subject: Shake Your Booty [print this page] But the McDougalls are refusing to budge - they say if they can't use the word UGG Soldes, they can't sell their product."IN this day and age most businesses use the internet and search engines are the tool everyone uses," Mr McDougall said."If we can't use the word on the net, then effectively, many of the manufacturers and retailers will be wiped out, some of whom have been going for three generations."And that would have some effect on the prices woolgrowers were paid for sheepskins, he saidTony Mortel, a second generation ugg boot maker for Mortel's Sheepskin Factory, Maitland, NSW, has also been affected.He was selling between 5000 and 10,000 boots a week on eBay until Deckers had him removed a couple of months ago because he was using the word ugg.
Mr Mortel said he was one of about 100 businesses affected, which had resulted in losses of tens of millions of dollars within the Australian sheepskin industry through lost business during the northern hemisphere winter.He is now the spokesman of a newly-formed Australian sheepskin manufacturers and retailers association, which is planning to take on Deckers and its trademarks with the defence that ugg is a generic word."I know it's generic, most of Australia knows it's generic," he said."You can't tell me it's not a generic, descriptive word."But Mr Watson said the word would not have been allowed to be registered if it was used in common language.He said his client had spent more than $7 million to promote ugg boots over the past 10 years, which was responsible for their growth in popularity, and Australian manufacturers were reaping the benefits.He said Deckers was not trying to stop Australian businesses from selling sheepskin boots, but rather remind them they needed to use another word.
Simon Plant on the amazing return of an ugly AustralianPETER Alexander has seen the future of fashion and guess what? The ugg boot has a foothold. "The sheepskin boot is back in fashion, definitely," Australia's sleepwear king declares.Mind you, it's not just any old ugg. PA's "home boots " -- as they are called -- combine cowhide suede with merino wool. They come in a host of colours: burnt orange, washed pink, royal blue, fuchsia. And they can be as gaudily trimmed as a Christmas tree. "We're doing 10,000 pairs a year," Alexander says from his Richmond HQ. "It's an amazing growth business."
Given star appeal by the likes of Kylie Minogue and Toni Collette, PA's home UGG pas cher are now an integral part of his range. No wonder others are starting to pull the wool over customers' toes. Streetwear retailer General Pants Co is rolling out mid-calf boots made from pure sheepskin."We're calling them the winter thong," General Pants creative director Simon Haskell says.Selling for around $130, they cost a good deal more than the rough-hewn boots favoured by Sydney surfers in the '70s . This, you see, is the age of "bogan chic". The rebirth of a fashion boo-boo. Ugg redux. "Frankly, I'm amazed at its comeback," says Mark McDean, a lecturer in the language of clothing at RMIT. "To me, it's always been the boot that dare not speak its name."
But there are sound reasons uggs are on the up. For one thing, they are practical and functional. For another, they're made of natural materials.Most importantly, the humble "Aussie ugg " has conquered the US. Having seen them on Friends, Oprah, even in Vogue, thousands of fashion-conscious Americans are sinking their toes into sheepskin -- and paying big money for the pleasure. In New York, knee-high Sundance boots sell for $315. "I suspect only a small percentage of fashionistas really think they're groovy," naysayer McDean says.But by endorsing the ugg, Hollywood celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, Renee Zellweger and Gwyneth Paltrow have given young Australian women the confidence to boot up.
As McDean says: "We're always picking up on trends from overseas, especially America."In some ways, the story of Ugg Australia summarises the boots' second coming.The Brunswick company started manufacturing sheepskin boots 22 years ago. In the early '80s, sales were strong. Then they flattened out.Today, managers Roman and Luda Fishman are almost run off their feet meeting demand.Each week, their Albion St factory pumps out almost 3000 pairs of ugg boots and moccasins, and streams these into 300 Australian stores."We've never sold so many lace-ups," Luda says. "The girls love them." Emboldened, Ugg Australia is now moving offshore under the name, Sheepskins Downunder.Luda's daughter, Lena, and son, Steven, are based in LA and kicking the UGG Bottes into stores across the west coast. "Over here it's a real glamour thing," Lena says. "Barely a day goes past when I don't see girls in nightclubs, in shopping centres, wearing uggs and a mini."
America's love of the ugg is a mostly female phenomenon.It's the same in Australia. General Pants Co is pitching its "pure bogan" uggs at women who missed the '70s.As Haskell says: "It's part of a broader trend in womenswear. Bo-ho chic. The gypsy thing. Whatever you want to call it."Getting older Australians to buy uggs again is a tougher ask. Those daggy days when acid-wash jeans were tucked into uggs and paired with a flanny endures as a fashion embarrassment.But as McDean says: "You'd be amazed how many thirty and fortysomethings have a pair of ankle uggs under the bed for getting round the house on winter mornings. Maybe this year is their coming out." If the ugg does break through to wider acceptance, Alexander can claim much of the credit -- or blame. "Four years ago, I came up with the crazy idea of doing ugg -style boots in different colours," he recalls."Everyone told me I was mad but the 500 pairs we made sold out."
Kylie Minogue led the charge and ordered some hot pink boots -- size five, we're told -- for wearing backstage. Toni Collette was not far behind.ALEXANDER remembers: "She was shooting a movie and freezing cold so her personal assistant rang with a request for a pair of our boots. "Not having the mid-calf in basic black -- Collette's special request -- PA's manufacturer whipped up a one-off. And the result so impressed staff, it's going in Alexander's next catalogue.Winter will see another innovation: the over-the-knee ugg, in unisex chocolate brown. A thigh-hugging prototype, cuffed with fluff, was seen on Fashion Week catwalks last spring -- and the phones didn't stop ringing. "It baffled me a bit," Alexander says."They're not very practical. What are people going to wear them with?"Underwear, of course. Or pyjamas. Or tracksuit bottoms.Some are hoping it will become a four- season seller -- cosy in colder months, comfy in the sun. Alexander is even thinking about dipping his toe into the US market -- but not quite yet."This whole thing with Bottes UGG has taken us by surprise," he admits."All we were doing was taking a bit of Australiana and giving it a twist!"
