A Los Angeles-based artist claims Versace has ripped off one of her designs . Kesshia 'KESH ' Kumari , who has more than 80,000 Instagram followers , used the social networking site to express her views about the luxury fashion house . She uploaded a picture of one of the T-shirts she created with American Apparel inspired by her artwork in 2013 next to Versace 's offering , which she captioned : 'At least make it better than the $ 30 ( £20 ) original @ versace_official . This looks like a first draft . ' She also uploaded a snap of Versace 's £440 Medusa cotton jersey T-shirt and wrote : 'This.hurts . $ 650.versace rip off . sold out in 3 sizes . what is this madness ? from huge designer labels to small boutiques to giant pop stars to fame hungry former friends . what is this ? 'Why ca n't these companies . these brands . these people create their own work ? what happened ? why do these people think that everything that they lay their eyes on instantly belongs to them ? ( sic ) ' . MailOnline has contacted Kesshia Kumari for comment . In an interview with The Cut , the London-born designer said : ' I have always had a deep admiration for Versace . It ’ s an iconic brand that has stood the test of time . I am deeply disappointed in this . 'This is not only artwork from a show that took me two years to develop and create . It is not only artwork from a collection that I created for American Apparel to provide something affordable and accessible to supporters of my work . ' But this is also my face ! I can ’ t understand how something like this could happen . ' Kesshia Kumari , who is of Malaysian and Trinidadian heritage , began designing her graphic creations 17 years ago and began selling them on MySpace . The Versace T-shirt 's description on Selfridges website reads : 'Versace ’ s flair for contemporary prints can be seen with this statement t-shirt . Crafted from cotton-jersey and featuring Medusa ’ s head printed on the front , simply team with jeans for a luxe off-duty look . ' MailOnline has contacted Versace for comment . Speaking to MailOnline , Jim Dennis , an intellectual property partner at law firm Gordon Dadds , the English member firm at Globalaw , said : 'Kesh ’ s design is certainly distinctive and the Versace design is strikingly similar . Provided Kesh ’ s design is original , then under UK law it will attract copyright as a graphic work . 'It is for the Court to decide whether Versace has copied Kesh ’ s design but the similarities between the designs are so substantial the Court may readily infer that copying has taken place . If so , Versace would infringe Kesh ’ s copyright unless they can prove with clear evidence that they created their design independently and without reference to Kesh ’ s . If they are found to infringe then they may be liable for damages to Kesh or have to hand over their profits from sales of the offending t-shirts . ' Carissa Kendall-Palmer , associate solicitor , EIP in London , added : 'In short , Kesh should be filing a law suit right away . The Versace T-shirt is clearly very similar to the T-shirt she developed for the American Apparel range in 2013 . On the face of it , Kesh has a good case , but will need to gather evidence to support it . 'The design could be protected by both design rights and copyright , and it certainly looks like a bit of a rip-off . Many fashion brands rely heavily on these unregistered rights and at times , it can be complicated and expensive to prove their case . She is not on her own here . Copying is very common in the industry . 'There is always the possibility that Versace has a good excuse but it will take some explaining . Copyright infringement is criminal , and if Kesh registered her design , copying that is also a criminal offence under the new 2014 laws . If Kesh has a registered design , she will find it easier to assert her legal rights now . '
sue ' KESH ' sue , a London - born is a Los Angeles - based designer . Believes that Versace has ripped off her design for American Apparel . She created $ 20 T - shirt for American Apparel . She believes Versace has ripped off her design to use on its £ 440 T - shirt .