Gospel from Forever 21, Mulberry booming, Fashion in Doha, Luxury price elasticity, CFDA’s copyright campaign

| Daily Digest

The gospel according to Forever 21 (Guardian) “This is the American fashion chain run as a family business, the chain that, thanks to its “pile very high, sell very cheap” operation, has been a phenomenal success, with profits (in 2008) of $135m despite the fact that nothing it sells costs more than $65.” Mulberry Tops Fashion Retailers on Sales Boom (Bloomberg) “The 40-year-old British luxury-handbag

…Continue Reading

Questioning fashion copyrighting, Chinese forays, Lanvin for H&M, Esprit’s decline, Revamping John Lewis

| Daily Digest

Canal Street AF1, created to drive counterfeit awareness | Source: Kicks on fire

Copyrighting Fashion: Who Gains? (NY Times) “Paradoxically, the payoff from free copying has been enormous.  The fashion cycle turns faster, and the industry gets richer – and creates new designs more frequently. So why on earth would anyone want to change that?” Luxury brands wrest back China market, eye smaller cities (Reuters) “Many piled into China over the last decade, pairing with re-sellers and joint

…Continue Reading

Legal Patterns | On Fashion Copycats

| Uncategorized

Left: Diane von Furstenberg Spring 2009, right: Mercy Spring 2008 | Source: National Post

Today we introduce Legal Patterns, a new series of articles on BoF exploring fashion and the law. Just as design patterns form the foundation of good fashion design, legal frameworks enable fashion businesses to defend their financial interests and protect their designs. BRUSSELS, Belgium — In the fashion industry, the copycatting of designs is a not a simple issue. Accusations fly in all directions: luxury houses accuse

…Continue Reading

Copycat Culture | The Shape of Things

Brussels | Intelligence

Chanel No 5 bottle | Source: Chanel

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Sometimes, a mere glimpse of a product’s silhouette is enough to tell which designer or fashion house created it: the Chanel No 5 perfume bottle, the toe of a Berluti shoe, the unique shape of the Fendi baguette. Today, there is renewed interest in these kinds of classic products as shape and design have made a return in making a product desirable, especially now when consumers don’t want their

…Continue Reading

Everybody’s talking about | Fashion copycats

| Uncategorized

At what point does referencing and inspiration turn into blatant copying? It's a question that is increasingly on the minds of designers -- particularly young designers and small brands -- who don't have the legal muscle (read: cold hard cash) and time to defend the integrity of their designs. In other creative disciplines like music, writing and visual art, it is much easier to defend copying. In fashion, referencing, inspiration, and trends form the backbone of our industry (just check out this long list of adventures in fashion copyright). So, where do we draw the line? Case 1:  Steve MaddenSometimes it's quite straightforward to see what is going on.  A post on Manolo's shoe blog alerted us to this blatant…

…Continue Reading