Legal support for the fashion industry as an independent field of law has emerged relatively recently, and as a result, it continues to raise many questions.
In the Russian legal tradition, it is common to distinguish between different branches of law based on their distinct subjects and methods of regulation. This approach often leads to the use of the umbrella term "commercial law" or similar variations to encompass all aspects of commerce, regardless of the industry or sector. In Western jurisdictions, the approach is different: it goes from the particular to the general, where the industry or sector of the economy is the basis, and the relevant legal norms are applied to it, resulting in a branch of law. This is the case with fashion law, which is nothing more than a collection of legal norms that govern the fashion industry.
There is an opinion that the emergence of fashion law as an independent branch began with the dissertation work of Jeanne Belhumeur entitled "Le Droit International de la Mode" (translated: "International Law of Fashion"), published in French in 2000. Then in 2004 another solid work of a group of French lawyers, "Droit du luxe" (translated: "Law of Luxury"), again in French, was published.
The balance of power shifted, and the U.S. took the lead when Professor Susan Scafidi opened the first master's program (LLM) in fashion law at Fordham Law School in New York in 2006, and the Fashion Law Institute was established in 2010 with the support of renowned designer Diane von Fürstenberg and the American Council of Fashion Designers.
The emergence of fashion law as a distinct legal field is primarily due to the rapid growth of the fashion industry itself. Two years ago, Business Insider reported:
"The global luxury goods market is estimated to be worth $985 billion, according to The Boston Consulting Group, and is expected to reach $1.18 trillion by 2020. It's surprising that it took so long for lawyers to recognize the potential of this industry".
According to Susan Scafidi, fashion law is:
"An industry that encompasses the legal content of style, including issues that may arise throughout the life of a piece of clothing, from the original idea of the designer to the garment's inclusion in the customer's wardrobe. As a course, fashion law focuses on four main topics: (1) intellectual property; (2) business and finance, with various subsections ranging from labor law to real estate; (3) international trade and government regulation, including safety and sustainability issues; and (4) consumer culture and civil rights. In addition to the clothing and accessories industry, fashion law also applies to industries such as textiles, modeling, media, and the cosmetics and perfume industry.
From a legal perspective, fashion law may involve representing clients involved in the design, production, distribution, or trade of fashion products, as well as consumer rights. Many industry participants are part of a global, interconnected system and work closely together, making licensing and transactional work relevant. However, the interests of other participants may conflict. For example, the interests of local manufacturers and importers often conflict, as do the interests of creative designers and imitators from the fast fashion segment. This complicates the process of developing a unified policy for the fashion industry, which is far from monolithic. Of course, like many other branches of law, fashion law can be used both as a plow and as a sword. That is why the fashion industry is characterized by a large number of legal disputes".
(Susan Scafidi, Fiat Fashion Law! The Launch of a Label — And a Brand New Branch of Law, in Navigating Fashion Law, 2012)
Thus, it is the "legal content of style" and the numerous related aspects that constitute the main focus of the blog and will be covered at Fashion Law Russia.