Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula unknowingly started a Twitter frenzy when he posted a picture showing a pair of shoes sporting what looks like the Gucci colour logo.
Mr Price pic.twitter.com/6Vcu2F5zyJ
— FIKILE MBALULA | MR FIX (@MbalulaFikile) January 8, 2020
Captioning the picture "Mr Price", the simple black mules have an uncanny resemblance to the Italian luxury brand's three-colour code. Many tweeps were of the same opinion, sparking a flurry of memes.
undefinedundefinedundefinedY'all thought U gonna wear Gucci alone?? Banyise mr price, we will be same fanana in the streets soon soon!! pic.twitter.com/EnCmUvXUIu
— Thami𓃓 ⓻🇿🇦 (@thami_tzz) January 8, 2020
Mr Price will never let us down yaz cheapest price u can get always nam senginayo I gutsha thanks Mr Price pic.twitter.com/Sk1bIu5deQ
— Maos (@Maoseng_m) January 8, 2020
On closer inspection though, the Mr Price version of the shoes are not the same as the Gucci colours. Eagle-eyed fashionistas would have noticed that Gucci's colours are Light Gold, Bangladesh Green and Rufous - no black in sight.
It's still a clever move on the fashion retailer's part as a way of avoiding copyright infringement. No doubt Mbalula's post will help improve sales, as it's already garnered more than 500 retweets and 3.5K likes.