New mom Ivanka Trump may seem to have it all- and a daddy that hands her a role on primetime TV and bankrolls her design business- but the spawn of the Donald has been served with a cease-and-desist letter after designer Derek Lam alleged her footwear company blatantly ripped-off one of his line’s designs.
Trump doesn’t design the footwear that bears her name herself- the items are licensed and sold under her name, as is common with celebrity lines. But one of her wedge designs, the “Cadie” sandal, bears a very striking resemblance to Lam’s “Ayami” model. (See above.) In the letter, Lam’s company acknowledges that inspired-by designs are not dreadfully uncommon in the industry, but notes that Trump’s version is basically an exact copy.
Derek Lam CEO Jan-Hendrik Schlottmann spoke to fashion trade mag Women’s Wear Daily, explaining that a designer for Derek Lam spotted Trump’s copy on the Bloomingdale’s website, forcing the company to speak up :
“We have seen very similar copies before but we have never seen a shoe that perfectly copied. It’s such an investment to make a shoe. … We had to protest this… I’m sure Ms. Trump doesn’t know her wedge is copy because it’s through a license.”
Marc Fisher Footwear, the company that distributed the design, denied that the shoe was copied directly:
“The Lam wedge sandals are of a popular design type that has been used by numerous manufacturers for many decades. There is nothing iconic about the appearance of the Lam sandal.”
Do you think Ivanka’s version is too close to the original?
[Image: Fashionista]
