Banksy calls out Guess for using his work in London store display

After a clothing store Guess allegedly used one of Banksy’s murals for a window display without permission, the anonymous British street artist posted a strong message on social media. Banksy posted a photo of the Guess’ Regent Street store in central London on Instagram, suggesting shoplifters pay a visit.

“Beware all shoplifters. Please go to Guess on Regent Street. They used my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same with their clothes ?” Banksy wrote in an Instagram post on Friday. The post carries an image of the store display, which features a reproduction of the Flower Thrower, one of Banksy’s most iconic murals created in 2003.

See the post here:

According to Guess, this is a new collection “with Banksy graffiti”, which was created in collaboration with Brandalised, which licenses the creations of graffiti artists. ”For the Fall/Winter 2022 season, Guess is delighted to announce a brand new capsule collection, inspired by Banksy’s Graffiti. Created in partnership with Brandalised, an urban graffiti license whose mission is to provide Banksy fans with affordable graffiti collectibles, this new capsule features contemporary GUESS men’s, women’s and kids’ clothing, as well as one-of-a-kind accessories. To guess the website reads.

After Banksy’s post went viral, Guess closed the Regent Street location to shoppers, covered the storefront and tightened security, Reuters reported. According BBCcopyright attorney Liz Ward said Guess “appears to have legitimately obtained Banksy’s artwork through a third party, namely Brandalised, which claims to have the right to commercialize and use Banksy’s artwork. ‘Banksy art on merchandise’.

Last week, Banksy revealed a mural on a bombed-out building outside the Ukrainian capital. In an Instagram post, the graffiti artist shared a mural depicting a gymnast doing a headstand amid the ruins of a demolished building in the town of Borodyanka northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.