Manolo Blahnik

[Mona13]

WTF - i saw new posts on the manolo thread and got excited to see some fabulous shoes only to find this.... how depressing!

 

[ojodeazul19]

I got some AMAZING stuff at the sale..Crocs half off!

 

[exoticarbcqen]

^where?

 

[MimiMcqueen]

^ That is insane!! I cannot believe!


I can actually see some resemblance. The shoe on the SM buckle are patent and the Manolo's are made out of suede . Everything else I can't really tell. It's that good? oh and the lining of the shoe is diffrent the leather on the Manolos are more wrinkly because it's real leather as suppose to faux leather lining (more smooth and colour is diffrent) I think? no?

 

[ojodeazul19]

The Manolo Spring Summer sale at their botique in NYC

 

[Echoes]

Not saying that I approve, but the designers do this to themselves by pricing their items so obscenely high. NO pair of shoes is worth $400, $500, $700 or more. None. NO exceptions.

 

[exoticarbcqen]

^ I disagree. Luxury brands are a LUXURY for a reason. They cater to those who can " afford" to buy there shoes. They dont need to drop there prices because some people cant afford them. I personally feel that there are alot of things out there in the market that are not worth there price, but consumers set the prices at the end.. supply & demand in a nutshell.

 

[PursePrincess]

I Dont understand why some people in this Forum can Justify Oh Deers but hate these Replicas like Steve Maddens...
Are'nt they the same thing?? Well...maybe Oh Deers are more well made I guess....but Is'nt it even worse?

 

[PursePrincess]

^ I disagree. Luxury brands are a LUXURY for a reason. They cater to those who can " afford" to buy there shoes. They dont need to drop there prices because some people cant afford them. I personally feel that there are alot of things out there in the market that are not worth there price, but consumers set the prices at the end.. supply & demand in a nutshell.

I agree and disagree with you at the same time
Yes Luxury brands are luxury for a few reasons...Quality is first...next is the Originality of the design...and the exclusivity of the products,for instance...Manolos will only produce a couple of hundreds pair of shoes per design in a few colours,while Steve Madden will produce Thousands and thousands pair of shoes in the same colour to be sold all across the globe.
But Designers do Mark up the prices of their goods quite high because the high cost of branding,advertisments,the rent of the luxurious spots they're selling their goods at,etc.
But It's all worth it!!

 

[BlkLadyLaw]

In the pic comparisons the buckle on the Madden is more of a circle while the buckle on the Ringo has more squared off corners. That may have been intentionally to make it harder to make a claim.

I really think more of their protection would be within patent law vs. copyright. Patents are extremely expensive to obtain and maintain and I can't imagine these designers are filing a patent for every shoe or piece of clothing they have ever made, are filing those patents in every country worldwide and then paying law firms to maintain those patents annually. That would be so expensive (and patent lawyers are some of the most expensive to hire) but maybe that is part of why the goods cost so much. Even if they could I can imagine that at some point they have to make a business decision on if it is worth the extra multi-millions a year of legal costs (on top of the cost of going to court to defend every shoe, shirt, suit) trying to prove claims (and prove that your design was not also 'inspired' by designers before you) to restrict the Maddens of the world.

I'll have to do lunch with some of my colleagues in the patent department and pick their brains.

 

[leyla m.]

hmmm, regarding the legal issue. i think (pls correct me f im wrong) it obviously differs from country to country and the US is known for sueing everyone and everything (sometimes good, sometimes bad) so as a result there must be some kinda law to protect these big players.. now the question is who is the bigger player in this business? steve madden or manolo? i have a strange gut feeling here

 

[Echoes]

Yes Luxury brands are luxury for a few reasons...Quality is first...

I doubt that there is more than $30 or so in materials in any pair of Manolo or CL shoes, and maybe another $40-$50 in labor. Even $200 would be a 100%+ markup. There is NO justification for $400 or more, not even the 'name'.


Madden, Oh Deer, VS and others that knock-off designer brands are filling the marketplace need that the 'names' ignore. But I do think Madden got a little too close to the line recently.

 

[Echoes]

it obviously differs from country to country and the US is known for sueing everyone and everything

Then there is the question, is a patent registered in France or the UK protected by law in the US to the point that a foreign patent holder would have any grounds for a suit?

CL and MB may have decided it would not be worth it to pursue makers of knock-offs as long as they don't seriously degrade their market share. As was stated above, those that can afford the real thing will buy it even if there is a nearly exact discount knock-off readily available.

 

[PursePrincess]

Then there is the question, is a patent registered in France or the UK protected by law in the US to the point that a foreign patent holder would have any grounds for a suit?

CL and MB may have decided it would not be worth it to pursue makers of knock-offs, those that can afford the real thing will buy it even if there is a nearly exact discount knock-off readily available.

Exactly!!...They have People like us!!They've not been threatened at all.....

 

[BlkLadyLaw]

In the pic comparisons the buckle on the Madden is more of a circle while the buckle on the Ringo has more squared off corners. That may have been intentionally to make it harder to make a claim.

I really think more of their protection would be within patent law or trade dress under Trademark law vs. copyright. Patents are extremely expensive to obtain and maintain and I can't imagine these designers are filing a patent for every shoe or piece of clothing they have ever made, are filing those patents in every country worldwide and then paying law firms to maintain those patents annually. That would be so expensive (and patent lawyers are some of the most expensive to hire) but maybe that is part of why the goods cost so much. Even if they could I can imagine that at some point they have to make a business decision on if it is worth the extra multi-millions a year of legal costs (on top of the cost of going to court to defend every shoe, shirt, suit) trying to prove claims (and prove that your design was not also 'inspired' by designers before you) to restrict the Maddens of the world.

I'll have to do lunch with some of my colleagues in the patent department and pick their brains.

I also found this case in which the US Supreme Court reversed a ruling in favor of the original clothing designer when Walmart had someone copy the design except for minor changes and sold it in their stores making billions.
http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/Wal-Mart.htm

 

[leyla m.]

with you echoes!
when i had a little chat with the people at CL they seemed totally unphased but the world copying their shoes... so i am saying that they dont care much and as you said dont think its worth fighting over.

i am a MB customer and copies certainly wont stop me buying the real thing (the same thing applies to any brand i like whether the market is saturated with its counterfeits or not)

 

[Zarina]

Does anybody know how much money Manolo, Louboutin etc. loose because of copycats like Steve Madden, Oh Deer etc.? I just immagine that the reason why they aren't more eager to sue them is that they have quite different customers.

I mean if you are into the designer shoes, you can afford them and you are crazy about the high quality you would never buy the copies to save money. That is at least how I feel. If I have the choice between Manolo and Steve Madden, I chose of course Manolo. Do I have the choice between Steve Madden and no shoes because they are sold out or because I can't afford them, I chose no shoes.
People who buy copies often think it is insane to pay several hundred dollars for a pair of shoes, or they simply can't afford them.

 

[shoesexy]

---neimanmarcus.com

---bergdorfgoodman.com

 

[fashionispoison]

or some people just get steve maddens, guess, jessica simpson and such because they THINK those are 'designer'

 

[legaldiva]

I'm not sure if such blatant copying is illegal, but it certainly seems immoral.