Banksy encourages people to shoplift from London store over copyright row
Banksy has urged people to “help themselves” to clothes from the Guess Regent Street store after accusing the clothing retailer of stealing his work.
The anonymous street artist posted an image to his Instagram featuring a window display collection of clothes inspired by his artwork.
“Attention all shoplifters, please go to GUESS on Regent Street,” Bansky wrote in the post. “They’ve helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?”
The shop display also featured a backdrop of the artist’s iconic piece, ‘Rage, the Flower Thrower’ which shows a masked Palestinian throwing a bouquet of flowers.
The collection is described on the Guess website as a collaboration between the retailer and Brandalised, an “urban graffiti license” as part of a collaboration which “brings to life your urban spirit, featuring the world’s most famous street-graffiti”.
After the artist shared the post, Guess closed the store, covered the window display and placed security outside the shop, according to the BBC.
Brandalised also quoted Banksy own their own Instagram as having previously described himself as a “bootlegger” and that asking for permission for something shared in a public space “is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head”.
Elsewhere, Banksy recently confirmed that he created seven new murals in Ukraine, also sharing a moving behind-the-scenes video documenting their creation.
The post Banksy encourages people to shoplift from London store over copyright row appeared first on NME.
Hollie Geraghty
NME
