'WhatWeWore' designer Danielle Bernstein joins TikTok and is met with outraged hostility for stealing ideas
Designer Danielle Bernstein's new TikTok account has been faced with what can only be called overwhelming hostility. Her 'un-welcome' to the social media platform is largely due to the fact that Bernstein joined TikTok shortly after she was named in a design copying allegation by a small creator through a viral TikTok video.
Bernstein has a reputation for stealing designs from small creators or design firms and passing them off as her own. In the past, she has been repeatedly accused of design theft. For instance, she allegedly copied the face mask design with distinctive chains by Latina designer Karen Perez’s accessories brand Second Wind to create her own line of COVID 19 masks after asking for samples from Perez as an influencer. She has also frequently been ‘inspired’ by other creators' Instagram photos. Bernstein has repeatedly denied all allegations of design theft but usually stops selling the designs she has been accused of stealing when called out.
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Most recently, fashion blogger Kelsey Kotzur had shared on TikTok a video documenting how Bernstein has lifted outfits and styling inspiration directly from her Instagram page without giving her credit. The video has since gone viral. Therefore, many industry watchers are puzzled about the bad PR timing of Bernstein's TikTok foray.
Danielle Bernstein posted this on tiktok and she is getting eaten alive in the comments lmao pic.twitter.com/IymefP4OHB
— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss) February 24, 2021
Danielle entered tiktok shortly after a small creator shared another copying allegation on the platform, and the comments reflect that questionable timing pic.twitter.com/sabBlbKgWg
— Rachel Premack (@rrpre) February 24, 2021
Bernstein also could not have "introduced" herself to TikTok in a worse way. She chose to post a self-congratulatory video documenting her rise as a blogger documenting street-style to becoming a mega-influencer with approximately 2.5 million Instagram followers. Almost immediately, her comment section was flooded with sarcastic messages or those who wanted her to quit the platform. "Hi guys, my name is Danielle,” said one comment, mimicking the opening line of Bernstein's video. “I started ripping off small creators pretty early on in my career, and little did I know just how far it’d get me.” A snapshot of the comments on the video was posted on Twitter to give an idea about how badly the designer was being dragged on TikTok including comments like "WeStoleWhat", "WeCopiedWhat" and "WeStoleYourDesigns" parodying her brand 'WeWoreWhat'.
After all the hate, Bernstein uploaded and then quickly deleted a video of her miming the words of Cardi B's famous clap back speech against "haters". Even though she deleted it, it was posted soon after on Twitter. Soon after, even that post was criticized on Twitter with people commenting on her cringe-inducing lip-sync by highlighting what others had posted on her TikTok feed. "Danielle Bernstein doing a lip sync to Cardi B is just *cringe face*," said one tweet, while another said: "She already deleted it, but my favorite was 'Hey Danielle! Are you familiar with the second Harry Potter book/movie? You remind me of one of the characters Gilderoy Lockhart!' lmfaooooo."
DB continued with her tiktok journey today by posting this before quickly deleting it. :) :) :) pic.twitter.com/u2vCjgL6m7
— Sophie Ross (@SophRossss) February 26, 2021
Danielle Bernstein doing a lip sync to Cardi B is just 🥴🥴🥴
— Kelsey Stiegman (@kelseystiegman) February 26, 2021
she already deleted it, but my favorite was "Hey Danielle! Are you familiar with the second Harry Potter book/movie? You remind me of one of the characters Gilderoy Lockhart!" lmfaooooo
— Kelsey Stiegman (@kelseystiegman) February 26, 2021
After receiving hate comments numbering over 10,000 on the videos she posted from behind-the-scenes look at her latest clothing collection to a roundup of her favorite mirror poses to a swimwear giveaway, she defended herself. She wrote in a deleted comment: "Hiii Tiktok, I've spent the past 10 years building my career from the ground up and growing up in front of millions of people. If you're coming to this page because you're waiting for me to talk about some baseless accusations created for 15 mins of fame, you're in the wrong place. Blowing out someone's candle will not make yours shine any brighter! I've learned to laugh at the irrelevant BS. To anyone experiencing online bullying, I'm here for you and taking care of your mental health is priority.”