Costa Mesa-based BB Dakota, a maker of trendy clothes for young women, saw sales of its Jack BB Dakota cargo jacket surge after Kristen Stewart, Bella in “Twilight,” wore it in the first film. Now the studio behind the movies has filed a lawsuit against the apparel maker.
Universal City-based Summit Entertainment LLC has filed a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit against B.B. Dakota over the jacket’s promotion and sales, according to trade publication Apparel News.
BB Dakota’s lake blue jacket became a must-have after Stewart wore it in the first movie and in many of the movie’s posters.
The jacket wasn’t commissioned for the film and was bought from a store by the movie’s stylist.
It is part of BB Dakota’s line for younger women and teen girls. BB Dakota had sold the jacket for several years before the “Twilight” movie under its original name—the “Nicola” jacket.
BB Dakota founder and designer Gloria Brandes told the Business Journal in a prior interview she didn’t even know the jacket was in “Twilight” until the company started getting inquiries about where to buy it.
“We never noticed it was our jacket,” she said. “But the kids zoomed in on the logo or called producers and somehow found out it was ours.”
B.B. Dakota rereleased the style in summer of 2009 as the “Twilight” jacket and invoked the “Twilight” name by marketing it “as seen on” the film.
Summit is seeking to bar BB Dakota from continuing to sell the jacket and wants the company to hand over all profits earned from the jacket as well as any “Twilight” jackets so that they may be destroyed.
The movies are based on Stephanie Meyer’s book series, one of the most popular since “Harry Potter.”
The four books, “Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn”, chronicle the star-crossed romance and adventures of teen Bella Swan and her vampire love interest, Edward Cullen.
