She has some explaining to do! After years of anticipation, Shereé Whitfield has finally unveiled her clothing brand, She by Shereé.
The highly awaited moment came on the season finale of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, which aired on Sunday, September 4. As fans know, this season saw Whitfield, 52, experience a plethora of setbacks with her label, including production issues with the clothing. The Bravo star first attempted to launch the collection during RHOA‘s first season in 2008 — but failed due to the lack of samples.
This time around, Whitfield successfully put on a show as guests — including her Housewives costars and other Bravolebrities — watched from their seats. Fans also applauded her efforts via social media.
“After 14 years, I did it,” Whitfield said in a confessional interview during Sunday’s episode. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of letdowns. I want everyone who feels like they can’t do it to keep pushing with prayer, determination, hard work. It will definitely pay off.”
Whitfield’s praise was short-lived, however, as fans quickly accused her brand of copying designs from both Shein and Amazon.
“She by Somebody Else!” a social media user tweeted on Monday, September 5, sharing a side-by-side photo of Whitfield in a gray workout set and a photo of a model in a similar look on Amazon. A second person wrote: “More like ‘Copyright Infringement by Sheree.’ It took 14 years to decide to steal someone else’s designs?”
A third critic posted a screenshot of a Shein model in a lookalike set. “So, after 10+ years of no fashion, you just put your name in a lookalike Jeffree Star logo, printed it in an Ali Express/Shein garment and charged $130?! Gurl how dreadful! We were rooting for you smh.”
Others have come to Whitfield’s defense. “She didn’t steal them, this looks like a private label situation,” said a fan. “Stores do this all the time, they buy the clothing from Chinese companies with the order, including their logos at an extra cost.”
The socialite has not yet commented on the accusations and did not immediately respond to Us Weekly‘s request for comment. After the season finale, Whitfield thanked her supporters and asserted her website would be up and running following a crash due to “the overwhelming interest.”
“Due to the overwhelming interest in She by Shereé the influx of love is crashing the website!” she wrote via Twitter on Sunday. But please understand it’s being worked on so continue to check back in within the next 24 hours. We r working to get this resolved. We wish to serve you soon. Thank you for your interest. Thanks to the customers whom we were able to serve so far tonight.”
The She by Shereé has since resumed operations online, offering workout gear and accessories ranging in price from $32 to $182.
