August 2008

I’m on a total shoe craze right now, that’s why I’m posting shoes the whole time. Today’s post is about Steve Madden stealing “being inspired” by one of the big names in the fashion industry – Dior that is.

The Dior Extreme Cutout Sandals were Carrie’s favorite shoes in the Sex and the City movie and immediately sold out after millions of women (and men) watched them being worn by SJP various times throughout the movie. Everyone went crazy for the “It” shoe, me included.

I guess we do not need to discuss about the obvious similarity of Steve Madden‘s MADALYNN and Dior’s Gladiator Sandals.

The Dior heels retail for a hefty price of $780 whereas the copycat version from Steve Madden only costs about 1/7 of the original – $109.95.

But we aren’t finished here. Just when I thought Steve Madden could NOT be more obviously copying other people’s work, I found another pair on SteveMadden.com which is even more similar to the Dior heel than the MADALYNN. The shoe is called MADDIEE, comes in patent black as well as 3 other different colors/versions and also retails for $109.95. But take a look.

MADDIEE is almost a 1:1 copy of the original heel. I mean, Steve Madden is long known for creating knock-offs of well selling designer shoes, but this “designer inspiration” is more than blatant.

But wait, we’re still NOT finished. After doing some research I found even a third pair of Steve Madden shoes, MAXII, which also are similar to the Dior heels, but not half as classy as the designer’s original.

Steve Madden MAXII, $99.95

Turns out Steve Madden isn’t the only one who took some inspiration from the Dior Gladiator Sandal. Here are some more Dior knock-offs.

1. Bakers “Candice”

Bakers “Candice”, $64.99
(available in tan and black)

2. ASOS Leather Heavy Gladiator Sandals

ASOS Leather Heavy Gladiator Sandals, £55.00

3. Luichiny Women’s Mandy Sandal

Luichiny Women’s Mandy Sandal
(Currently out of stock)

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Question is – Would you buy a copycat version of a designer shoe you love? Even if it would mean you are supporting plagiarism? Not everyone is able or willing to fork out 800 bucks for a pair of shoes. It sure is quite tempting at least, isn’t it?

UPDATE: Found another Dior knock-off. Zunacci’s Extreme Gladiator Shoes. Look rather scary to me.

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