Stella McCartney Wants You to Spend Thousands on Her Bag, Not $108 on Steve Madden’s Knockoff

Stella McCartney’s Falabella tote bag in black on the left, Steve Madden’s BTotally bag, which is currently on sale for $49.99 at Off Saks 5th, on the right.

Since Stella McCartney’s Falabella bag was introduced, it’s been purchased by nearly every woman with a few thousand dollars in disposable income. The faux-leather tote with gunmetal-colored hardware for the handle became a must-have, and therefore the laws of trickle-down fashion ruled that other companies had to copy it. One such retailer, Steve Madden, made a more affordable version at $108, as opposed to the starting price of $1,195 for a Stella McCartney original. Now, the rocker’s daughter is taking the shoepreneur to court for producing a “poorly made knock-off.”

Filed in New York’s district court on Tuesday, the lawsuit alleges that Steve Madden began importing and selling an almost virtually identical in appearance copy — albeit not as well made, the papers made clear — after McCartney obtained a design patent protection for her Falabella. McCartney’s lawyers are seeking an injunction to prevent Steve Madden from continuing its sale of the BTotally bag and is also seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

McCartney even name drops her famous celebrity friends in the court documents including Anne Hathaway, Kim Kardashian, Kate Hudson, Demi Lovato, Victoria Beckham, Fergie, and Jennifer Lopez, who all helped bring the bag to prominence and bring it “overwhelming media attention” since its launch in 2009.

Steve Madden, who Fashionista dubbed the “King of Creative Theft,” is a frequent subject in courtroom drama. A shoe from Balenciaga’s Fall 2007 collection was involved in a legal battle when Steve Madden “intentionally copied” the multicolor Lego heels. Madden also replicated a suede platform slingback from Miu Miu’s Spring 2010 collection and Sketchers recently accused the company of infringing on its patented Skechers Go Walk line.

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