Coachella Sues Urban Outfitters For Selling “Coachella Wear”

In the wake of Beyoncé’s postponed Coachella performance, the festival has run into yet another issue, this time with their supposed partners, Urban Outfitters.    

Apparently, the clothing company makes a pretty penny off the hipster kids with their festival style apparel. However, sources say the organizers of the annual festival are ready to go to war over the clothing if Urban Outfitters continues to exhibit “unlawful conduct” by ignoring their demands to remove the products in question.  

Ahead of this year’s big event, Urban Outfitters began promoting their festival clothing as “Coachella wear,” basically using the festival’s name and likeness to sell their own merchandise. The retailer reportedly launched their Coachella line on Amazon, Zappos and Bloomingdale’s, sparking a major issue for the festival executives. According to the Los Angeles Times, Coachella filed a lawsuit against the clothing company for trying to sell their clothing, while using the event’s popular image. A spokesperson for the festival stood before a federal judge on Tuesday to argue that the retailer is “trading on the goodwill and fame” of the event by naming their clothing after the event, i.e. “Coachella Boot,” “Coachella Valley Tunic.”

“As a result, a Google search for ‘Coachella clothing’ results in an advertisement for Defendants’ infringing goods,” the festival said on Tuesday.

The festival already has partnerships with other retailers, who have licensed agreements with the festival to sell related merchandise. Therefore, Urban’s decision to use the company’s image directly competes with the legal retailers, the festival said in its complaint, adding that the company’s use of its name and likeness can cause “confusion” and “deceive consumers.”

Although the two are reportedly tied together, sources say the people over at Coachella feel the clothing company crossed the line and they’re asking for their piece of the pie. They also want a judge to make the retailer stop selling the merchandise and let their consumers know that festival is not affiliated with the retailer or Free People.