Louis Vuitton Leather

[glockanator]

I have a request to do a holster with some fake LV leather. Problem is I can't find any "fake" LV print leather. Anyone know a source?

[dirtclod]

Would you want somebody to rip off your trademark or design ? IMO that's what you will be doing if you find the leather and do it. I'd tell em no way !!

Edited February 1, 2013 by dirtclod

[Beaverslayer]

You will not find any reputable tannery or leather supply company that is even going to stock or have access to Louis Vuitton embossed leather. It would infringe GREATLY on Trademark and Copyright Laws in ANY Country.

I've been asked a number of times if I could tool such logos as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Coach and a few others and have always declined explaining I don't do "Knock Offs.

[mikesmith648]

[billymac814]

I have to disagree. He's not being asked to make a fake LV. He's being asked to use part of an LV bag in a holster. I personally think its a pretty cool idea and I've always wanted to get a trashed LV bag to use as accent pieces on certain things.

My only real problem would be using a fake one to begin with however I can understand the cost saving aspect of it and god knows there's enough fake purses out there that you could find as a donor.

This is no different than repurposing something and done well it can be a pretty interesting piece.

If he was asked to make a purse or wallet using LV material then that would be a whole new ballgame and I wouldn't agree to it.

I believe the material you're looking for is more of a canvas though. I'd find a used bag or buy a knockoff and have at it.

[Feraud]

The typical LV bags you see

(that cost a whole heck of a lot of money)

are indeed painted material. They do leather bags but I think the OP is referring to the frequently seen logo style.

[Beaverslayer]

Billy, an interesting point you bring up regarding "re-purposing". If someone where to take an old Louis Vuitton purse and cut it all up, but then resew it together as a different purse, then market and sell them as "Re-Purposed", would this still not fall under some sort of Trademark infringement?

As to the holster that this customer wants made, using either "Fake" or "re-purposed" Louis Vuitton material, I would think the same would apply as well. If Louis Vuitton saw a holster with their logo emblazoned all over it I believe they would have reasonable grounds for a lawsuit. You would still be "Representing" to the general public that this is a Louis Vuitton holster.

I agree, it would be a cool looking holster, but I still would not take on the job for the reasons I've said before. The re-purposing is a very interesting question though, I'm thinking I'll do a bit of research on this.

[dirtclod]

Billy Mac he said he wants to buy fake LV leather. I highly doubt anybody on here would be very happy if somebody had a makers stamp made just like theirs, then have the other person make holsters, belts, saddles or what ever using their makers mark. My guess is folks would be HIGHLY PO !!! I know i would be i've spent 20 plus years trying to get my brand built up making quality products. Using fake leather with a fake logo is no different. I do think that most of the time their selling over priced stuff that they had no hand in making outside of coming up with the design and i bet a lot of the designs are from somebody that works for them. It's just i like i tell people all the time if you can get enough people to say your the best at what ever your making pretty soon you are. Even if your stuff is junk !!! In their mind they have a what ever brand and it's the best because ever body says it's the best. It's just like the time i had a guy come by my shop asking me to repair his billfold. I looked at it told him it was made of plastic and it was. He swelled up like a toad and told me it was some big name designers billfold brand and that it cost 500.00 . Might of been all of that but it was still made out of plastic.

Edited February 1, 2013 by dirtclod

[billymac814]

I don't really agree with using a fake one as that defeats the purpose in my eyes.

I wouldn't be calling it a LV holster at all, I also would not cut up a purse to make another purse though as there's no reason too and that idea seems shady and that would probably border on trademark infingment. I don't think LV would have a leg to stand on in any type of trademark infringement if you're not marketing it as a product made by LV. They would be much better off going after the hundreds of companies trying to pass of vinyl garbage as authentic LV. You're simply using thier material for whatever reason.

This is far different than ripping off someone else's "brand" if for some reason I made things that had MCL stamped all over them and one of my items reached the end of its usuable life and someone with some creativity used that material to make something else completely different I would not have a problem with that at all. If they were trying to copy what I've made and sell it as my own it would be a whole other story.

This isn't exactly an original idea either, I've seen Nike shoes with an LV swoosh and some other items that used the LV monogrammed canvas. Its done because they love LV and they are free to do whatever they want with the purse they just paid a thousand bucks for.

If you can't pull it off and it looks cheesy then I wouldn't do it. I for one would not have a problems doing say an LV inlay or overlay on a holster. It would clearly be a "McCabe's Custom Leather" holster though. I would not do a wallet, purse or anything else that could pass for an LV items.

I work on a fair amount of LV items and they are very high quality, overpriced??? Maybe a little but they spend a great deal of time and care making sure everything is perfect even down to the same amount of stitches and they are all perfectly spaced. That quality doesn't come cheap. I also see my share of fakes and slot of my customers claim they are real and I know within 2 seconds its not, half of the time the handles are not even leather.

If it were me I would agree to do it but only with a real one, it'll be expensive even buying a pretty worn used one but I'd probably hold my ground there. We can agree to disagree if you wouldn't take the job but if its done with tact its not trashing anyone's brand, in fact its glorifying it in some degree. And remember you'll need a leather backer as that monogrammed canvas isn't suitable for a holster.

Edited February 1, 2013 by billymac814

[billymac814]

It's just like the time i had a guy come by my shop asking me to repair his billfold. I looked at it told him it was made of plastic and it was. He swelled up like a toad and told me it was some big name designers billfold brand and that it cost 500.00 . Might of been all of that but it was still made out of plastic.

I find that most people either lie or don't know when they have something that's real or fake. I see so many fake Coach, Gucci, Prada come in my shop that are about the same quality as a purse that came from the dollar store and the customer will tell me its real. Sometimes I'll tell them its not real if I think they will try to pull something over on me and expect me to replace it, other times I say nothing and let them believe what they want.

One kinda trashy girl was in a whole ago with a fake Coach bag and made a point to tell me its real, it needed the vinyl handle loop repaired, I told her it wasn't real and if it was she wouldn't be here right now, her response was "Well I still like it" it was not a suprise to her at all which means she totally knew it was fake but thought??? I have no clue what she thought but she was a liar and I still have the damn thing because she never picked it up. Luckily all fake bag repairs get paid in advance because I can't and won't sell them if they abandon them.