Tagging fashion designer on social media: Decency or contractual obligation?

When hip hop artist Wolftyla (@wolftyla) uploaded her recent photoshoot with Neex (@36neex) to her Instagram account, the singer unleashed the fury of fashion designer Harry Halim’s camp. The singer tagged the photographer, stylist, make-up artist, nail stylist and Gucci, leaving Harry Halim (@harryhalim_paris) out of the picture despite wearing his outfit. The initial caption on her post was @gucci and red roses emoji.

On the photographer’s post, the caption says, “Told them we is @gucci.” It prompted misunderstanding in the comment section. Some of the comments thought the outfit featured on the photoshoot was from Gucci. We reached out to the photographer but received no confirmation.

When Harry confronted Wolftyla through Instagram direct message, the singer said that the photoshoot is for Gucci shoes. However, Harry Halim’s outfit is undeniably the most prominent aspect on the picture while the only Gucci item is a pair of heeled loafers Wolftyla was wearing.

According to Harry, the intention of the loan is questionable. Among a series of screenshots he sent to The Finery Report is an email sent by Wolftyla’s stylist Keyan, asking to borrow Harry Halim’s outfit for Wolftyla’s photoshoot with Preme Magazine. Harry Halim team then replied the email with a PDF consisting of terms and conditions for loan.

“If it was for Preme Magazine, they would have tagged the magazine,” Harry told TFR. “They have to purchase our outfit if it’s for personal project.” TFR contacted Preme Magazine for confirmation, but they have not returned our message.

Harry also pointed out another discrepancy between the email and the photoshoot. “Her team mentioned hairstylist Hachoo on the proposal, but in reality, she is not the hairstylist.” Her stylist told Harry that he had mentioned to Wolftyla during the photoshoot.

In other instances, Harry and his team had to remind other celebrities to tag his design studio on their posts, but it was done immediately. This is the first case where it became a huge debacle on the Internet. Harry has dressed many celebrities including Kelly Rowland, Cardi B and Miley Cyrus.

Giving credit on social media is a form of appreciation. It can boost a designer’s career. For further reference, we asked stylist Allysha Nila about this matter. According to Allysha, borrowing designer’s clothes for personal projects is subject to fee. Personal projects include concerts, shows and red carpet events. She also provided TFR with a loan form she received from a designer.

“Brands will usually issue a loan form which also lists the terms and conditions. They will include (and not limited to) matters of laundry/dry cleaning, social media obligations, crediting and photograph use, logistics and—where applicable—fees. This is why it’s very important to have this document for reference if any dispute and damage were to happen. It is the responsibility of the brand to inform such conditions clearly prior to the loan,” said Allysha.

“However, it is the responsibility of the loanee to accurately inform the brands their purpose of borrowing clothes, and to adhere to these agreed terms and conditions. If the clothes already in the possession of the loanee were to be used for other purposes and conditions, they must inform the brand for approval,” she continued.

After receiving backlash from Indonesian netizens, the singer tagged Harry Halim on her post before removing it this morning. The designer is currently blocked from her Instagram account. “Even without any contract or agreement, it is a courtesy/common decency to tag the designer if you borrow an outfit, unless you buy it,” said Harry.

“We simply don’t want our brand to be misused by irresponsible parties,” said Harry.