Childrenswear designer accuses M&S of copying design

A designer of children’s clothing has accused multinational clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) of copying the design of one of her bestselling pieces.

According to news website The Daily Dot, Kate Pietrasik, whose three-year-old brand Tootsa MacGinty makes unisex clothing was alerted to the alleged infringement by her customers via Twitter.

Tootsa MacGinty’s red sweatshirt has the features of a bear’s face stitched on its chest with a mouth that zips open to show a row of teeth. The M&S version is alleged to have the same opening mouth feature but on a boy’s set of pyjamas. It doesn’t appear as though the pyjamas are available on the M&S website, however.

Instagram user ‘loveitloveitloveit’ posted a picture of the Tootsa MacGinty “original” alongside the M&S version on the photo-sharing website, before the image also made it onto Twitter.