Christy Ng Gets Flak for Allegedly Plagiarising Another M’sian Designer

Christy Ng has come under fire before for allegedly copying handbag designs and the Malaysian fashion brand is in the spotlight for the same reason again. Just back in December, Hype reported that their recent designs seemed to take inspiration from luxury brands Goyard and Dior. Then, X user @_nsyakinah recently called out Christy Ng in a viral tweet for apparently copying local brand Machino, whose shoe brand celebrates Malaysian culture.

“Christy Ng copied Machino too…flop.lame.yawn”, the tweet read. “It is one thing to create ‘dupes’ of luxury brands like Dior and Goyard, but to blatantly copy a much smaller and younger Malaysian brand. Ew,” she commented.

CHRISTY NG COPIED MACHINO TOO LMAOOO DASAR TAK KREATIF.flop. lame. yawn.is it the season to plagiarise Machino?its one thing to create “dupes” of luxury brands like Dior, Goyard. but to bulat2 copy a much smaller and younger Malaysian brand? Ew. https://t.co/rgDg3nxRIp pic.twitter.com/jErhEwkZdw

— شكينة (@_nsyakinah) January 11, 2024

Back on 5 January, the X user first posted that, yet another local brand Happy2U which is based in Melaka had copied Machino. “A Malaysian footwear brand copying another local brand? When will the Malaysian creative scene have integrity?”, she wrote.

In the tweet, she shared screenshots from Machino co-founder Amy Tai who posted in their Instagram story a picture of shoes from Happy2U. ‘At first glance, we already know it’s our designs. We have copyrighted the design by the way, and we are talking to our lawyer now to take legal action’, Amy wrote.

A Malaysian footwear brand copying another local brand? When will the Malaysian creative scene have integrity ?Penatlah dgn alasan “inspired” or coincidence. Ni cam sebiji sama. Luckily Machino has patented their designs and is going to take legal action.Machino VS Happy2U+ pic.twitter.com/I2rUgL8Y59

— شكينة (@_nsyakinah) January 5, 2024

@_nsyakinah went on to say, “Again and again AND AGAIN we hear about smaller brands and artists being ripped off by bigger companies…Machino’s “Hana” (the flower which is also their logo) is a signature design feature in all their collections. All the girlies know or have heard of Machino. A local brand run by two sisters and all their shoes are made in Malaysia.” She asked her followers to judge for themselves.

Machino’s “Hana” (the flower which is also their logo) is a signature design feature in all their collections. All the girlies know or have heard of Machino. A local brand ran by two sisters and all their shoes are made in Malaysia.korang judge sendiri ? pic.twitter.com/XeLWR0XjEM

— شكينة (@_nsyakinah) January 5, 2024

@_nsyakinah also highlighted the fact that smaller designers are unable to patent their designs and are copied with no consequence.

Thankfully they have patented the Hana. But Happy2U have slightly altered it so im scared theyll get away. Hoping this can be a lesson. Its not just the flowers but the overall designUnfortunately smaller designers are unable to do the same and are copied with no consequence :( pic.twitter.com/fkigaFBzah

— شكينة (@_nsyakinah) January 5, 2024

Many X users seemed to be of the opinion that Christy Ng frequently copies designs from other brands. X @user0725777 user also highlighted the fact that Christy Ng exploited cheap labour from interns back in 2017 but as reported by Beautiful Nara, the intern in question had embezzled money from the company.

The user also brought up the fact that Christy Ng didn’t agree that maternity leave should be as long as 90 days, which angered many females.

Apa nak pelik it's the same Christy Ng who exploited cheap labour from interns back in 2017. In 2019, the same Christy Ng tak setuju maternal leave 90 hari sjxlzbxlsnhsjzbTapi tulah orang kita cepat lupa bila ada sale lol ? https://t.co/HUV2poXNDM

— nabs ? ♡(˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)♡ (@user0725777) January 12, 2024

Another X user claimed that Christy Ng had also copied designs from Gentlewoman.

Dari Bag gentle woman tu dia pi copy

— baufume (@smellnicefume) January 12, 2024

One user mentioned that while they were browsing through Christy Ng’s website, the amount of dupe bags was crazy. “I will never buy from Christy Ng, no sense of originality at all,” they wrote.

while i was browsing through their website, the amount of "dupe" bags are crazy. terang terang copy paste, dupe mendanya?! i will never buy from christy ng. takde sense of originality langsung ? https://t.co/a07hKCqKYQ

— farraaa (@nfrasyqn_) January 12, 2024

Image credit: gentlewomanonline.com, christyng.com, @_nsyakinah, @itsmachino, @christyngshoes