Last week, Taylor Swift surprised many by surprise dropping her eighth album, Folklore. Arriving less than a year after Lover, the album was met with widespread acclaim and quickly found success on the charts, selling over a million copies globally less than 24 hours after its release. Despite all the positive press the album has received, Swift found herself in a bit of controversy after a black-owned business owner accused her and her team of theft.
Amira Rasool, founder of the online retail store, The Folklore, accused Taylor Swift of stealing her company’s logo for her album. She then went on to point out the similarities its design to her products.
“Based on the similarities of the design, I believe the designer of the merch ripped off my company’s logo,” Rasool said in an Instagram post. “I am sharing my story to bring light to the trend of large companies/celebrities copying the work of small minority-owned business owners. I am not going to let this blatant theft go unchecked.”
According to InStyle, Swift’s team removed all the merch that had the “Folklore” phrase on it, switching it out for merch that read “Folklore Album.” Rasool would later show her appreciation for the change made by Swift’s team.
I commend Taylor’s team for recognizing the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore’s brand. I recognize that she has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page. https://t.co/8KR5IaYkIs
— Amira Rasool (@AmiraRasool) July 28, 2020
It was a great first step and we are in conversation right now with Taylor’s team about the next steps to make this situation right.
— Amira Rasool (@AmiraRasool) July 28, 2020
“I commend Taylor’s team for recognizing the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore’s brand,” she said. “I recognize that she has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page.” Rasool also revealed in a second tweet that her and Swift’s team were in conversation “about the next steps to make this situation right.”
Amira, I admire the work you’re doing and I’m happy to make a contribution to your company and to support the Black in Fashion Council (launching on 8/3) with a donation 💗@thefolklore @amirarasool @bifcglobal #blackinfashioncouncil
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 30, 2020
Swift then offered her support to Rasool and her brand. “Amira, I admire the work you’re doing and I’m happy to make a contribution to your company and to support the Black in Fashion Council (launching on 8/3) with a donation,” she wrote.