Levi Strauss has filed a complaint against luxury Italian fashion label, Brunello Cucinelli accusing it of infringing its trademarked rectangular tab. According to Levi, the offending tab will confuse customers and will cause “incalculable and irreparable damage” to its goodwill and reputation. 

Brunello Cucinelli stepped out of the luxurious shadows of its super rich customers and into the spotlight when the ‘quiet luxury’ trend took off back in 2022. Fueled in part by TV show Succession, the shift towards understated elegance was a boon for companies like Brunello Cucinelli and Loro Piano who specialize in the kind of anemic, beige cashmere clothing associated with the trend. 

In support of its complaint, filed in San Francisco federal court, Levi provided 14 photos of Brunello Cucinelli clothing containing “nearly identical” copies of its tab, which Levis had trademarked all the way back in 1938. Although the denim brand is most commonly associated with a red tab, the company has produced jeans and clothing with tabs in a variety of other colours over the years. The tabs which Brunello Cucinelli use appear to be a brownish, grey colour, in keeping with its overall aesthetic. Among the alleged infringing products, is a pair ‘denim baggy trousers with shiny tab,’ currently advertised for sale on the Brunello Cucinelli website. The jeans, bearing a remarkable similarity to the ones you found on the discount rail at Goodwill, currently retail for $1695.

It’s not the first time Levi Strauss has taken action against luxury fashion houses who it accuses of trademarking its tabs. Back in 2018, the company was labeled a “bully” by British luxury brand Barbour when it took legal action it takes to protect its tab. Both Yves Saint Laurent and Kenzo have also been sued by Levi for similar trademark violations in recent years. Both lawsuits ended in settlements. We suspect this will end in a similar manner.