McQueen Sues Madden Over “Faithful” Infringement

Remember that Punky Brewster when she was dating two boys at once, and just when she grew smug over her extreme stealth, they busted her at the movie theater?  That's how Steve Madden must have felt the other day, when Alexander McQueen sued over design infringement of his "Faithful" bootie, right down to the zipper pull. 

The McQueen bootie in question debuted in January, and is essentially a super-hot version of a motorcycle jacket in the form of a peep-toe bootie, with a side zipper opening and silver button stud detailing and a stiletto heel.  The suit, filed October 1, alleges (and we've been shopping Steve Madden for years, and would venture it's a strongly founded allegation) that Madden's take on the shoe copies every design element save the McQueen trademarked logo at the end of the zipper pull.  The documents even go so far to assign a motive for Madden's copycat designs, and let's just say it involves the likes of Mary-Kate Olsen and Rihanna, obvi.  Madden's people had no comment. 

Knock-offs have become a ubiquitous aspect of the fashion industry, so it'll be interesting to see how this pans out.

Contact Us