Blatant Shoe Plagarism

I am about to get pretty scathing about a popular shoe brand that I have written about before.  I had previously noted similarities between a shoe designed by Salvatore Ferragamo and a shoe designed by Jeffrey Campbell.  I also have noted some things I love about Jeffrey Campbell.  But here is where things go sour.  While looking through shoes at Nasty Gal, many of which are Jeffrey Campbell, I started seeing some shoes that looked extremely familiar.  See for yourself below:

 Jeffrey Campbell Fruitbowl platform.

Charlotte Olympia fruit platform.

Jeffrey Campbell's cutout combat boot.

Balenciaga's cutout combat boot.

Jeffrey Campbell's western-inspired bootie.

Viktor & Rolf's western-inspired bootie.

Jeffrey Campbell's black wedge boot.

Alexander Wang's black wedge boot.

Jeffrey Campbell's brogue flatform.

Prada's "Creeper" brogue flatform.

So (hopefully) you have eyeballs and you see all the similarities that I see.  And I have a big problem with it.  This isn't an instance of two designers both designing a metallic heel.  This is a designer stealing another designer's unique ideas.  I will also note that every Jeffrey Campbell shoe was released after the other designer's version.  I will no longer buy or support Jeffrey Campbell shoes.  I believe that if you choose to become a designer of anything, you make your own designs.  

- Shannon

When Shannon Met... The Jeffrey Campbell 99

Jeffrey Campbell recently celebrated an important birthday.  The Lita Boot (seen here) turned one year-old.  The Lita has a huge following and it's impossible to scroll through lookbook.nu without seeing it, but my true JC love is the 99 wedge (seen below), which I own in black.

This shoe is the fucking best. It combines comfort, style and an enormous platform, which is all I ever want.  Especially the comfort! I can sit/stand/walk/shop/dance in these shoes for hours. The tall hidden wedge and platform, which look intimidating, are so wearable it's ridiculous.  
I think one of the most important things about Jeffrey Campbell is how affordable the shoes are.  While I've been known to drop a lot of money on a pair of shoes, I don't feel like you should always have to pay $350+ for a quality shoe.  Jeffrey Campbell is one of the only brands that offers a shoe that doesn't damage your feet, with materials that don't fall apart and don't cost as much as my rent. And they look awesome.  So, thank you Jeffrey Campbell.  You give me (and my bank account) hope that high fashion isn't reserved for the rich.  You rock.

- Shannon

Rainbows by Salvatore Ferragamo & Jeffrey Campbell

After previously writing a bit about Salvatore Ferragamo (see two posts ago!), I began looking up his old designs.  While admiring his beautiful creations, I noticed something weird.  A pair of famous platform shoes that he designed for Judy Garland in 1938 resembled a pair I had seen recently.

By Salvatore Ferragamo, c. 1938 

By Jeffrey Campbell, c. 2011

Hm.  I'm not sure how I feel about this. Is it a fashion moment of "What goes around comes around"? Is it a blatant ripoff? Is it a homage to the late shoe genius?  Either way, it makes me uncomfortable, although I love both designers.  If you've got an opinion, let me know in the comments section. I'd love to hear someone else's take on this.

- Shannon