It’s rare we put a time-tested brand on blast, but there was no way we could grant Levis a pardon. Yesterday our friends at The Shoe Game beat us to the punch, by reporting on Levis ripping off Supra’s infamous Skytop silhouette. After the heads up, we hit our local Footaction in town to dig a little more. It appears that Supra isn’t the only footwear company getting straight jacked.

Vans (Authentic) and Converse (Chuck Taylor) also fell victim to the denim brand’s copy-and-paste tactics. They must have some balls huh? Well the process isn’t that simple. The way these rip-offs work, is that an outside company, (in this case GMI USA) approaches a proven brand like Levi’s and offers to produce footwear for them at cheaper cost it would take the established company to do it themselves. The company that’s actually doing the cutting and sewing is then allowed to stamp the product with the reputable brand’s name, making it more likely for the shoe to move units. Sounds like a flawless plan right? Not really.

As you can see sometimes the cheaper way doesn’t always work out, especially because the consumer who’s familiar with the Skytop, or the Vans Authentic, can’t be outsmarted. Levis doesn’t take a total L though, to those out-of-the-loop these Greco’s at a measley $65 are a great get (but in no way are we saying you should buy these). To see the whole collection of knock-offs and their “inspirations” hit the jump.

Levi’s Greco, $65
looks like:

Supra Skytop

Levi’s Greco
looks like:

Supra Skytop

well, we can always wow them with attention to detail, I mean, this is a quality brand here!:
Levi’s Greco (The purple Skytops aren’t out yet. Photos were under wraps, but apparently not the samples!)

Levi’s Rylee, $39
looks like:

Vans Authentic

Vans Authentic

Levi’s Rylee
Looks like:

Vans Authentic

Levi’s Chuck Taylor?
looks like:

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star

Posted under Spot the Ripoff