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Louboutin, YSL take the red sole to court

Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent have officially taken their red soles to court.

After months of spewing statements back and forth, Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent have officially taken their red soles to court.

On Friday, Louboutin and YSL lawyers Harley Lewin and David Bernstein stood before New York Southern District Judge Victor Marrero with dozens of shoes in hand.

Lewin, nursing a red-soled stiletto, delivered the following statement. "This is a genuine Louboutin, your honor, with its sparkling red sole." He then asked Marrero to issue a preliminary injunction preventing YSL from creating additional high-heeled, red-soled shoes.

In response, YSL lawyer David Bernstein told Marrero that his company has been using red soles for decades, and that such usage has done anything but harm the Louboutin brand.

Louboutin said in his lawsuit that all of his shoes have red soles. In fact, since Louboutin opened his first boutique in 1991, the red-lacquered sole has become a universal symbol of power, influence and fame amongst women.

In April, Louboutin filed a $1 million trademark infringement suit against Yves Saint Laurent and its use of the red sole on its Palais 105 platform pumps. The subsequent legal interaction between the two fashion rivals has been anything but glamorous. In fact, it's been mildly amusing.

Even Judge Marrero, who reportedly found the number of shoes both legal teams brought before him entertaining, did not rule on the injunction. In fact, according to WWD, after making the announcement that he would need more time to review the case, Marrero paused to gawk at the sea of red designer shoes both parties had brought into the courtroom. "Nice shoes," he said, and he walked out.

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