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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Nia Dalton

Banksy calls on fans to 'shoplift' London fashion giant after spotting his artwork

Street artist Banksy is calling on fashion giant Guess to take down his artwork, which is currently on display in the London shopfront - after he claimed it was on show without his permission. The mystery artist has posted on Instagram calling for his 11.5 million followers to 'raid' the Regent Street shop - sparking a discussion on social media.

Clothing company Guess had advertised its latest Brandalised collaborative collection with a large picture of Banksy's Flower Thrower artwork.

But hitting back, the Bristol artist shared an Instagram post that said: "Attention all shoplifters. Please go to GUESS on Regent Street. They've helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?"

Guess describes the Brandalised collection as a collaboration "featuring the world's most famous street-graffiti" that "brings to life your urban spirit".

Fans of Banksy weren't impressed with the artist's claims about the clothing range and shared their thoughts on social media.

"This will not end well for them," one person said, while another put: "The NERVE to say 'with graffiti by Banksy'."

"Rip GUESS on Regent St," a third commented, and a fourth said: "All publicity is good publicity. Don't give them anymore attention."

The Flower Thrower is one of Banksy's most iconic graffiti pieces (AFP via Getty Images)

The Instagram post has been liked by more than 500,000 people in one hour, with more than 7,000 comments.

One fan has described Banksy as "the voice of the modern revolution" while another wrote: "Shoplifters of the world unite and take over."

"Not that I was ever going to buy Guess clothing to begin with but now I'm actively going to boycott them," one follower wrote.

The Flower Thrower is a stencil mural in Beit Sahour in the West Bank, showing a masked man throwing a bouquet of flowers.

The Mirror has contacted Guess for comment.

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