Kim Kardashian’s massive fashion brand is heading to court after a small New York designer claimed the mogul’s “Fits Everybody” line is a direct violation of her trademark.
Denise Cesare, the owner of Fits Everybody To A T, filed a 43-page lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. The filing claims that Skims moved forward with its collection even “after receiving repeated, unequivocal notice” that Cesare already owned the rights to the name.
The legal battle highlights a major power struggle between a $5 billion empire and a self-funded entrepreneur. According to the documents, Cesare has been operating her brand for nearly ten years, while Skims didn’t hit the scene until 2019.
Her legal team argues that Kardashian’s brand made a “calculated decision” to use the name anyway, “relying on its overwhelming financial resources, celebrity connections, and marketing machine to simply crush” the smaller business. They allege that Skims likely believed the “small business owner would likely lack the resources to fight back.”
The impact of the similar branding has been devastating for the original creator. Cesare’s team says her brand is now “effectively invisible” online because Skims has saturated the market. Despite the USPTO rejecting the Skims application twice due to a “likelihood of confusion,” the shapewear brand has reportedly earned up to $900 million from that specific collection.
Cesare’s attorney, Jessica Mathews, made it clear that they aren’t backing down.
“Trademark law doesn’t care how big you are or how many followers you have,” she said. “It cares about who was first to use the mark. Our client was first, and had no choice but to file suit to protect her brand and small business.”
Hi. Thanks for bringing this to the public’s attention. I’ve searched but cannot find the Fits Everybody To A T site. All searches of her site only bring up this lawsuit. Would you kindly provide a link if you have one? Thank you greatly!