Trade Dress Infringement: Ivanka Trump Sued for Stepping on Aquazzura’s Toes
On June 21, 2016, Aquazzura Italia SRL (“Aquazzura”), an Italian shoe company, filed a complaint against Ivanka Trump, IT Collection LLC, Marc Fisher Holdings LLC, and M.B. Fisher LLC (collectively, the “Defendants”) for trade dress infringement, unfair competition, and deceptive practices. At the center of the complaint is Aquazzura’s Wild Thing shoe (see below), which “took the fashion world by storm.” Aquazzura asserts that the Wild Thing shoe is its most popular shoe and beloved among fashion bloggers, celebrities, and “it” girls such as Kendall Jenner and Solange Knowles. In its complaint, Aquazzura alleges that Defendants’ Hettie shoe (see below) “copied nearly every detail of Plaintiff’s well-known and coveted Wild Thing Shoe, from the shape and silhouette to the fringe covering the toes, to the tassel on the heel.”
To add insult to injury, Aquazzura further claims that this is not the first time that Defendants blatantly copies its designs. Apparently, Defendants copied Aquazzura’s Forever Marilyn and Belgravia shoes (see below).
As a result, Aquazzura is fighting back and is seeking an injunction and damages. In response to Aquazzura’s complaint, Ivanka Trump filed her answer on August 19, 2016, in which she denied the allegations set forth by Aquazzura. Although this action is relatively new, chances are that the parties will likely settle this outside of court because it is hard to deny that there are major similarities between both shoe brands. As they say, if the shoe fits …