[/media-credit]That's Betty Catroux on the left. You can't see her shoes, but they are scandalous.
Our intrepid society editor, Joanne Davidson, covered the heck out of last Friday’s Yves Saint Laurent: The Retrospective gala at the Denver Art Museum.
But one choice nibble in her boldface-name roundup of the party of the season was this: “Betty Catroux … wore a YSL tuxedo, and museum floors being what they are, she wisely opted for tennis shoes over stilettos. But not just any tennis shoes. Hers were beaded Louboutins, given to her by Christian Louboutin himself.”
Here’s why this is intriguing:
Yves Saint Laurent died in 2008, but for decades, Betty Catroux was his primary muse. Christian Louboutin, on the other hand, has for many years been YSL’s adversary.
Christian Louboutin and YSL (the corporation) have been locked in a fierce copyright battle for years – Louboutin tried to file a trademark claim against YSL to keep YSL from making shoes with red lacquer soles — considered a hallmark characteristic of Louboutin’s brand.
Louboutin’s attempt to lock up red lacquer soles may have backfired. The most recent decision by Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District Court of New York found in favor of YSL, saying that the trademark for lacquered red soles is “overly broad” and unlikely to be considered “protectable.” This means that, for the moment at least, it’s open season for anyone — not just YSL and Louboutin — to create shoes with red lacquered soles.
Legal minds are coming down on YSL’s side.
[/media-credit]The look that's tearing the fashion world apart.
But M. Louboutin hasn’t given up the fight; as recently as early last month, he accused YSL’s holding company PPR (formerly Pinault-Printemps-Redoute) of “plagiarism.”
Was Mme. Catroux offering an olive branch to Louboutin? Was she fanning the flames of controversy? Or, given her assertion that the shoes were given to her by Louboutin himself, was there something even deeper afoot?
Tongues are wagging.
