On Thursday, Ugo Monye Limited (UML) issued a statement alleging the theft of the design.
Monye said the Reale design — which features a kimono and less immense concept of the Nigerian Agbada attire, was copied in the movie.
The designer said the producers of the movie through Ruth E. Carter, the costumer, — commissioned tailors in Nigeria to reproduce outfits that infringed on his design.
“It has come to our attention that our registered Reale Design was reproduced and featured in the movie without authorisation. We are currently taking action to ensure that this infringement ceases and is remedied,” the statement reads.
“In addition to protecting our business and goodwill, we believe it is high time, we took a stand against cultural appropriation; non-Africans continuing to profit off African culture unauthorisedly.”
Ugo Monye added that the design was first showcased in 2017 when it was sold to Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, a TV host, who caused a social media frenzy when he wore the outfit to the highly publicised wedding of Banky Wellington, a Nigerian singer/actor.
He said an important number of the collection had been sold to clients in the US, the UK, Canada, Ghana, Liberia, South Africa, among other countries, and it has been showcased at various fashion weeks and runways.
“All our brands and designs and creations are protected by the Copyright Act, Trademarks Act, and other Nigerian penal laws and international treaties,” the statement added.
“We hope that the movie players and costume designers do the right thing and stop taking advantage of the sweat and goodwill of a smaller brand, painstakingly built over years.
“UML will not hesitate to go to lengths to protect its brand and goodwill against infringers and other unauthorised users, foreign or local.”
However, as of the time of filing this report, ‘Coming 2 America’ production crew had yet to publicly respond to the claims.
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