By Jenny Bailly
The novelty fashion item of the summer may get even hotter now that the courts are involved. Hermes last week began cracking down on retailers selling the "Jelly Kelly," a rubber knock-off of the French fashion house's iconic Kelly bag, named for screen icon Grace.
Southampton retailer Steven Stolman, who had been selling the candy-colored waterproof versions this summer, has already been hit with a lawsuit, filed in the Federal Court in Central Islip, N.Y. on July 31.
According to Joseph C. Gioconda, an attorney at Kirkland & Ellis, the Manhattan law firm handling the case, Stolman isn't a lone target. "Hermes doesn't selectively enforce," he said, noting that investigators are on the case and were even prowling the AccessoriesCircuit at Pier 94 this week.
Gioconda got a call at 11am Monday that a company called Red Luggage was displaying the bags at the trade show. He had investigators on the scene within two hours, but according to Gioconda, by then the company no longer had the merchandise and claimed that they never had.
Hermes' recently-filed lawsuit against Stolman doesn't seem to be scaring off most accessories retailers though.
Other companies at the AccessoriesCircuit were still taking orders for the rubber bags Tuesday afternoon. The Margaret Loves Peter booth was swarmed with retailers eager to place orders for similar bags that that company calls "Groovy Grace" and "Jelly Jane" (presumably after Hermes' other iconic bag, the Birkin). "I think we've sold a few million," sighed a harried rep, who hadn't left her seat all day because she'd been taking so many orders.
Los Angeles-based retailer Intuition has also been selling the bags, which have been so popular they're already out of stock. According to a rep at their toll-free number, a new shipment is on the way in three to four weeks. Their website, shopintuition.com, is still accepting orders for the bags, priced from $150 to $225.
Kitson, another LA boutique, said they're expecting their shipment in about a month and a half. Owner Fraser Ross was traveling and couldn't be reached for comment.
It's not just the little guys that Hermes is targeting though. "It should be known that stores like Henri Bendel, they're going to be sued too if they keep it up," said Gioconda, who has been working with the litigious leather goods company to combat counterfeiting for over six years.
Bendel general manager Ed Burstell wasn't available for comment Friday, but a trip to the store revealed that the bags had been in stock and are sold out. A saleswoman offered to take our name for a waiting list, and brought a lime green sample from the back, priced at $128 and bearing a "made in Italy" sticker.
Gioconda said Hermes is certainly going after the Italian manufacturing centers that the bags are coming from, and explained that the company also works with U.S. customs officials to stop all counterfeit merchandise from coming across the border.
As for the products that do make it to retailers, they won't stay there for long if Hermes has anything to say about it.
"Hermes is very, very vigilant about this," says Gioconda. "I don't know many companies who will sue people on 24 hours notice."
Hermes was first alerted to the existence of the Jelly Kelly when the New York Times ran a piece on July 15 about the bags flying out of Stolman's Southampton boutique. In that article, Stolman insisted the bags weren't knockoffs: "It's just an amusement," he said, "like a Rolls-Royce made out of plastic." Reached at his Southampton boutique Friday, Stolman said he could not comment on the case.
Hermes' lawsuit against Stolman seeks "to enjoin and obtain monetary and injunctive relief for Stolman's deliberate infringement of Hermes' trademarks and trade dress." And that monetary relief has the potential to run pretty steep. Hermes has already won two jury awards for $1 million each in its battle against knockoffs, most recently in 2001 against Lederer of Paris, with stores in Manhattan, Paris and London, for infringing on the design of the Kelly.
The Stolman lawsuit asserts that, "the design of the Kelly bag, specifically its unique closure, lock, key and shape, are strongly associated with Hermes."
Melinda Kingsley, the main floor manager at the Hermes store on Madison Avenue, has made a statement to the court saying that the boutique has fielded numerous calls and walk-in inquires about the "Jelly Kelly." Many of those customers were apparently familiar with a 1996 promotion in which Hermes sold clear plastic Kellys.
Gioconda points out that the French company also makes some of its bags from rubber, though a high-quality, environmentally sound Amazonia version.
In fact, Hermes has made its Kelly and Birkin bags in not only leather and rubber, but also plastic, denim, horsehair, canvas and ostrich. President and CEO Robert Chavez describes the two bags as Hermes' "flagship products." They have made starring appearances in everything from a "Sex and the City" episode in which a character strives to acquire a Birkin, to new film release "Le Divorce" in which Kate Hudson's character acquires a Kelly from an older admirer. But at $16,000, that red croc version ain't made of Jelly.
I'd rather pay for a knock off than end up broke, purchasing a bag that is in the thousands. I'd rather use the money for other things. But, I am interested in the bag, I'm sure many other women are. I'd rather spend thousands on a down payment for a house or a new car, not a bag. Plus, I didn't ask for a negative opinion on a knock off bag. I merely asked for an opinion on if anyone had it, how they liked it, etc! Now my taste has totally been insulted. How rude! I'd never comment on another person's purchase. If they like it, fine. They should go ahead and purchase it.
I think the Jelly Kelly is cute 
& I want one, but I think it would be a waste of money b/c it is so trendy. Is anyone going to remember them next year?
People need to learn to stay within their means. 
on this. 
.
but they sure sound like it! I have seen some online that are translucent.. but not see through. I don't know if I'd want anyone to see what's in my bag! 
