The encyclopedia · Legal & Compliance · Legal decision · 2025
Louis Vuitton's Pharrell-era menswear show drew a copyright suit over its knits
Coogi sued Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams and NIGO over FW2025 runway knits press called 'Coogi-flavored'; LV's defense is that a style can't be owned.
Louis Vuitton · Pharrell Williams
What happened
On 21 January 2025, Pharrell Williams presented his Fall/Winter 2025 menswear collection for Louis Vuitton in Paris with creative collaborator NIGO (Tomoaki Nagao), featuring colorful, textured knit sweaters and beanies that fashion press immediately described as 'Coogi-inspired.' COOGI Partners, LLC — the Australian knitwear label famous for the multicolored sweaters worn by The Notorious B.I.G. in the 1990s — filed suit against Louis Vuitton, Pharrell and NIGO on 9 May 2025 in the Southern District of New York (Case No. 1:25-cv-03837).
Coogi's complaint alleged the LV pieces were 'identical or virtually identical' to its copyright-registered 'RAG & BONE' sweater design, and brought claims of copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, false endorsement, trademark dilution and unfair competition, seeking injunctive relief, damages, profit disgorgement and destruction of the allegedly infringing goods.
Louis Vuitton and Williams moved to dismiss on 17 October 2025, arguing 'you cannot infringe a style' and that Coogi was trying to 'monopolize an aesthetic' based on a single copyright registered only in 2025 for a 2014 sweater. Their filing dismissed press coverage of the resemblance as mere 'chatter' and argued there is 'no monopoly on multicolored sweaters.'
The dispute put a spotlight on how a global luxury house's menswear line, styled by two of streetwear culture's most recognizable figures, can end up accused of lifting from the exact hip-hop-associated knitwear tradition it was visibly drawing on — and the case remained pending as the motion to dismiss was under consideration.
Why it happened
- Building a collection's visual identity around a widely recognized, culturally specific pattern created legal exposure even though 'style' alone is hard to protect under copyright.
- Casting Pharrell and NIGO for their streetwear credibility raised the stakes of the resemblance, since the Coogi comparison was made by press before any suit was filed.
- Coogi's late copyright registration for a 2014 design gave Louis Vuitton's defense an opening to call the claim opportunistic, regardless of how the designs compare.
The lesson
Drawing visibly on a culturally coded design without a deal in place invites the claim that credit — and control — was taken along with the look.
Sources
- The Fashion Law | COOGI Claims Pharrell, Louis Vuitton Stole its Knitwear Designs
- Black Enterprise | Louis Vuitton And Pharrell Williams Claim Coogi Is Trying To 'Monopolize An Aesthetic' In Copyright Lawsuit
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