Photo: Instagram
Fans are convinced it had to be a mistake.
By Nia Tipton — Written on Feb 09, 2023
Khloé Kardashian's clothing brand Good American has often been the subject of high praise for its inclusivity to fit all women of every shape and size.
However, fans of the reality star have become quite livid over how the brand is being advertised and sold on the retail site Nordstrom's website, and the specific category it has been placed under.
Nordstrom lists Khloé Kardashian's brand, Good American, in their 'Black-owned' section.
Fans on Reddit were left unimpressed after noticing that Nordstrom had listed Good American under their section full of other "Black-owned" clothing businesses.
"Nordstrom promoting Khloé Kardashians' clothing brand as a black-owned business. Am I missing something here? This feels so wrong," a fan wrote.
On Nordstrom's website, the 'Crystal Embellished Wide Leg Sweatpants (Regular & Plus Size),' and the 'Thermal Boyfriend Sweatpants (Regular & Plus Size)' by Good American are listed on the site as 'Black-owned/founded.'
Good American was co-founded by a Black woman, Emma Grede.
While some fans expressed the same confusion, others pointed out that Good American is technically a Black-owned business because the co-founder of the brand is Emma Grede, a Black woman, who also serves as the company's CEO.
According to Good American's website, in October 2016 Grede launched the clothing brand with Kardashian, and the two serve as co-founders together.
In an April 2022 interview with Elle, Grede opened up about the process of starting the brand and how she was able to get in contact with Kardashian, which happened after Grede had met Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner.
Grede revealed that much of her job was “to be in the mix in the entertainment business,” which led her to be involved in a slew of meetings with agents and managers, which eventually led her to Jenner.
It wasn't long before the two women became friends, and would meet up for discussions about business endeavors.
"Kris was honest with me early on. She said, ‘I am looking for opportunities for my girls to have meaningful participation in what they do," Grede told the publication.
"This is not about just taking another endorsement for them—we’re past [that].'"
The idea to launch Good American came up shortly after, with the idea to form a size-inclusive clothing line that would be built with the help of Kardashian.
While it might seem weird that Nordstrom would list Good American as a "Black-owned" business, it's not a false advertisement, especially since Grede came up with the brand's statement clothing being denim.
“I knew that I couldn’t rely on Khloé to get the customers to come back a second time. She could push somebody to that first purchase because they might be a fan, but you’ve got to create an amazing product.”
Good American was previously accused of stealing designs from other 'Black-owned' businesses.
In June 2017, Khloé Kardashian was hit with allegations of copying other designers and stealing their ideas to use for Good American.
According to the Daily Mail, fashion designer Destiney Bleu accused Kardashian on Twitter of copying designs from her line of bedazzled clothing for an upcoming Good American collection.
Bleu, a Black woman running a Black-owned brand, claimed Kardashian ordered a slew of items from her “DBleudazzled” line before similar-looking clothes appeared in an ad for Good American.
Kardashian eventually sent Bleu a cease and desist calling the designer's accusations "flagrantly false and defamatory," and denied that their brand was influenced at all by Bleu's designs.
However, Bleu's attorney, Stephen McArthur, hit back at Kardashian's claims, providing a timeline of purchases between Bleu and Kardashian's assistant, where the reality star made several purchases.
"If Khloé wants to continue stealing designs from indie creators and mass produce them with no credit,” McArthur's statement read, “then Khloe will rightly face judgment in the court of public opinion.”
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Keep up with her on Instagram and Twitter.