What About Yves?

Yves Saint Laurent has filed a lawsuit against  What About Yves founder Jeanine Heller. According to The Fashion Law, the suit was filed last week through Luxury Goods International (LGI), the company that owns YSL's intellectual property rights, in the Southern District of New York court. It cites claims of infringement, trademark dilution, false designation of origin and unfair competition all with regards to the parody streetwear label's "Ain't Laurent Without Yves" design.

In its lawsuit, LGI says that it filed to register the new shortened Saint Laurent name with the US Patent and Trademark Office following the appointment of Hedi Slimane at the house in 2012, but that these applications were still pending.Slimane´s decision at the time to shorten the name caused much furore both in and out of the fashion industry, deemed by some to be disrespectful. Its use also came with a stringent set of rules depending on context. Since, however, the use of the new trademark has become widely known and is in common use by consumers.

Heller began to sell her "Ain't Laurent Without Yves" slogan T-shirts in January 2013, going on to file their registration with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in April 2013 - despite having already been put on notice of their infringing nature. Noting the marks between the two to be too similar, the USPTO challenged Heller.

The T-shirts allegedly continued to be sold by Heller following letters sent by YSL on the matter, which went unanswered - though Heller eventually offered to sell the house her trademark. She is being asked to immediately cease the sales and pay damages for trademark violations. The design is, however, popular with the street style set, seen as a humorous fashion nod.

This is not the first time that Heller has found herself in hot fashion water - a similar thing happened with a design that riffed on the Chanel CC logo last year.