No More Vuitton Straps For Dave Navarro

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 21st 2008 at 9:03AM

A couple of years ago when I saw guitarist Dave Navarro play in some small clubs with the Panic Channel I noticed his Louis Vuitton guitar strap. For years it's been as much a part of Dave's act as his penchant for nail polish and taking his shirt off. But now, as Dave says on his blog 6767, it looks like it's the end of an era. He has received a rather stern letter from the Vuitton legal team saying in part that: "We have no doubt that this copying has been willful and is intended to trade upon the fame and cachet of the LV Trademarks to elevate the status of the infringing Guitar Strap, and of Jane's Addiction."

Vuitton has been positively militant about brand protection the last few years, suing a dog toy company for their mock "Chewy Vuiton" dog toys and taking on Britney Spears for using a a pink Vuitton-upholstered dashboard in a music video. Apparently Spears and Navarro don't project the sort of image that Vuitton wants for their brand. It seems to me that these sort of moves work against a brand that has experienced a tremendous financial benefit by being seen on the arms of all sorts of Hollywood types and thereby becoming objects of desire for the masses.

[via Idolator]

Tags: dave navarro, louis vuitton, LouisVuitton