Steve Madden is drawing the line at inspiration vs. imitation. The footwear empire founder and shoe designer was recently asked about his company’s long history of designer “knockoffs,” and his response was lofty.
When asked “What do you say to folks who say that Steve Madden is a knockoff brand?,” by “The Cutting Room Floor” host Recho Omondi, Madden replied, “It’s like calling the Beatles a knockoff band because they would take a little bit from Motown, and a little bit from Elvis. We design tons of shoes, but there’s been the odd little shoe that I’ve nicked here and there.”
To wit, Madden is currently engaged in a lawsuit against Adidas in an effort to stop the athletic company from its alleged efforts to “monopolize common design features in the fashion industry,” specifically with its Three-Stripe mark. “Since as early as 2002, Adidas has commenced a pattern of complaining that Steve Madden’s footwear allegedly infringes its Three-Stripe mark,” the lawsuit states.
To take the conversation one step further, Madden was then shown photos of shoes and asked who the originator is. First up were Alaïa’s Fishnet Ballerina Flats, which he correctly guessed. “Do you think that some of my girls even know who Alaïa is?,” he asked in reply.
Steve Madden’s Alaïa’s Fishnet Ballerina Flats.
The next pair of shoes shown to footwear mogul were flat Steve Madden sandals with a brown “H” bridge that bring to mind Hermès’ Oran sandals. “I have made so many of these shoes,” he said, adding, “Obviously we know who it is. This is one of the greatest shoes in the world. We changed it a little bit.”
Steve Madden’s Hermes-inspired sandals.
When asked who the originator is, he replied, “It’s Hermès.”
The third pair of shoes Madden answered to were a pair of nude ballet flats with a black cap toe. “C’mon,” Madden replied, adding, “I love those shoes. Those are inspired by Chanel.”
Steve Madden’s Chanel-inspired shoes.
After he was shown a pair of loafer-style flat mules with a gold horse bit across the bridge. “This is not a copy,” he said, adding, “We do a lot of versions of this shoe — many more than they do. Gucci, of course. We do our own versions of these shoes.”
Steve Madden’s Gucci-inspired mules.
He was then shown a pair of The Row’s jelly ballet flats, which he correctly guessed. “It’s a very cute shoe,” he said. “The shoe’s different. It’s not the same. I try not to do them exactly the same. We do get influenced, but a $700 plastic shoe — come on. Give me a break.”
Steve Madden’s The Row-inspired shoes.
Lastly he was shown a pair of Steve Madden pointed-toe slingback kitten heels consisting of a three-buckle bridge and replies, “I really don’t know.” When he’s suggested the inspiration is Miu Miu, Madden replies, “Is that Miu Miu? What a great brand Miu Miu is.”
Steve Madden’s Miu Miu-inspired shoes.
While Madden’s shoes are a far drop from the price of the designer labels he’s copped to taking inspiration from, Steve Madden’s price tag will be rising due to the looming tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump. “Shoes are going up. You can thank your government for that,” Madden said, referencing Trump’s administration.
“They fundamentally do not understand what they’re doing,” Madden continued. “The notion is we’ve lost jobs to China, and we have. But we’ve picked up other jobs that we would not have had — better jobs, many better jobs — as a result of our relationship with China. Many more than we would have if they were in a factory making socks. The iPhone being made in China — the success that that has created — there’s probably hundreds of thousands of people working for Apple in America as a result of them making those phones in China, that they would not have had. They’d be in a fucking factory. They’d be a third of the workforce. So we have new jobs. Millions of new jobs in America that are created. It’s the upwardly mobile nature of a society that doesn’t want to work in a factory making fucking socks. Hello? No. And, at the same time, they’re deporting the people that would fucking do it anyway.”
Madden also lamented that the Trump administration is “destroying” the economy built by manufacturers such as himself, Apple, and Ralph Lauren. “There’s a lot of rich people that made money that didn’t build anything,” he explained. “But they made money trading stocks and and bonds and buildings. Okay. Not hating. But they never made anything. They never created a business. They never had to ship a shoe out or punch a card. They don’t know what it’s like and that’s the problem. And we are the people that create commerce: the Apples, the Steve Maddens, the Uggs, the Ralph Laurens. We create the economy, and they’re destroying it.”
Madden was also asked about his time in prison, and whether or not he’s aware that he “has a lot of street cred within the Black community,” to which he replied, “Yes, I promise I won’t say something cringey. I spent a lot of time with young African-Americans in prison —mostly Black and Spanish… the prison that I was in was 10 percent white collar [crime]… it was mostly drug dealers.”
The designer, who served two-and-a-half years in prison for securities fraud and money laundering, reflected on his time in prison, sharing, “It was as awful as you can imagine. You’re away from your loved ones. The food is awful and you sleep on cots with very little mattresses and you live with other men, treated like shit. No medicine. That’s why we pound it out. We don’t shake hands. I made a lot of friends — I have some of them working for me.”
When asked if people “romanticize” part of his life story or business that he doesn’t “actually think is romantic,” Madden replied. “People think my life is interesting because of prison, because of my success. I started a company with one shoe and now its a multibillion dollar company. That would probably be the answer.”
Madden also offered a peek behind the curtain at his success, sharing, “The ups and downs, the disappointments, people being left behind — not going along for the entrepreneurial ride — it was hard work. It wasn’t romantic. It was showing up. All that corny shit. Keep going. Do the next thing. And exposure to opportunity. I think I’m average intelligence. I think most people I meet are just as smart as me. Maybe smarter. But the ability to recognize that the luck window has just opened and to go full blast jumping through that window and exploit an opportunity — that’s what makes people successful. Because, you know, a lot of success is luck. When I say luck it’s not like you can be dopey. But sometimes you get a bounce on the ball: an opportunity comes your way.”