MANHATTAN — French shoe maker Christian Louboutin is seeing red.
The designer was in Manhattan's Federal Appeals Court Tuesday in an effort to stop rival Yves St. Laurent and "other copyists" from using his trademark red-soles, the New York Post reported.
The three-judge panel, however, reserved decision in the case, said the New York Daily News.
Louboutin fans turned up at court to show support. Among them was famed fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.
"I thought it was very interesting," she said after court, according to the News.
Louboutin's legal team said the red soles are no different than other products defined by their color.
But a judge in August shot down that argument, saying a color couldn't be trademarked.
"In the fashion industry, color serves ornamental and aesthetic functions vital to robust competition," said Manhattan federal Judge Victor Marrero, according to the Post.
But on Tuesday, Harley Lewin, Louboutin's attorney, said it went beyond a single hue.
"We don't claim basic red," he said, according to the Post. He added that it was "a particular color, in a particular place, on a particular item," that the company wanted to protect.
After the hearing, Louboutin, who launched his the red sole in 1992, tried not to put his foot in his mouth.
"I cannot speak about this now," he said outside court, reported the Post.
