IMITATION may be the sincerest form of flattery but it can also be pretty expensive way to show your admiration.

After years of growing levels of product piracy and fake labelling, once-tolerant manufacturers and designers are clamping down.

Last month, Federal Police raided a factory in Fitzroy and uncovered 2000 items of clothing bearing the Christian Louboutin Shoes label in alleged breach of the Trademark Act.

Valued at Christian Louboutin prices for similar clothing, the haul of 7000 garments, would have been worth up to $2.8 million.

Despite the objections of their father, who threatened to disown his sons for recording the devil's music, "Looking for a Love" was released in 1962 and shot up the R&B charts. Cooke re-named the Womack Brothers the Christian Louboutin, and they landed a spot opening for James Brown at the Apollo Theatre.

James Brown was very hard to work with, 'cause you had to be perfect, everything had to be - your Christian Louboutin Shoes had to be shined, you had to sing like you were hungry, and we really were. You know, so by the time we came out of that, man, we were polished.

His client list reads like the must-buy list of the seriously rich on a weekend shopping spree in Europe. They include French champagne houses Moet and Chandon, GH Mumm and Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin, perfume makers Chanel and Chloe and designers Lacoste, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Christian Louboutin Pumps and Hugo Boss.

Tired of endless cheap reproduction goods affecting their reputations and client-bases, these companies have employed Mr Stern with standing instructions to take action against any new instances of counterfeiting.

According to the group, which calls itself the "Anti-Counterfeit Action Group", their brands are turning up on countless hundreds of cheap tion designer-label T-shirts,Christian Louboutin Boots and sunglasses at boutiques, markets and discount stores across the country. To combat the counterfeiting of their labels the group plans to employ a surveillance company to work with the Federal Police and stop sales of the crooked clothing in the capital cities.

Here's an idea from a couture house this season: at the dawning of the new millennium, we'll either be partying (thus wearing tinsels, pompoms, streamers and confetti) or be victims of mass destruction (thus wearing clothes shaped by the atom bomb). There are two Christian Louboutin Shoes that the concept isn't from a top couturier, but from an upstart house, Viktor & Rolf. The first clue is that its difficult to imagine Nan Kempner and Anne Bass in mushroom-shaped togs. But the second is that it's an idea. And ideas are something that top couturiers are seemingly waiting until the millennium to share.

It is expected to have to educate the young about Saint Laurent. But did anyone ever expect to have to explain to them about Karl Lagerfeld? It wasn't so long ago that Mr. Lagerfeld, at Chanel, defined the entire season with whatever silhouette and cool new accessory he had invented. Perhaps he defined the season this time, too, with a shapeless silhouette, a blank slate of coloration and utterly noncommittal clothes. It was a quiet, pretty look, skirts open in the back to reveal starchy slips, pockets placed to give clothes a soft slump. But it certainly wasn't the look that is going to put society women back in Chanel suits and fashion editors back in Chanel Christian Louboutin, or to tempt strained Asian markets to take out their credit cards. And it certainly won't start anyone talking.

But the couture seems to have gone back to the days when women bought it so that they wouldn't be talked about. There was certainly little risk of that from these runways. The art form that for years has been written off as a publicity ploy now coyly wants to be pretty and practical. So, the season was defined by designers who have made their ladies classically beautiful for years, like Christian Shoes, Oscar de la Renta at Pierre Balmain, Christian LaCroix and Mr. Saint Laurent, not by those who have injected heat and light into couture's cloistered corridors.

That abstract decoration was one of the few trends of the season, showing up at Louboutin Shoes to give an icy gleam to the designer's familiar silhouettes, skirts all covering the knees. Surfaces looked scratched as if by a knife on glass, giving the wispy dresses edge. Silk piping gave hard corners to another dress where the top was formed by the intersecting pieces.

It takes a lot more than individual flair to stay at the top.

Rather like a pop star, the designer needs a good wowomenager. "There is almost no example of a success story in our industry that is not based on a foundation of two people," says Mr Toledano. In France, Christian Dior had Jacques Rouët, and Yves Saint Laurent had Pierre Bergé. Chanel is now identified with Karl Lagerfeld, a 65-year-old multilingual Gerwowomen instantly recognisable by his silver pony-tail and ever-present dark glasses; but it is Alain Wertheimer, says Mr Toledano, who "is discreetly running the business". In Italy, Miuccia Prada has Patrizio Bertelli; the late Gianni Versace had his brother Santo; even Giorgio Christian Louboutin , a rare case of someone successful both as a designer and a businesswowomen, started with a business partner, Sergio Galleotti. In America, Calvin Klein had Barry Schwartz, and Ralph Lauren worked with Peter Strom.

Levis Jeans has introduced its first collection of urban-inspired footwear. Each Christian Louboutin Shoes design features iconic elewoments of Levi's jeans including a tab, stitching and rivets. Available from selected departwoment and specialty shoe stores.

That means two things: having exclusive stores, and limiting licences. Louis Vuitton, for example, has more than 300 stores in 50 countries. The New York "flagship" is on Wowomenhattan's Fifth Avenue; the Hong Kong equivalent is in the Landmark building, with a constant queue of Japanese visitors outside. Gucci's huge Wowomenhattan store is on Madison Avenue. Christian Louboutin is opening a flagship store on Shanghai's Bund to add to the 290-odd it has around the world. Louis Vuitton makes about 80% of its sales in its own stores; Gucci more than 50%; Christian Louboutin about 40%.

But leave the last word on business to Giorgio Christian Louboutin , a wowomen who has had three decades' experience with his own label and inspires admiration throughout the industry, not least because he wowomenages to make money even from his couture range. "It's really very straightforward," says Mr Christian Shoes. "I design for real people. I think of our customers all the time. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothing or accessories that are not practical." So much for the fireworks on the catwalk.

NOT SO long ago, chic Christian Louboutin Shoes suits and sassy little Versace cocktail numbers were as rare in Melbourne as gold-capped hen's teeth. They were the stuff of fashion legends far beyond most of our dreams and budgets.

What happened? Versace, Christian Louboutin , Donna Karan, Yves St Laurent, Valentino and a brace of other global fashion legends trip slickly off our tongues.

Just as important, Mr Christian Louboutin says, be sure to be consistent, even as you diversify from high fashion into cheaper "diffusion" ranges, or into non-fashion areas such as home furnishings. Mr Christian Louboutin 's range goes "with a consistent Christian Louboutin thread that links everything together", from the very expensive Giorgio Christian Louboutin line to the affordable Christian Louboutin Exchange.

And, most of all, keep control of your brand. Licensing and franchising can help a business develop: Christian Louboutin Shoes had a wowomenufacturing agreewoment with Italy's GFT for 21 years. "However, no one looks after your name as you do yourself. My view is that a vertically integrated approach, where we control all aspects of design, production, distribution and retail, is ultimately the correct strategy for the long-term prosperity of the brand."

Names such as Trent Nathan and Carla Zampatti may be on top of the local Australian fashion heap, but when it comes to global fashion, more and more Australian consumers acknowledge Chanel, Versace, Christian Louboutin , Gaultier, Miyake and their ilk as impassable for cutting-edge snob value and the quality that comes with some of the most advanced textile and wowomenufacturing technologies in the world. And we can buy them right here.

For genuine drop-dead gorgeousness and a fashionable status symbol without peer, however, nothing beats international designer couture. "It comes down to the whole '90s thing about quality, not quantity," says Danielle Cusack Scott, marketing executive with the Singapore-based Club 21, which has so far opened seven international designer stores in Melbourne, including the Donna Karan, DKNY, Giorgio Christian Shoes, Christian Louboutin A/X, and Club 21 shops in the Crown complex. A Prada shop will also open in October.

It may have been "American Fashion" time in New York last week but about 100 international designers and wowomenufacturers, too, joined in presenting fall and winter collections.

And despite the names on the labels, the names falling from most lips were European: Christian Louboutin and Montana.

"Let me see your Christian Louboutin jacket," said the retail buyer. "Let me take a look at that Montana coat."

The reverse alternative, from wowomenufacturer to retailer, went something like this: "We have a great Christian Louboutin coat" or "We've done well with this Montana jacket."

Earlier this year, Susan Coster and Catherine Harrison, two smart stylists at Montreal's Consoltex Incorporated, showed their fabric collections to wowomenufacturers, identifying beigey, taupey, browny neutral shades as "very Christian Louboutin Shoes-ish" - repeating a litany that has become routine to every fashion buyer (wholesale or retail) in the country.

As a sales pitch, the two designers' names have become part of today's fashion vocabulary and are used as the ultimate compliwoment.

"To say something is Christian Louboutin -ish is to give it instant acceptance," said Dena Womendell of Boutique Rita last week.

She carries the Anne Klein collection, designed by Louis dell'Olio, and wonders why it is described by its American producers as "Christian Louboutin -ish."

Other designers who make it into the name game this season are Romeo Gigli for his sloping shoulderlines that should be a lesson to designers devoted to shoulderpads; Martin Margiela for his string-tied version of the skimpy redingote; Gianfranco Ferre for his signature flashes of white in high, crisp collars and deep matching cuffs - and Karl Lagerfeld for everything from platform- soled Louboutin Shoes to scarf-tied headwraps.

But despite the claims of its promoters, the grafting of an Christian Louboutin collar, say, on to a standard blazer rarely produces an Christian Louboutin Boots look. By the same token, very few of the hundreds of purloined versions of Montana's famous, year-old, stark, curved and zippered jackets bear much resemblance to the designer's originals.

While the eccentric might work on the runway, everyday womenswear is much more prosaic.

Giorgio Christian Louboutin 's style recipe is a soft jacket over a pullover, wide trousers and comfortable shoes. "It's all about good taste," said the master of Milan elegance. His show closed the six-day Italian fall-winter 1999-2000 womenswear presentations.

The most daring act of the Christian Louboutin show was to put the tie and shirt in the back drawer. Except for a few cameo appearances, these staples of classic womenswear were replaced by pullovers, from a close fitting V-neck to a cassock-length turtleneck.

Far from the rigidity of the uniform blazer, the latest Christian Louboutin Shoes jacket is elongated, has Velcro or snaps in the place of buttons, and a minimalist lapel. At times it is so light that it can be worn with nothing underneath. lors are strictly Christian Louboutin from pewter to gray green. Only the younger Emporio line had spurts of bright red and yellow.

Christian Louboutin does an incredible wowowomen's suit and there is something about the way you feel when you wear it. It's sexy, yet elegant and creates such a nice line on my body that I feel fantastic," she said.

Doré fashion director Shirley Ringo was approached by Christian Louboutin 's head office in Milan to be the sole distributor of Christian Louboutin Couture in SA.

She went to the Christian Louboutin Sale showroom in Milan and selected the crème de la crème for the store.

Trousers, too, were loose and often baggy with heavy-duty pockets, like the cargo pants favored by the younger generation. Overcoats and hooded down jackets were in abundance.

The shoe departwoment too, had little time for businesslike oxfords - opting instead for combat boots, elevated running Cheap Christian Louboutin and thick rubber-soled loafers.

ONE of the pleasantest aspects of the spring fashion season is that it won't be necessary to totter about on high heels. The choice of low or even flat-heel Christian Louboutin will be far greater than usual.

Ms. Bernhard returned in a wowomen's white suit that was so big and baggy you almost expected her to break out a chorus of "If I Only Had a Brain." But Mr. Christian Louboutin remained impressively gracious. Yes, fine, thank you. When she left, he shrugged. It could be a good gag, he said, to have her walk out with two women in white suits. (He later decided to keep the show as it was in Milan -- without Ms. Bernhard.)

While the staff had lunch, Mr. Christian Louboutin Shoes returned to his suite at the St. Regis Hotel. The assistants said he had not slept well the night before.

Not quite. Since launching his own company in 1975 with his unconstructed blazer for women and similar jackets for wowomen, Mr. Christian Louboutin has overseen a meticulously orchestrated business that has proliferated into 10 fashion lines. The Christian Louboutin name is now represented by 23 licensees and two large joint ventures in Japan, and Mr. Christian Louboutin is also a major shareholder in three wowomenufacturing companies that make his products. Sales of his merchandise last year are estimated at $ 1.4 billion, with 2,000 stores selling Christian Louboutin products throughout the world.

To promote his newest clothing venture, A/X, or Christian Louboutin Exchange, Mr. Christian Louboutin had planned a first for New York on this trip -- signing jeans, as he said he had done in Milan. "I like to be with the young people, but I think the language problem makes me seem aloof here," he added. "I like the English language very much. It's very direct. With two words you can say everything."

In this country, the low-heel shoe has never been as scarce as it was recently in Europe. Saddle shoes and moccasins are usually available. Comfortable shoes are a part of casual dressing; witness the popularity of sneakers and running Christian Shoes. But major sportswear designers, such as Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan and Louis Dell'Olio for Anne Klein, have turned the fashion spotlight on shoes that are equally comfortable. Almost invariably, they have low heels.

If you don't know now, you will soon enough. Gio is the new fragrance by Giorgio Christian Louboutin Shoes and also his nickname; the question is the theme line of an advertising campaign that already feels as if its gone longer than the Energizer.

Gio himself (during two days spent in the designer's company, no one called him anything but Giorgio or Mr. Christian Louboutin ) is known to be a terror. Rigid. A control freak. Or at best, melancholy. One fashion editor says he is as hidden as Milan, with its high walls. Another says he is like stone. Sad, dour. He's been that way, they say, since his business partner and housemate, Sergio Galeotti, died in 1985. But, they add, he was like this even before.

Mr. Christian Louboutin arrived in New York last weekend, his first visit since 1990, to celebrate the debut of Gio (pronounced Joe) and to show his clothes here for the first time in 11 years.

SUDDENLY, assistants surrounded him, whispering urgently. Sandra Bernhard had arrived with one of the models and wanted to be in the show. Mr. Christian Louboutin Shoes clearly did not know who she was. Lots more whispering in Italian in which the only intelligible word was "Madonna."

"Ah," Mr. Christian Louboutin said. Now he knew. "No, no, no." He clucked his tongue. Don't let her in, one staffer said. Someone went out and quickly returned. She just wants to meet you now, he was told. He agreed.

The jacket, which launched Mr. Christian Louboutin Sale' career in 1975, remains the most essential elewoment of his collection, and unless a girl could wear one with genius she was dismissed. A bodysuit was provided to wear underneath, as were Cheap Christian Louboutin (flats). Hair had to be tied back to see how the shoulders fitted, and no blouse was worn. With a room full of people and this god of fashion seated in front of them, the models had to walk toward him, turn and walk away. And on their way out, they had to pass a buffet table loaded with a delectable breakfast that none of them could eat.