Susie Bubble vs. Aldo Shoes

London-based blogger Susannah Lau (or Susie Bubble, as she’s commonly known in the press) criticised Canadian shoe brand Aldo on Twitter and her blog earlier this week. She alleged one of the brand’s new products – a veiled beanie pompom hat – is a copy of a design by boutique London label BernstockSpiers.

Lau directly tweeted at Aldo with the allegation, “You’re ripping off @BernstockSpiers – remove it from sale please!”, along with a picture of the hat in question from an Aldo campaign advert next to the alleged original design by Bernstock Spiers. 

Lau followed this with several more tweets noting that Bernstock Spiers has been producing veiled beanies since 2007. She added that she would rather buy one by the London designers than the cheaper version released by Aldo.

The direct approach clearly worked. Susie tweeted yesterday: “Great to get response from @Aldo_Shoes and hopefully situation will be resolved for @bernstockSpiers soon!”

With over 200,000 followers, Susie Bubble’s influence on Twitter is one of the most significant in fashion. The blogger is unafraid to address brands and issues directly. It’s not the first time the blogger has been embroiled in a row over copycat goods. In October 2012, Lau supported designer and illustrator Kate Moross, who took to Twitter to accuse UK menswear retailer Topman of copying her designs.

This illustrates the power of social media and demonstrates how public figures, journalists and bloggers are increasingly confident in expressing direct views and negative opinions on Twitter.

Brands must take care to respond actively to such interactions and acknowledge the power such people can wield. See our coverage of the Buycott App and Social Media Shaming for more on giving power to the consumer, and using Twitter to shame brands.