Balenciaga sues Steve Madden over the “Lego” shoe

After being sued by Alexander McQueen this fall for copyright infringement, Steve Madden is looking at another lawsuit, this time from Balenciaga. The house alleges that Madden copied the now famous Lego-inspired shoe from Balenciaga’s Fall 2007 collection. Madden’s pair sold for US$99.95 to the French brand’s US$4,175.

The news lead National Post columnist Nathalie Atkinson to point out on her Twitter feed that Balenciaga has had some looks in recent seasons that bear suspicious resemblance to the work of other designers. There was the Spring 2010 resort collection, which featured a pieced leather jacket that looked a great deal like the “Parrot” jacket from ’70s/’80s-era label East West Musical Instruments. The Spring 2010 collection had a vertically-striped sleeveless tee that, as you can see by the photos below, resembles more than a little bit, a shirt from Raf Simons’ Spring 2007 show.

What do you think? Do you agree with the Balenciaga lawsuit? Does their own apparent copying ruin their credibility? Tell us in the comments.

Balenciaga Sues Steve Madden [The Cut]
Balenciaga Rips Off San Francisco Designer [Jezebel]
Paris: Tee For Two [NYTimes]
Nathalie Atkinson Twitter [@NathAt]

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