Bec Judd is flooded with orders for her new JAGGAD range despite controversy

There’s no such thing as bad publicity – just ask activewear mogul Rebecca Judd.

Within hours of being accused of ‘copying’ the designs of a high-end competitor, the footy WAG’s sports range JAGGAD is flying off the digital shelves.

The 37-year-old announced the launch of her Ridge Knit collection on Instagram on Wednesday, and was soon flooded with comments from fans saying they had already placed their orders.

Scroll down for video 

‘Awesome collection! All purchased and stocked up. Love the pinks,’ one fan wrote. Another added: ‘Already ordered! Stunning collection.’

A third follower commented: ‘Got my order in nice and quick.’ 

‘Yay! Finally gave into temptation and made my first order,’ a new customer wrote.

It comes after JAGGAD, the sportswear label co-founded by Rebecca and Chris Judd, was forced to deny claims it had copied the designs of a rival company.

On Wednesday, Byron Bay-based sportswear brand Nagnata posted several side-by-side photos to Instagram, comparing its woven jumper designs to similar items from JAGGAD’s new Ridge Knit collection.

‘If this Australian brand is going to keep copying Nagnata and ignoring our emails, then we’re going to start calling them out,’ the caption read.

Denying Nagnata’s accusations, a JAGGAD spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘JAGGAD takes assertions of intellectual property infringement very seriously.

‘In this case, it is clear that JAGGAD has not infringed any other brand’s intellectual property rights.’

JAGGAD also disputed Nagnata’s claim that they had ‘ignored’ email correspondence concerning the similar designs.

The spokesperson said the Judds’ company had responded to Nagnata’s inquiries in writing twice in the past two months, on April 17 and May 18.

‘On both occasions, we have confirmed ownership of our own designs and steadfastly rejected any assertions of any intellectual property infringement under Australian law,’ they said.

The Nagnata design at the centre of the allegations is a ribbed sweater with blue-and-white stripes and a thick red stripe across the chest. 

JAGGAD’s Ridge Knit range features several ribbed jumpers with striped patterns and a thick block of colour around the chest.

However, none of these designs are completely identical to those made by Nagnata.

Nagnata’s sweaters retail for about $300; JAGGAD sells its sweaters for about half this price.

A JAGGAD spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the Ridge Knit collection – like all the brand’s clothing – was designed to reflect the general fashion trends of the 2020 Autumn/Winter season.  

‘Ridge Knit sweaters, like any clothing designs, contain specific utilitarian elements that relate to their feel, material and function which give rise to unavoidable similarities in visual appearance to other designs within their specific product classification,’ said the spokesperson.

‘It is universally understood that such elements are derivative and not attributable to any design protection.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Nagnata for comment. 

JAGGAD was co-founded in 2013 by Rebecca and her husband, retired AFL star Chris Judd, and fellow ex-footy player Steven Greene and his wife, Michelle.

‘Our purpose is to encourage people to live unstoppable healthy and active lives, every day,’ the JAGGAD website states.

Nagnata was launched in 2014 by designer Laura May Gibbs, whose aesthetic ethos was inspired by knitted swimsuits from the 1920s.

‘I always liked the technicality of knitwear,’ she told Vogue Australia in April. 

‘You could play with structures and engineer shape to sculpt the body, and also reduce wasting material off cuts,’ she explained. 

Nagnata’s distinct, knitted aesthetic is clearly present in many of its current designs – including the jumpers that they claim were copied by JAGGAD.