French Luxury shoemaker Christian Louboutin, known for his super-sexy stilettos and trademark scarlet soles, is planning to appeal a NYC court decision that gives rival company Yves Saint Laurent permission to continue producing its own red-soled shoes.
Now, I'm no genius, but I thought that the term "trademark" meant basically that it couldn't be copied... legally. When I see a pair of red soles on the street, I automatically think "Louboutin". Who doesn't?
I don't know about you, but I'm confused. Why can't YSL find another color to paint their soles? Green maybe? Why not blue? How about pink? Given the fact that Louboutin has been coloring the soles of his creations scarlet red since 1992, one can hardly say that it was a secret.
So YSL; Why Red?
For Louboutin, red implies sensuality — and serves as a genius branding tool.
The designer told the New Yorker in March, “I selected the color because it is engaging, flirtatious, memorable and the color of passion”
But red also carries connotations of wealth and power, most certainly in the history of fashion and footwear. It is most likely why red remains such an attractive color, and why shoe designers are willing to battle in court over its use.
Red also signifies privilege. Red dyes have historically been more expensive to produce, so only those with power and status could afford to wear them. (The Chinese said that red dye was made of dragon’s blood — giving the color a precious, rare, magical quality.)
One distinct mark of class was the red-heeled shoe, which Aristos began wearing in the 1600s. Charles II of England wore them; a 1675 portrait of him shows that his shoes had not only red heels but red soles as well. But it was Louis XIV of France who made them so popular and established them as a symbol for the monarchy throughout Europe. Red heels were so important to the Sun King that he passed an edict saying that only members of the nobility by birth could wear them.
The 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz swapped Dorothy’s silver shoes in the book for ruby slippers, which also had red soles. Dorothy’s slippers not only conveyed magic and whimsy, they also gave her confidence, which said something about the transformative power of fashion — or of a particular accessory or garment.
Today, the glimpse of a red sole not only shouts “Louboutin” — it also reveals something about the woman wearing it. She is typically well-off or upwardly mobile, fashion forward and confident.
The Louboutin brand sells more than five hundred thousand pairs of shoes a year, at prices ranging from $395 for an espadrille, to $6000 for a “super-platform” pump covered in thousands of crystals. The sole of each of his shoes is lacquered in a vivid, glossy red. It is HIS trademark, and to be quite honest Your Honor, we think it should stay that way.