Dear Fashion Police,

What do you think of the shoes Gisele Bundchen is wearing in the Versace Spring 2008 campaign. They have red soles so i assumed they were Christian Louboutin but I’ve been reading that they might be Versace? Do you think Versace would actually produce a shoe with a red sole? ~ Ivette

We’ve had a couple of questions about Versace’s Spring/Summer 08 ad campaign, featuring Gisele Bundchen, and some rather fabulous shoes, As beautiful as Gisele is, though, it’s the shoes that have been getting all the attention, but perhaps not for the reasons Versace imagined. No, the problem is that most people have been taking a look at those red soles (and probably the ruffle t-straps, too) and assuming that they’re by Christian Louboutin.

So, are they?

Well no, they’re not. Sure, they look like Louboutins, and even have the signature red sole, but if they were indeed designed by the great man, then Versace (and Louboutin, for that matter) are keeping quiet about it. The shoes appeared on the Versace catwalk back in September, and will be sold under the Versace label this spring (with the blue ones also available in orange and gold).

All of that said, it does seem odd to me that Versace would use the red soles like this, given that they’re so intrinsically linked to Christian Louboutin, and that his is the first name that pops into your head when you look at these pictures.  It seems short sighted of Versace to create an advertising campaign that instantly makes people think of Christian Louboutin, especially in the two pictures above, in which the shoes are the focus of the images.

To answer Ivette’s question, though: yes, they probably would use a red sole on their shoes: it’s something that a lot of designers have been doing recently, much to Mr. Louboutin’s chagrin.

I, for one, however, am convinced that the shoes in the ad campaign are Versace’s own – although I will happily stand corrected if anyone out there has evidence to the contrary!

What do you think?