Thai-flag footwear NOT ok

Thai social media is all in a lather today after photos of the latest fashion footwear in Paris were posted depicting Thai flags on the shoe designs. Well, so they thought.

Not only were they outraged and angry, they are demanding apologies and jail for the perpetrators.

But a legal spokesperson in Thailand points out that these are foreigners parading the footwear in their own country (France). They could only be in trouble if the offence was committed in Thailand.

For the designers, the use of the red, white and blue colours, coincidentally in the same order as the Thai flag, has nothing to do with the Thai national flag, or certainly wasn’t intended as such.

The shoes, with straplets in red, white and blue, appeared on the Vogue Paris Facebook page.

A Thai Flag Museum spokesperson in Thailand points out that no one has a copyright on the colours or the order they’ve been displayed in. Furthermore, the designers could not be prosecuted as the shoes were made and displayed outside Thailand.

If the shoes were made or worn in Thailand then people could potentially face a fine of 2,000 baht or a year in jail, according to Sanook.

The combination of the Thai flag and human feet is a contentious cultural cocktail for Thais, provoking today’s social media outrage.

On a purely fashion level, what do you think about the design? Please comment on our Facebook page – The Thaiger.

SOURCE: Sanook