DKNY Accidentally Stole Humans Of New York Photos

Brandon Stanton, a photographer for the blog Humans of New York, recently learned that 300 of his photos were being displayed in a DKNY store in Bangkok, Thailand. Though most street photographers would love this sort of international exposure, Stanton had not given consent and was not compensated for the use of his images.

Once Stanton learned about the DKNY display from a fan, he immediately contacted the company. Instead of asking for payment or for the photos to be taken down, Stanton requested that the fashion company donate $100,000 on his behalf to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to help “deserving kids go to summer camp.”

To make up for the mistake, DKNY has offered to make a $25,000 donation to the YMCA in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Stanton’s name. The company also issued a statement of apology:

“For the Spring 2013 windows program, we licensed and paid for photos from established photography service providers. However, it appears that inadvertently the store in Bangkok used an internal mock up containing some of Mr. Stanton’s images that was intended to merely show the direction of the spring visual program. We apologize for this error and are working to ensure that only the approved artwork is used.”