Adventures in Copyright

Adventures in Copyright: Laced Up To Here

ann d free people sandals.jpgAnn Demeulemeester’s lace-up sandal booties are the shoe of the summer.

During the resort shows, we spotted three different Vogue editors in the brown and others in black, Sea of Shoes is obsessed and given our neighborhood we see an inordinate amount of models on a daily basis and wearing only these of late.

But we never really expected it to translate to the masses, it’s a Fashion with a capital “F” shoe which isn’t snobby, just fact - like a Balmain shoulder or a Chris Kane gorilla dress - that probably won’t rein in big bucks on Broadway.

Though Urban Outfitters’ Free People is taking a chance anyway. A reader sent in this link to their $198 copy. Pretty ballsy considering the Ann D’s were on sale for just over $300 a few weeks ago.

Comments

1

posted by fashionursta

Jul 16, 2009 10:02AM

I think they're by Jeffrey Campbell, who knocks off everyone.

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2

posted by guest

Jul 16, 2009 10:08AM

yeah, i've seen them around or some other knock off. they have silver grommets. the originals have black grommets. silver looks weird.

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3

posted by guest

Jul 16, 2009 10:34AM

Is it a knock-off when it's been done a million times before? Look through your fashion history books-- everything's a freaking knock-off. Bill Cunningham used to do a great series in the old Details magazine about this.

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4

posted by guest

Jul 16, 2009 10:34AM

yeah, those are actually jeffery campbell though - i think free people just sells them, along with a bunch of other places

5

posted by Britt Aboutaleb

Jul 16, 2009 11:17AM

the Free People site says they're exclusive to Free People's store and website...though it's not the point

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6

posted by guest

Jul 16, 2009 11:40AM

Barneys did a markdown to around $300 but they all ended up on eff-bay for $1200.

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7

posted by Eli

Jul 16, 2009 12:07PM

I think they're Free People designed by Jeffrey Campbell so it's the same thing anyway. I think they're cool, but not for freaking two hundred dollars! The word is the same thing is going to happen to those sam edelman balenciaga boots, re released but for way much more money.

8

posted by Peter

Jul 16, 2009 3:04PM

It definitely looks like a knockoff but the design does really jive with the fugly-cool aesthetic that Urban peddles.

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9

posted by guest

Jul 16, 2009 4:51PM

Wow. That's just haneous.

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10

posted by guest

Jul 16, 2009 5:05PM

My coworker paid good, hard-earned money for those originals. Sucks that they were knocked off like that. Also, I have never seen these shoes before (guest #3). Inspired, perhaps. They're basically like a doc martin boot with the tongue ripped out and extra heel heighth. I LOVE them. The right kinda wrong.

11

posted by fashionursta

Jul 17, 2009 3:16PM

I have the Anns, and although they were ridiculously expensive, and I do work hard for my money, there is no comparison between the two. All you have to do is just wear the Anns and you will feel the quality and the comfort. The shoes are engineered to support the foot properly. (I learned this from a friend who is studying shoe design at Cordwainers College in London.) I have several of her footwear designs from over the years, and they wear like iron and will last forever. I wore them all day yesterday (I live in Manhattan, with a lot of running around), and my feet held up. Buy the knockoff if you want the look, but if you want comfort, get the real thing.

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12

posted by guest

Jul 17, 2009 11:10PM

Free People is actually a free-standing store? Not only part of UO.

And uhm...I'm pretty sure something can't be a 'knock-off' of something else when the first thing was a knock-off to begin with! You cannot tell me that Ann whoever was the first person to make shoes like that.


13

posted by grammyweezy

Jul 18, 2009 3:39PM

woah woah woah. i actually am not crazy about this shoe, but i can't stand for a great designer being called "Ann whoever". It's Demeulemeester no. 12. Ann Demeulemeester.

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14

posted by guest

Jul 19, 2009 5:50PM

haha #12, find me the original then.

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