Renowned French shoe designer Christian Louboutin has defended his court battle to protect his famous red stiletto soles.

Louboutin, who is suing fellow French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent for trademark infringement in a U.S. court, argues that he is not trying to monopolize the color red.

The designer said Monday he is defending his ownership to "a specific color in a specific place" of a shoe.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Louboutin called YSL's parent company PPR hypocritical because one of its brands, Gucci, also claims ownership of a specific color combination — red and green stripes — in its logo.

Louboutin was in London to open a major retrospective exhibition at the Design Museum to mark the 20th anniversary of the brand.