Over 20,000 pairs of illegal fake Louboutin shoes have been captured and confiscated by customs in Los Angeles over the past month.

The Los Angeles Times reports that between July 17 and August 14, specialists and officers from U.S customs and border import, discovered five shipments from China, with each style replicating Louboutin's trademark red sole. It is thought that the shoes were intended to be sold on one of the many fashion websites that sell counterfeit versions.

Jaime Ruiz, a spokesman for US Customs and Border Protection stated that the 20,457 pairs of shoes, all of which bared Louboutin's trademark red sole, (but didn’t have the designer’s signature on the sole), had an "estimated manufacturer's suggested retail price" of €14 million ($18 million).

The shoes, which are said to be "very good counterfeits", will most likely be destroyed.

And Louboutin isn’t the only high-profile name that has been targeted by counterfeiters for potential forgeries, as many other fashion houses regularly suffer from widespread counterfeiting. Earlier this year, Hermès and Burberry were both awarded £63 (€80million) in damages in separate cases against websites selling counterfeit goods which were illegally bearing their brands.

The french designer seems to be having a streak of bad luck with his signature red soles, as they have been the subject of much controversy over the past year .The designer is currently entangled in a high-profile lawsuit with fashion giant Yves Saint Laurent, who the designer claims have copied his designs, while just last month, he lost a court battle with high-street chain Zara over allegations it had replicated the soles leading to “deception” and “infringement” on his red soles which are trademarked.

Pictures courtesy of:

globalpost.com

vogue.com

elitedaily.com

britannica.com