In an insightful article, our friends over at Highsnobiety weighed in on the whether "counterfeits are good for fashion?" Among other points, the author makes the argument that: "what legitimate manufacturers often refuse to acknowledge is that counterfeiting actually provides them with free advertising...not only that, but it’s free advertising via peer endorsement, which, [the author argues] is far more effective than a piece of advertorial or a pop-up ad because it slips by our resistance to marketing."

United States - Valentino is currently suing Steve Madden for copyright infringement of handbag and strap design. Valentino filed the lawsuit in Georgia federal court on Friday. In the complaint, it alleges Steve Madden has copied its "double purse design" comprised of “a two-dimensional design that it applied to a handbag."