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Louboutin vs. YSL: Who Wins?! Who Loses?

Forget Pacquiao vs. Mosley, the [fashion] fight of the decade is Louboutin vs. YSL.  Boring, gory details are here, but we’ve provided a fab recap of the major points below:

  • Christian Louboutin got the idea for red soles when he painted red nail polish on the black soles of a pair of women’s shoes
  • Louboutin introduced the red sole in 1992, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded the company a trademark for it in 2008, according to the complaint
  • After a court hearing July 22, Louboutin’s attorney said, “This is the lifeblood of this company, the red sole.” Louboutin’s sales from red-sole shoes are projected at $135 million this year!
  • On August 10th, Christian Louboutin SA lost a court bid to stop Yves Saint Laurent America from selling women’s shoes that Louboutin claims are identical to its trademarked red-sole footwear
  • Louboutin alleged in the April complaint that Yves Saint Laurent’s red outsoles are virtually identical to his and YSL’s shoes “threaten to mislead the public”

The end result: red-soled shoes will still be expensive, so save up!

xo, mo
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Monica Barnett

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