It all started with an urgent call. According to user @ssjheni, Shakira’s team needed a look in less than 24 hours, and she did the impossible to send one of her most personal pieces from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro on time. The skirt — a handcrafted creation made with recycled T-shirts and sports jerseys, the result of years of research — ended up on Shakira’s body in the official teaser for the World Cup song alongside Burna Boy. The video went viral and millions of people saw her work. 🎶
Weeks later, the singer’s stylist contacted her to buy that same skirt. They told her it might be used in World Cup exhibitions. Pregnant and preparing for the arrival of her baby, @ssjheni agreed to sell it. The garment was sent to an address in Italy. Shortly afterward, her mother called her: she had seen in the official World Cup launch a patchwork skirt made with sports jerseys that looked almost identical to hers. After looking into it, the designer discovered that the name and address she had sent her piece to matched someone linked to the brand behind the new design. 👀
“Why would a stylist buy one of the most personal pieces in my archive and send it directly to another fashion house without telling me?”, she wrote. She says she doesn’t have all the answers, only the facts, the timeline, and a question she cannot ignore. 🙏🏼