Gentle Monster, which has been locked in a dispute over design plagiarism with eyewear brand Blue Elephant, moved again to expand its brand universe by unveiling a new product lineup, the Veggie collection, which uses vegetables as design elements. Gentle Monster, which has tied together not only products but also store spaces, objects, and characters into a single universe, appears intent on continuing a differentiated path by foregrounding its own aesthetics and spatial experiences even amid legal disputes.
Gentle Monster held a pre-opening event on the afternoon of the 4th on the first floor of House Nowhere Seoul in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, to mark the launch of the 2026 Veggie Collection. The Veggie collection is an eyewear range that reinterprets the everyday material of vegetables. Inspired by 10 types of vegetables, including tomatoes, it incorporates organic shapes, details, and colors into the design and applies a highly portable foldable structure.
To commemorate the launch of the Veggie collection, Gentle Monster also introduced a pop-up store (temporary store) that recreates vegetable fields and farm scenes. Throughout the space, Gentle Monster's reinterpreted vegetable dolls and eyewear products are arranged. The approach prioritizes experiencing unfamiliar scenes created by the brand over the simple act of buying glasses.
House Nowhere Seoul, where this pop-up is being held, is a mixed retail space in Seongsu-dong created by Gentle Monster's operator, IICOMBINED. Alongside Gentle Monster, group brands under IICOMBINED, including the fragrance brand Tamburins and the dessert brand Nudake, have also moved in.
Gentle Monster is particularly well known for configuring stores as a kind of exhibition space and continuing an experimental brand strategy that weaves products, sculptures, and traffic flow into a single scene. Starting on the 5th, Gentle Monster plans to open pop-up stores simultaneously in six major cities around the world, including House Nowhere in Seongsu-dong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok, and New York.
This new product reveal also draws attention for coinciding with an intensifying phase of disputes over design imitation in the domestic eyewear industry. IICOMBINED is pursuing civil and criminal legal action, saying Blue Elephant copied its eyewear products and offline store space designs. The company argues that many of Blue Elephant's eyeglass frames are similar to Gentle Monster's products and that the spatial directing methods, including the forms and placement of sculptures, resemble those of Gentle Monster's Shanghai store that opened in 2021 and Blue Elephant's Myeong-dong store.
A related criminal trial is also underway. Former Blue Elephant CEO A was indicted and detained on charges of selling 51 products that allegedly copied Gentle Monster's popular items such as sunglasses, totaling about 321,000 pieces between Feb. 2023 and Jun. 2025, generating sales of about 12.3 billion won based on sales prices. At the first hearing in April, A's side denied the charges, arguing that "the complainant company's products are also similar to prior products." Prosecutors countered that Gentle Monster's products have a product form that can be distinguished from conventional glasses.
Recently, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision came down over a pouch design. Last month, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board upheld IICOMBINED's petition to invalidate Blue Elephant's registered eyeglass pouch design. Gentle Monster had argued that the pouch design Blue Elephant registered in 2023 is similar to the pouch it unveiled in 2021. The board also found it difficult to recognize the novelty of the registered design.
However, Blue Elephant is actively refuting the design imitation allegations. Blue Elephant said, "The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision invalidates the patent of the registered design and is unrelated to the claim that a specific product was copied," adding, "After closely analyzing the written decision, we plan to consider whether to formally appeal to the Intellectual Property High Court."
Ko Kyung-min, CEO of Blue Elephant, held a media briefing last month and said, "In the fashion industry, using trends and references is a common phenomenon," adding, "The fact of referencing and whether there is a legal violation are different issues." Ko also noted, "Eyewear is structurally a product in which it is difficult to realize a completely new form," adding, "There are parts that are made by referencing existing designs."