Friday, October 9, 2009

Steve Madden Sued...

McQueen's Faithful bootie (left) and Steve Madden's Seryna bootie.
Photo: Courtesy of Alexander McQueen, Courtesy of Steve Madden
Story: Courtesy of www.nymag.com
Alexander McQueen is suing Steve Madden for allegedly copying his Faithful bootie. Filed October 1 in Manhattan District Court, the suit alleges Steve Madden's Seryna bootie is a "studied imitation" of McQueen's Faithful design, which was inspired by a motorcycle jacket. McQueen's lawyers add, "In fact, the only design element of the ‘Faithful Bootie’ that Madden did not deliberately copy is the zipper pull that contains the ‘Alexander McQueen’ trademark.” The legal team (and many other people with eyes) wouldn't be the only ones to see it this way. Bloggers noticed the similarities a while ago: a quick Google search of the Seryna bootie pulls up a post on Splendora from September 10 that notes, "The Seryna Bootie by Steve Madden is an affordable version of Alexander McQueen's Motorcycle Jacket Bootie." McQueen's lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to Steve Madden in September, but they refuse to stop making and selling the shoe.
Madden gets away with knocking off high-fashion designers all the time. Can McQueen stop them? Do you even want McQueen to stop them? Blogs like Nitro:licious rejoiced when word came of Madden's Seryna bootie, since they'd been "eyeing" McQueen's design "forever." Maybe this is one reason McQueen's spring 2010 shoes were so elaborate. Replicating those for the masses won't be easy.

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