Streetwear designer, Warren Lotas, is the mind behind the namesake LA streetwear brand. If you’re familiar with the streetwear scene, you may have heard of Lotas as the guy who ripped off Nike Dunks or you may recognize his skull punk-inspired designs. If you’re curious to know more about Warren Lotas and his brand, keep reading to learn about the elusive designer.
Around 2014, Lotas started his brand as an 18-year-old college freshman. Originally named In Memory of Bill and sometimes referred to as Bill By Warren Lotas, the brand pays homage to Lotas’ late uncle Bill who died of ALS.
Fascinated by the DIY punk style, Lotas began reworking and customizing flannels. The style stuck and he has since produced clothing with his signature skull and flame motifs. He draws inspiration from vintage 80s and 90s graphics with imagery that often includes reapers, nude women and text.
His graphic-heavy designs have made him a hit in the streetwear sphere, with big names like Wiz Khalifa wearing his designs or as Kanye West calls them “cool pants.” He has also collaborated with the NBA and brands such as Readymade and Fear of God.
Despite his impressive track record, Lotas is probably best known for his legal battle with Nike over copycat Nike Dunks.
In 2020, Nike filed a lawsuit against Lotas for manufacturing and selling shoes that Lotas dubbed as “custom dunks.” Nike saw it as an obvious imitation of their iconic 35-year-old shoe style, the only difference being minor adjustments and luxury quality components as described by Lotas. The Warren Lotas “dunks” retailed for $300 but resold for over triple that price.
Prior to the Nike lawsuit, Lotas attempted to sell actual Nikes that he customized. At one point, he tried to acquire shoes directly from Nike at wholesale prices with no luck. Instead, he opted to buy shoes at retail prices and customized them with his slasher film graphic designs. Lotas admitted that he would purchase Nike Air Force 1’s, remove the Nike Swoosh and have the cobbler reapply the altered version of the Swoosh. The process wasn’t lucrative until he turned his attention to the Nike SB Dunk Low.
Instead of altering the shoe itself, Lotas Instagrammed a photo of a 2006 SB Dunk Low sample in Jason Voorhees colors. The curve in the Swoosh was replaced with the “Friday the 13th” character’s hockey mask. It was Lotas’ attempt to bring his brand’s ghoulish imagery to the sneaker market.
Lotas purposely made alterations such as replacing the Nike label with his initials. The four designs Lotas sold were in similar colorways as real Nike SB Dunks. Just a year after selling the Voorhees design for $300 a pair, Nike filed the lawsuit.
It’s a classic trademark infringement case. Nike argued that Lotas “dunks” caused confusion among consumers when it came to distinguishing the knockoffs from Nike’s real thing. In the lawsuit, Nike sued Lotas for an undisclosed amount of damages including all profits earned from the sale of each shoe. Nike took it a step further and demanded that Lotas turn over all unsold goods to be destroyed so as to keep them from the resale marketplace.
The drama doesn’t stop there. Lotas attempted to counter sue Nike. Though he failed, Lotas argued that the design and details are a form of functionality that is unavoidable. He suggested that Nike’s designs are fair game and felt the lawsuit was an act of prejudice.
Alas, the brands reached an out-of-court settlement in December 2021. The settlement concludes that Lotas is barred from having anything to do with Nike’s trademark and trademark styles, including the Swoosh logo and Dunk designs. He is prohibited from using any marks, names, logos or symbols that can be potentially mistaken for any Nike products.
Lotas’ run-in with the manufacturing giant did not stop him from continuing his successful streetwear brand. From the looks of it, Warren Lotas will be around for a long time as he continues to keep busy with new designs and limited drops.
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