Heather Thomson: Shame on You, Spanx
Heather Thomson gears up for a shapewear war with Spanx.
Heather Thomson has something to "Holla" about, and not in a good way. The newest member of 'The Real Housewvies of New York City' is accusing Spanx founder, Sara Blakely, of infringement on her patented Yummie Tummie shapewear line.
The garment at the center of this bulge battling feud? The original Yummie Tummie tank. Last fall, an anonymous package arrived on the Bravoleb's Seventh Ave doorstep, Thomson tells WWD, with a Spanx control tank she immediately recognized as a knock off of her patented design. Thomson sent Spanx a cease and desist letter. Thus began the Great Shapewear War of 2013. We'll note it in our history books.
Things got real earlier this month when Spanx took legal action by filing a declaratory judgment stating that their products do not, in fact, infringe on Yummie Tummie's patent. Thomson responded last week in a letter to Blakely on her website YummieLife.com:
"We will not allow Spanx to bully us and profit from our patent protected invention. Yummie Tummie will not just endure through this lawsuit, we will prevail."
Sounds like fighting words, Spanx. Get your tanks (tanx?) ready!
And Thomson won't be smiling through this conflict, a fact we're sure Ramona Singer is happy to hear. The Yummie designer calls out Blakely directly writing:
"I am disappointed in you and Spanx...Sara, I truly expected more of you as a fellow entrepreneur."
What was that quote about women who don't help other women? We'll have to check with Taylor Swift on that one.
Sufficed to say, we don't think anyone from Spanx will be standing up at a dinner party expressing why they love Yummie Tummie so much anytime soon.
Tell us: Do you think Spanx bootlegged Heather's design?
