Luxury label Chrome Hearts has accused fast fashion brand Fashion Nova of trademark infringement in a lawsuit filed in California’s Central District Court.

According to the lawsuit, the Chrome Hearts ‘Cemetery Design Patch’ and ‘CH Cross’, both of which it holds trademarks for, were replicated by Fashion Nova on a two piece suede outfit which it sold via its website earlier this year. The ‘CH Cross’ mark was registered back in 2009 and the ‘Cemetery Design Patch’ trademark was registered in 2014.

The outfit in question bore a remarkable resemblance to a custom made two piece custom suede outfit which Chrome Hearts had designed for Kim Kardashian back in 2023. Kardahsian wore the ensemble to the  GQ’s 2023 Men of the Year ceremony where she was photographed. The image subsequently featured in multiple media outlets.

Chrome Hearts claims that Fashion Nova willfully tried to capitalise on the fame of its trademarks with the two-piece set. 

‘Upon information and belief, Fashion Nova had actual knowledge of the custom Chrome Hearts two-piece outfit and deliberately copied the Chrome Hearts marks and outfit in an attempt to usurp the benefits of Chrome Hearts’ goodwill and reputation,’ the company states in court documents, adding that the marks used are ‘substantially indistinguishable from or confusingly similar’ to the Chrome Hearts marks and ‘very likely to cause confusion for consumers.’

Chrome Hearts requests an injunction preventing Fashion Nova from making, advertising or selling the two-piece set or any other products that bear the Chrome Hearts trademarks. It also seeks financial damages of ‘up to $2 million per trademark counterfeited and infringed, per type of good’ as well as the distraction of any remaining inventory.

This is not the first rodeo for Chrome Hearts and Fashion Nova, with the two settling a previous trademark infringement case back in 2022. Protecting its trademarks is clearly an important part of the Chrome Hearts business strategy, with the luxury brand filing over 100 lawsuits against companies including Shein and The Couples over the last five years.