How Pirouette Skort Copycats Took Over After a Taylor Swift Shoutout
Viral fame isn’t always a win. Cassey Ho, founder of the athleisure brand Popflex, found this out the hard way when her Pirouette Skort exploded in popularity after appearing in Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” music video. Fans and fashion lovers flooded her website, clearing out inventory and placing thousands of preorders. But while the attention skyrocketed demand, it also attracted a wave of pirouette skort copycats—cheap knockoffs that copied her design, used unauthorized images, and took advantage of online platforms that rarely enforce IP rights.
What Triggered the Surge in Pirouette Skort Copycats
When Taylor Swift was briefly seen wearing the Pirouette Skort—an elegant blend of ruffled mesh and sporty shorts—Cassey Ho’s business boomed overnight. Over 50,000 units have been sold since. But the clip’s virality also made the design a prime target for copycats. Within weeks, pirouette skort copycats appeared on Amazon, Shein, DHGate, Temu, TikTok Shop, and other platforms. Some listings blatantly stole Popflex’s product images, even altering the color to make them look different. The knockoffs not only diluted Ho’s brand but also created a confusing online marketplace filled with questionable replicas.
Why It’s Hard to Fight Pirouette Skort Copycats
Despite holding a design patent, Ho faces an uphill battle in protecting her intellectual property. Popflex tracked 461 infringing listings in a single month, but that’s only a fraction of the total floating online. Most copycats are hard to trace—often sold by vendors who vanish and reappear under different names. Ho admits she lacks the time and resources to file takedown requests for each violation. Even when successful, takedowns are temporary. The system heavily favors speed over authenticity, and creators like Ho are often left playing defense.
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