In October a judge ruled not to uphold Louboutins' proposed injunction that stopped Yves Saint Laurent from producing the red soled shoes, to which Louboutin filed an appeal. Jewellery company Tiffany then weighed in on behalf of Louboutin stating that a colour can be trademarked and shouldn't be allowed to be copied (they too are known by a distinctive colour). Then in December, YSL filed an appellate brief stating that the decision not to grant the injunction should be upheld as Louboutin could not prove that YSL's use of the colour caused irreparable damage to their brand.
Got all that? (a bit much we know) Yesterday Christian Louboutin himself appeared at court with designer Diane Von Furstenburg at his side for support whilst his lawyers made their final plea before the three appeals court judges make their decision. Louboutin himself stated 'For YSL and the PPR Group, this might be just a legal matter, but that's not the case for me. To me it is very personal, after all, this is an intrinsic part of my life and my company - which bears my name'
Personally, we agree, the red sole is synonymous with Louboutins' name, and since the case I have already seen a variety of imitations of the red sole in stores from New Look to River Island and worse. If YSL were to win this case it would effectively dismantle everything which the Louboutin brand stands for as it's USP would be gone.
Let's hope the judges make the right decision.
