Dawn Images

Over the weekend, designer Maria B. came out with a capsule line called the Palestine Collection. The line includes T-shirts, two-piece, and three-piece lawns, with prints featuring the black and white keffiyeh, multicoloured houndstooth patterns, and the watermelon, a symbol of Palestine’s resistance against Israel.

One of the designs featured the Palestine map with a boy cleverly merged into the pattern alongside the Palestine flag wrapped in olive branches.

This design caught the eye of artist Leena Ghani, who was quick to point out that it was stolen. Taking to her Instagram stories, she shared Maria B.’s campaign and tagged the page Palestine Quebec on Instagram, which had featured it. The page confirmed that the design was originally by Turkish artist Hacı Balina Atölye.

As reports of the allegation circulated online, Palestine Quebec and Ghani urged everyone to call out the designer and support the artist whose work had been stolen. Butt did not initially respond to the accusations.

However, taking to her Instagram stories on Tuesday night, the designer confirmed that she had, in fact, “unintentionally” featured the artist’s work in her collection. Calling it an “oversight,” she apologised to her followers.

“In this digital age of fast-paced information and viral images, such unintentional oversights can occur. We apologise for the oversight,” her statement read.

“We have contacted the artist, who is recognising our work with empathy and grace and is willing to collaborate with us in our efforts for Gaza. She’s a young and talented artist, please support her work! @hacibalina,” she added.

The designer went on to castigate “liberals foaming at mouth,” for calling her out for what they saw as blatant plagiarism.

“Maria B. copied Gaza flag. Maria B copied Gaza map. Maria B copied Keffiyeh. Maria B copied resistance art. Maria B copied watermelon. Watermelon copied embroidery. Low IQ liberals,” she lashed out in her stories in all caps.

“This is an inspired collection picking up images of resistance,” added Butt, reiterating that she was not making a single penny from its sales. “Liberals try to take me down while I’m trying to help raise funds for Gaza. This is Pakistan. Do nothing yourself and tear down anyone who tries to do something, God is enough for me, I will never stop,” she said.

Atölye, the Turkish artist, shared a photo from Butt’s collection featuring her design with the caption, “My artwork in Pakistan.”

Maria B.‘s assertion that ‘liberals’ were trying to ‘take her down’ overlooks that plagiarism did occur. While her campaign to donate the proceeds of her sales to Palestine is commendable, stealing someone’s design is not. Whether intentional or not, incidents like this will mar campaigns, no matter how noble the cause. We’d like to see more brands in Pakistan educate their teams about plagiarism and put in extra effort to vet collections properly.

Situations like this highlight the importance of brands addressing controversies with humility and transparency rather than defensiveness. Collaboration and open communication with original artists, as Maria B. eventually pursued, can turn potential conflicts into opportunities for mutual support.