Madonna Sued For Using “Material Girl” Tag For Macy’s Clothing Line

Her name may be synonymous with the term, but a Los Angeles clothing company says Madonna is not the proverbial Material Girl after all.

On Thursday, the brand filed suit in Los Angeles against the pop icon, claiming the 52-year-old singer illegally used their “Material Girl” trademark for her new collaborative clothing line with daughter Lourdes, 13.

Madonna — who worked on the Material Girl line as part of an exclusive arrangement with US-based department store Macy’s — is being sued by LA Triumph for using the same name as their clothing collection. The company claims it has been using the infamous tag since 1997. Madonna, on the other hand, insist the name of the popular junior’s range was inspired by her charttopping 1983 single — and often nickname — “Material Girl.”

“Everyone relates that title to me because of the song I did like 300 years ago. It’s a title I got stuck with. When I first did the song it was meant in an ironic way, as I don’t think of myself as a materialistic person. I hate that name but I do love clothes and fashion and I love beautiful things,” she said in an interview with Britain’s Daily Star earlier this year.

“Our client and its predecessor have been continually selling similar clothes in similar retail outlets at similar price points under the Material Girl brand since at least 1997 and Madonna and her new-found company do not have the right to trade in the same space under this brand,” the firm’s attorney told X17Online this week.

Chris Arledge, an intellectual property lawyer, also chimed in: “As a result of their acts, our client faces a risk of being subsumed by Madonna’s profile, obvious worldwide notoriety and the massive spending campaign by Madonna, her company and retailers on her behalf.”