Back in November, Harper’s Bazaar celebrated the launch of that month’s issue with a jean-jacket decorating party at The Wing, a women’s “work and community space” located in Manhattan. As most jean-jacket decorating parties do, this one eventually became the origin of a heated, multi-platform scandal surrounding artistic license, appropriation, the concept of womanhood, and the origins of trendy patch catchphrases.
The New York Observer wrote in a studious recap of the party at the time that “most of the jacket accoutrements had undertones of female empowerment, like an iron-on patch that read ‘Girl Gang’ and a pin that said ‘Yas Kween.’
“That feeling of female empowerment could be felt around the room, as attendees fawned over other’s coats designs, complimenting their handiwork and using it as inspiration for their own creations,” the report continues. “At a time when we could all use a little more female-centric encouragement, this particular fête was perfectly timed. In fact, it might best be described as the chicest feminist gathering of the year and guests have the pins to prove it.”
But was it really the “chicest feminist gathering of the year,” one in which “that feeling of female empowerment could be felt?” Or, was its very premise built on dishonesty, the unforgivable crime of patch theft, and a microcosm of the battle between Big Feminism and Grassroots Feminism? Leste, a “bi-annual risograph-printed erotic magazine,” would have you believe the latter.
The trial surrounding the theft has been litigated largely on social media, with the individual (or individuals) behind the Leste account driving the outrage via their own accounts. But what can we parse about what actually happened, when we step back from the drama (in which numerous parties were called “disgusting” and “demons” for their unauthorized use of the patch) and allow cooler, investigative heads to prevail? Is this a scandal built upon malice or carelessness? Who stole the patch and what was their motive?
Fast forward from the jean jacket party six months ago to May 7, when Rookie editor-in-chief and actor Tavi Gevinson posted an Instagram story in which a woman (later identified as Lenny Letter deputy editor Laia Garcia) can be seen wearing one of the patches affixed at that same decorating party. It reads “WHEN WOMEN SPEAK IT IS MOSTLY POETRY”—a phrase that originally appeared on a poster written by Leste editor Sara Sutterlin that accompanied the magazine’s first issue. Leste, which is currently promoting a Go Fund Me to help stay in business, then posted a screen grab of the story on its official Instagram account, noting the patch as their own work that had seemingly been made into a patch without their consent or any attribution.
Leste also tweeted about the story, calling Lenny and Rookie staffers “gross rich fucks.” (For disclosure’s sake, two Jezebel staffers have contributed to Rookie.)
Garcia appears to have later messaged Leste, explaining that while she had attended the jean jacket decorating event in question, she meant no harm, and was also not responsible for the offending patch’s production or distribution. Leste later posted the screenshots of the conversation on Twitter:
Leste has since launched a social media campaign against The Wing, Harper’s Bazaar, and their sympathizers, tweeting and retweeting others about the incident more than 50 times. On May 7, the account posted, “Rich girls throwing private parties to share bootleg stolen art like people’s creative labor belongs to you”; it later added “@audreygelman you’re disgusting pay us” (directed at Wing co-founder and CEO Audrey Gelman) and “Y’all are demons.”
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