Crochet bikini

[2][3] A crochet bikini created by Brazilian street artist Maria Solange Ferrarini has been the focus of several lawsuits that received international attention.

Turkish American entrepreneur Ipek Irgit took the idea of Ferrarini's crochet bikini during a visit to Brazil and claimed copyright on the design.

[6] Maria Solange Ferrarini was born 1956 or 1957 in São Carlos, Brazil to a seamstress mother and bricklayer father.

[8][4] Irgit, who had previously worked for New York design companies, including Max Mara,[9] branded her product by creating a portmanteau of her initials and the word bikini.

[4] In April 2018, Kiini filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York, against Neiman Marcus, alleging unfair competition.

[4] A month later, Kiini amended its lawsuit against Neiman Marcus to explicitly add PilyQ, Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, Macy's and other retailers as defendants.

[4] Following the lawsuit, Jason Forge, the husband of one of PilyQ's owners, sought out Brazilian street artist Maria Solange Ferrarini, to negotiate a licensing deal for her crochet bikini designs.