Shoe designer Charles Philip slaps the Gap

An up-and-coming designer of swanky slippers, favored by celebs including Jessica Alba and Rihanna, has filed a lawsuit accusing the Gap of ripping off his work. In papers in LA federal court, Charles Philip alleges the mass retailer copied his distinctive designs and even used a similar name for its shoes, which sell for 80 percent less. “It’s more than [just] one shoe . . . it’s the entire collection,” Philip’s lawyer Andrea E. Bates told us. “This is what you’d expect to find on Canal Street.” The court documents accuse the Gap of copying brand Charles Philip Shanghai’s trademark of a “distinctive striped design on the inside of a shoe.” The claim says the Gap’s versions even had a similar name (two L’s instead of one). “The defendant’s loafers contained a stamp . . . identifying the loafers as ‘Phillip Moccasin Slipper’ and ‘Phillip Slipper,’ ” the papers allege, adding the Gap “has caused or is likely to cause consumer confusion.” Bates says that because Gap is known for collaborating with hot designers like Phillip Lim and Michael Bastian, the Gap slippers could make shoppers think her client has a partnership with the chain. “It’s upsetting for me,” says Philip, whose shoes are sold at Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and Bloomingdale’s. “They’re using the same stripes, the same colors, the same kind of name. But we have a lot of attention to detail. They sell the shoes without [that].” Bates says the legal complaint asks the Gap to “cease manufacturing and selling” the shoes plus fork over compensation. Gap spokeswoman, Edie Kissko, told us, “We do not comment on pending litigation.”