Vans and MSCHF Settle in Lawsuit Over 'Wavy Baby' Sneakers

What a year it’s been for MSCHF. After breaking the internet with their Big Red Boots back in February, the marketing machine has continued to make headlines with their most controversial creations. Among them is the ‘Wavy Baby’ sneaker – a shoe that basically looks like a warped version of the Vans Old Skool and that has managed to keep the brand in hot water ever since it dropped.

Needless to say, given the visual differences, Vans weren’t best pleased with MSCHF’s creation, which resulted in the Californian skate brand suing MSCHF last year. The district judge ruled in Vans’ favour to block sales of the shoes, but MSCHF then appealed this. The case subsequently went through the U.S. Appeal Court earlier this week, and the decision was upheld. The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals confirmed that the MSCHF ‘Wavy Baby’ was likely to confuse customers, and that the collective was not entitled to constitutional protections that can apply to works of art in trademark cases. The court said that the First Amendment didn’t apply because MSCHF was using Vans’ trademarks as trademarks to ‘brand their own products’.

This isn’t the only time the shoe has caused confusion. Earlier this year, MSCHF were sued by the brand Wavey Baby over the product’s name.

In other news, here are the other sneaker lawsuits that have made headlines this year.