In a new social media campaign by Alexander Wang featuring a black rhinestone purse, four women “unboxed” the product and showed off its features.
At first, they appear to be Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Kylie Jenner, some of America’s most famous women.
However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that they are celebrity lookalikes, some of whom have built their careers on impersonating their famous counterparts.
The campaign, posted on Instagram and TikTok with the caption “100% certified authentic”, advertises a wallet called “Ricco”, reminiscent of Alexander Wang’s famous “Rocco” wallet from around 2010.
A post shared on instagram
While the campaign aimed to repackage a classic, fans of the artists initially criticized Alexander Wang for using likenesses of famous women without their consent. .
Notably, two of the lookalikes, Paige Niemann and Ashley Leechin, who, like Grande and Swift, have faced criticism from fans of their respective artists.
Meanwhile, Beyonce’s lookalike Sur_bb only has 6 followers.
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Those who commented on the ad said it was strange and not something Alexander Wang should have done.
This controversy raises questions about companies using likenesses of famous individuals, especially women, in digital content to market products. Celebrity impersonators and look-alikes have faced increasing scrutiny with the rise of social media and artificial intelligence.
The campaign’s similarity to celebrities initially raised concerns about publicity rights.
Alexander Wang’s account also likes comments that acknowledge the similarities between models and the famous characters they resemble. Representatives for Grande, Swift, Beyoncé and Jenner did not respond to requests for comment.
Notably, both Grande and Swift have previously dealt with imitators of them, with Grande pursuing a publicity rights lawsuit against a retailer in 2019 for using a model that looked like her unauthorized.
Niemann, who resembles Grande, boasts more than 10 million TikTok followers and has been sharing videos and pictures of herself resembling the singer for about eight years.
While her social media bio claims she is “not impersonating,” Niemann frequently publicly mentions Grande in her content.
Grande initially commented on Niemann’s “Victorious” impression, expressing that while Niemann seems “sweet,” her content is “definitely weird.”
Niemann, on the other hand, expressed his excitement at being noticed by the star in an interview with Teen Vogue. Grande later called her impersonation in general “degrading.”
Leechin, who resembles Swift, has amassed nearly 2 million TikTok followers. In late 2022, Swift commented on one of Leechin’s TikToks, revealing that her mother had mentioned Leechin and their similarities.
Leechin then participated in a viral “social experiment” hosted by a YouTube channel, in which she impersonated Swift in public and incited fans to a frenzy.
Describing the ordeal as “terrible”, Leechin faced backlash from Swift and Grande fans for what they saw as an escalation in incorporating elements of the stars’ lives into their own personality.
For example, Leechin owns a cat that resembles Swift and has adopted aspects of Swift’s style, such as red lipstick, while also producing increasingly Swift-centric content.
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