Sheree Whitfield. Justin Kase Photography/Shutterstock
She needs some explaining! After many years of anticipation, Shereé Whitfield has finally unveiled her clothing brand, She by Shereé.
The season finale of the series was the moment most awaited. The Real Housewives of AtlantaThe series aired on Sunday September 4. Fans know that Whitfield, 52 years old, experienced a number of setbacks with her label in this season, including production problems with the clothing. The Bravo star attempted to launch the collection in its first attempt during RHOA‘s first season in 2008 — but failed due to the lack of samples.
This time around, Whitfield successfully put on a show as guests — including her Housewives costars and other Bravolebrities — watched from their seats. Fans also applauded her efforts via Social Media.
“After 14 years, I did it,” Whitfield said in a confessional interview during Sunday’s episode. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve had a lot of letdowns. I want everyone who feels like they can’t do it to keep pushing with prayer, determination, hard work. It will definitely pay off.”
Whitfield’s praise was short-lived, however, as fans quickly accused her brand of copying designs from both Shein and Amazon.
“She by Somebody Else!” a social media user tweetedOn Monday, September 5, Whitfield was pictured side-by-side in a gray exercise set and a photo from Amazon of a model wearing a similar look. A second person wrote: “More like ‘Copyright Infringement by Sheree.’ It took 14 years to decide to steal someone else’s designs?”
A third critic posted an image of Shein models in lookalike sets. “So, after 10+ years of no fashion, you just put your name in a lookalike Jeffree starWe printed the logo in an Ali Express/Shein shirt and charged $130! Gurl, this is so terrible! We were rooting for you smh.”
Others have come to Whitfield’s defense. “She didn’t steal them, this looks like a private label situation,” said a fan. “Stores do this all the time, they buy the clothing from Chinese companies with the order, including their logos at an extra cost.”
The socialite has not yet commented or responded to the allegations. Us Weekly‘s request for comment. Whitfield will be leaving the scene after the season finale. thanked her supporters and asserted her website would be up and running following a crash due to “the overwhelming interest.”
“Due to the overwhelming interest in She by Shereé the influx of love is crashing the website!” she wrote via Twitter on Sunday. But please understand it’s being worked on so continue to check back in within the next 24 hours. We are working on this. We look forward to serving you soon. We are grateful for your interest. Thanks to the customers whom we were able to serve so far tonight.”
The She by Shereé has since resumed operations online, offering workout gear and accessories ranging in price from $32 to $182.
