MOCK THE MONOGRAM?

Mock the Monogram, argues fashionUK. The site berates the ubiquity of the Louis Vuitton logo, present on every celebrity’s luggage, and proposes two solutions. For the more affluent it suggests doing one’s own thing and purchasing high-quality luggage made by an indigenous UK firm, rather than the usual LV-patterned cases. Alternatively, it promotes the wares of Red Dot, which sells clothing spoofing the Louis Vuitton logo (in fact, its entire Autumn/Winter Catalogue is comprised of Star Wars and Gold’s Gym spoofs).

The IPKat opines that a degree of public backlash is often the price paid by a highly successful brand. It may be counterproductive to take legal action against such spoofers, a course of action which will just draw attention to their activities. Anyway there’s a good argument for saying that, once a mark becomes a cultural icon, the public should be given a degree of latitude in the use it is allowed to make of it for free speech purposes.

Who was Louis Vuitton? Biographical data here and here
Expensive British luggage here and here
Some other controversial cultural icons: Barbie, Betty Crocker, Frank Sinatra and Mickey Mouse