Paula Hian of the Main Line is a successful designer in her own right. She sells her clothing online and has a brick-and-mortar boutique at the King of Prussia Mall. Hian’s clothes have been featured in Vogue Italia and even popular television shows like Gossip Girl, writes Victor Fiorillo for Philadelphia Magazine. 

Notable figures such as Carrie Underwood, Brooke Shields, and more recently First Lady Jill Biden have donned her looks. It was no question why she would seek out business with one of the world’s largest fashion conglomerates, Louis Vuitton.  

In 2020, Hian emailed her original fabric and clothing designs to Vuitton. Court documents reveal that there were even discussions of a potential phone call in one of the e-mails with a contact at the design company.

But nothing came of it.

Until one day in 2022, when Hian came across what she claims are her own designs.  

Now, the Main Line designer is filing a lawsuit against the brand’s New York branch.

The lawsuit includes multiple side-by-side comparisons of Hian’s designs and the Louis Vuitton garments that she says were stolen from her.  

“The LVMH [Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton] designs are substantially similar to Hian’s registered Plaque D’egout copyright design in material, motif, size of motif, coloration, fabrication, texture, stretch and weight as well as the shape/style/zipper placement design, all of which bears substantial similarity to Hian’s Chantal jacket,” reads the suit. 

Learn more about the Main Line designer’s battle with Louis Vuitton in Philadelphia Magazine.