The rise in popularity for bootleg sneaker designer Warren Lotus has been a bizarre phenomenon in sneaker culture. Fake sneakers, once a cardinal sin, have suddenly become a hot commodity as a wave of designers including Lotus have recreated iconic shoes with slight alterations.
Some see it as a nod to the most beloved silhouettes of all time and as a suitable alternative to market that gives few the chance to purchase the real thing. Others still see it as an affront to sneaker culture, a mere makeover to an unacceptable practice. Nike, we now know, sees it as illegal.
The Swoosh has filed suit —
Nike has filed a lawsuit against Lotas in response to his collaboration with Jeff Staple. The two partners recreated the iconic SB Dunk "Pigeon" almost to a tee, the only real difference being a Swoosh transformed with Jason Voorhees' mask from the Halloween horror franchise. Available to pre-order for just 15 minutes at a price of $300, the custom kicks/bootlegs were a hot enough commodity to draw Nike's ire.
The sportswear giant is claiming "trademark and anti-dilution" in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in a California federal court, The Fashion Law reports. Nike asserts it right in the suit to protect "its iconic sneaker designs, and its intellectual property in those designs, by rooting-out bad actors that undermine the DNA of sneaker culture by promoting and selling fakes." The suit goes on to call Lotas one of those bad actors by "currently promoting and selling fakes of coveted Nike Dunks."
Staple, who owns the rights to the Pigeon logo that appeared on both the original and Lotus-designed kicks, is not named in the suit.
This story is developing and will be updated with new information.
