just as loud designs, with eye motifs appearing sporadically throughout his collections for at least the last year.
A photo posted by @bcallabcalla on May 1, 2015 at 12:31pm PDT
A photo posted by @bcallabcalla on Feb 18, 2015 at 10:33am PST
A photo posted by @bcallabcalla on Jul 9, 2015 at 8:00pm PDT
Perhaps we will never know who owns the eye, unless Cyrus comes in with a wrecking ball and sorts this intellectual property fight out.