Tiffany & Co and Pharrell Williams' collab plagued with plagiarism accusations

Last week at Paris Fashion Week Kenzo Men Fall/Winter 2022 show, Pharrell Williams donned bejewelled tear-shaped sunglasses custom-designed by Tiffany & Co which “Tiffany and I are engaged”, the musician told WWD, hinting at a partnership in the works.

However, the collaboration got called out as people accused them of copying a Mughal antique.

“Custom-designed or custom-copied?” a netizen commented. Jewellery expert and Vogue contributor Annabel Davidson said that, “Tiffany & Co made a mistake in not referencing the pair so many of us saw last year.” 

Fashion watchdog Diet Prada also discussed the controversy, saying that: “Dated to the 17th century, the frames were believed to have originally belonged to Mughal royals, who once ruled over the Indian subcontinent.”

The sunglasses look almost identical to a pair of 17th century Mughal spectacles that was up for auction at Sotheby's last October. The piece was expected to fetch as much as £2.5 million although it didn’t sell. 

Sotheby’s Chairman Edward Gibbs said the spectacles carry special spiritual connotations, with diamonds signifying “celestial light” and bright stones like emeralds being seen as “vehicles for astral forces” during the Mughal period. Green in particular is linked to paradise, salvation and eternal life in Islam, the religion practiced by Mughal rulers.

“As far as we know, there are no others like them,” Gibbs stated. “Well, now there are lol," Diet Prada added.