Fashion's most notorious counterfeiter strikes again, with the Chinese fast retailer caught out by fans for blatantly ripping off one of the most popular Nike Air Jordan designs ever.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Shein was barely heard of in the West. These days, it's a household name, loved by millions for its incredibly affordable prices and an insane range of products.
They're also hated by many for their rather laissez-faire approach to intellectual property rights. Over the years, Shein has frequently caught the ire of independent artists and designers, who have accused the brand of stealing their designs. More established brands like Dr. Martens, Levi's and Ralph Lauren have also sued Shein, with Shein settling many of these claims out of court.
Now, they've been caught making fake versions of Nike's popular range of Air Jordan basketball sneakers. Last week, sneakerheads spotted some pretty explicit rip-offs of the popular Air Jordan XIs on Shein's webstore that have got tongues wagging.
Other than lacking the famous Jordan 'Jumpman' logo on the heel, Shein's Jordans are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing... Except the Shein shoes were selling for $50 USD while real Jordan XIs go for $225 USD.
An example of the fake Jordan XIs being sold on Shein.
After being called out online, Shein took the listing down, telling TMZ Sports that a third-party seller was to blame and that "Shein takes all claims of infringement seriously". However, DMARGE can reveal that there are still plenty of sneakers being sold on Shein that either rip off or straight-up counterfeit other Jordan designs.
For example, Shein is currently selling a sneaker that's very clearly a rip-off of the Air Jordan XIII (although, bizarrely, it seems to have a foam midsole that's meant to imitate Adidas' proprietary Boost technology).
Other models also feature logos that are strikingly similar to the 'Jumpman' logo or feature Jordan iconography, like the eponymous basketball great's jersey number 23.
RELATED: These Nike Sneakers Are The Most Likely To Be Fake
Some examples of fake Jordans still being sold on Shein.
Nike isn't the only brand being ripped off by Shein, either. One only has to do a cursory scroll through their basketball sneaker section to see knock-offs of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, Reebok Pumps, Yeezy Foam RNNR clogs, New Balance 550s and even fellow Chinese brand Li-Ning's Way of Wades.
Clearly selling fakes is good business, though. Last year, Shein recorded $30 billion USD in revenue. Move fast and steal things, apparently...
WATCH a sneaker collector show how vintage Jordans degrade over time below.
The post Shein Caught Red-Handed Selling Fake Nike Air Jordans appeared first on DMARGE.
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