Is Christian Louboutin Being a Red-Bottom Bully?

Shoe designer Christian Louboutin is fighting mad. How dare another designer color the soles of his shoes red! His outrage is undeniable. And as a result, the French shoe king is seeking a court order to stop Christian Dior from manufacturing a similar crimson-bottomed shoe.

Now this is the part where you're wondering how a topic like this makes "news." Yes, there are hungry people in the world. Clusters of tragedies befall our communities at every turn. Indeed, there are more important things to address other than high heels with red soles. But for Christian Louboutin, this issue is a dire emergency.

According to the court order, too many red-bottoms on the streets means that Louboutin's "good will, market prominence and fame will be destroyed." To that end, it would probably be imperative to deal with all the counterfeiters looking to cash in on the crimson craze. After all, those "Gucchi" bags and "Louis Vutton" totes you buy in Manhattan's back alleys aren't exactly handmade originals. Will the shoe police suddenly patrol the streets searching for faux red soles?

And what about the women who painstakingly paint their shoes with Maybelline Cherry Rain nail polish, in the hopes of achieving that Louboutin look? Will they be punished as well?

We might assume that the red-soled shoe becomes less special if more than one designer picks up on the trend. If Christian's argument is correct, then the look so coveted by millions of women is less significant if it can be seen virtually anywhere.

It's possible this could mean that other fashion houses will reproduce shoe bottoms of varying shades of red. Could this be the loophole that saves Yves Saint Laurent from financial ruin? YSL's fire engine red might sell faster than Christian Dior's tomato-red soles. And by the time Steve Madden gets in on the trend with his vampire-red line of pumps, Christian Louboutin will have begun marketing authentic platinum encrusted hologram-soled shoes. You see where we're going with this.

Louboutin's successful attempts to "own a color" just might lead to other strange litigation. Some other shoe designer may try to trademark the entire color of yellow. It all boils down to the fact the Christian doesn't want his shoes to become lost in a sea of copycats; if women can get "red-bottoms" anywhere, they won't want to buy Louboutin's. Ironically, it is probably those who can actually afford his shoes who won't care whether another designer copies Christian's color.

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