Photo: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images
Since she began blogging 15 years ago, fashion influencer Danielle Bernstein —better known as WeWoreWhat — has found herself at the center of too many controversies to count. There was the time she promoted travel in the early days of the pandemic (and eventually did get COVID in the Hamptons). And there was last year’s wedding-size engagement party, which involved an objectionable number of affiliate links. But mostly, the 34-year-old has a reputation for seemingly ripping off designs and products from independent sellers and content creators with smaller followings than hers. But in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Bernstein told critics she’s turning over a new leaf.
“I know I made mistakes,” Bernstein said of her many controversies. “It’s part of my story. I’m not a victim of it. I was responsible for a lot of it. And I’d love to move past it.”
Bernstein’s various dustups intensified in 2020, when the indie lingerie brand the Great Eros sued her for allegedly copying its signature print featuring line drawings of the naked female body. The Great Eros ultimately dismissed its claims and accepted a confidential settlement in 2022. When asked about those allegations, Bernstein acknowledged vaguely that some designs “should have never made it through the process.” “When people said our designs came too close to theirs, instead of listening I was defensive and reacting,” she said. “We should have been more careful.”
With all that in mind, Bernstein claimed she aspires to more honest business practices. As of this month, WeWoreWhat is operating under a new licensing partner with plans to incorporate “higher pricing, more premium materials, and explicit messaging about how it gathers inspiration from luxury and vintage fashion.” Moving forward, Bernstein said the brand will be “mindful about not taking inspiration from other small designers,” instead looking to brands “like Khaite and Chloé and The Row.” If it seems as if Bernstein is just pivoting from pulling ideas from indie brands to taking them directly from the runway, well, she doesn’t see a problem with that.
“Reinterpretations and inspiration from runway and trends is something that tons of brands do every single day,” she said. “I think of us as comparable to Zara, Mango, Steve Madden … taking trends, runway and vintage inspiration, and making it accessible.”
As for any remaining questions about copycat allegations (and there are many), Bernstein noted she’ll be publishing an apology essay on Substack, where she claims to have nearly 18,000 subscribers. She has been using AI “for ideating and coming up with structures” on the platform but “writing it myself.” Sounds as though we may have different definitions of change.
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