UK animator calls out popular Indian shoe brand for stealing design, creative director apologises: ‘Saw this design online and…’

“Another shoe brand ripped off my design,” Juritz said in the video, showing a side-by-side comparison of her original work and Theatre’s boots, priced at over Rs 3,000.

“(There was) not even a slight attempt at changing it. Very direct. The weirdest thing of all was that they did this animation about the conception of the idea of the shoe, which is weird because I’m a professional animator.”

Juritz also critiqued the animation used in Theater’s promotional video, offering a detailed frame-by-frame breakdown and even suggesting ways it could have been improved.

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A post shared by Jocie Juritz (@jociejuritz) 

As the issue gained momentum on social media, Theatre’s co-founder and creative director, Shruti Aggarwal, issued a public apology in the comments. “Dear Jocie, My name is Shruti, and I am the creative director of Theater. I just wanted to deeply apologise for this. The day has been traumatic, and the sad part is that I know we deserve it,” she wrote.

Aggarwal admitted that she had seen the original design online and forwarded it to her team, assuming it was just a cute retro style. “I remember how this happened. I saw this design online, thought to myself that this is the cutest retro design and just sent it to the team to sample. I know one thing led to another, and it just all happened as a process after. I really did not intend for it to be like this.”

She added that only two pairs of the boots were sold and that the team would be reviewing its internal processes to prevent future incidents. “I aim to hold myself to a higher standard on life and also take time off this business and re-evaluate choices. Also, a sincere apology to our community. I know the team is looking at all internal processes to make sure something like this does not happen again.”

Juritz, in her original post, also acknowledged the animator’s possible lack of involvement in the plagiarism. “If it was you, and you didn’t know, I hope you find this unsolicited feedback helpful,” she wrote.

Responding to Aggarwal, Juritz wrote, “Hey Shruti, thanks for apologising. I really appreciate hearing from you. Honestly, if this situation led to no more copied designs from Theater, I would be so happy… Perhaps this can be a nice turning point.”

“It was weird and upsetting having my design plagiarised, but it made me feel so supported knowing lots of lovely people were willing to say something. THANK YOU to those who got in touch!!! And an enormous thank you too, to the law firm who sorted everything out!!!” she added.