Fashion, as a socio-cultural phenomenon, has always been subject to regulatory control in one way or another, from questions about who is allowed to wear what to questions about trade restrictions and luxury taxes. For example, Russian Emperor Paul I, who saw all French clothing as a symbol of the bourgeois revolution, issued a decree banning wide-brimmed women's hats and men's top hats. During the Napoleonic era, France issued a decree prohibiting women from wearing «men's clothing» such as trousers, which was only formally abolished a few years ago. In many Muslim countries, short skirts are still prohibited.
However, the legal regulation of fashion as an independent field in global practice is relatively new. The need for a separate comprehensive regulation of this industry is primarily due to its enormous growth rate. Today, the fashion industry ranks fifth among the most capital-intensive sectors of the modern economy, and according to forecasts by the Boston Consulting Group, the global luxury goods market is expected to reach a value of $1.18 trillion by 2020.
In Western legal systems, there is a clear trend towards the development of new legal frameworks to meet the needs of rapidly growing sectors of the economy. Thus, sports law, energy law, entertainment law, and so on have been formed and are actively developing.
In the Russian legal tradition, it is customary to distinguish between branches of law based on their independent subject matter and method of regulation. This has led to the fact that only the distinction between public and private law remains scientifically indisputable. All other specializations are classified as branches of legislation based on their subject matter, such as the comprehensive term «commercial law» that encompasses all aspects of entrepreneurial activities, regardless of industry or sector. In Western jurisdictions, especially in countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal family, on the contrary, the approach is from the particular to the general, where the industry or sector of the economy is at the core, and the relevant legal norms are «strung» on it, and the whole is called a branch of law. It is this «sectoral» approach that allows for the creation of legal regulation that meets the specific needs of a particular industry. This is the case with fashion law, which is nothing more than a collection of norms that regulate the fashion industry.
Until recently, the fashion and luxury goods market was studied only from the perspective of marketing and management, but not from the perspective of applicable law and regulatory requirements. As Business Insider reported two years ago, it is surprising that it took so long for lawyers to pay attention to this rapidly growing industry.
It is believed that the emergence of fashion law as an independent field began with the publication of the dissertation «International Law of Fashion» in French in 2000 (Jeanne Belhumeur, «Le Droit International de la Mode»). In 2004, another significant work by a group of French lawyers on the law of luxury («Droit du luxe») was published.
Then the baton was passed on to the Americans, when in 2006 Professor Susan Scafidi opened the first Master's program (LLM) in Fashion Law at the New York-based Fordham Law School, and already in 2010, with the support of the famous designer Diane von Fürstenberg and the American Council of Fashion Designers, a separate institute dedicated to the study of fashion law — the Fashion Law Institute — was opened.
Accordingly, in the English and American legal literature, this area has been called "fashion law," which is generally accepted today throughout the world. Fashion law is defined as an industry that includes the legal content of a style, including issues that may arise throughout the «life» of a piece of clothing, starting with the appearance of an original idea from the designer and ending with the entry of this piece of clothing into the buyer's wardrobe. In addition to the clothing and accessories industry, fashion law also applies to industries such as light industry (textile production), modeling, media, cosmetics and perfumes.
Moreover, the concepts of «fashion», «style», and «luxury» have long since gone beyond mere appearance and have become a way of life. As a result, fashion brands are increasingly focused on maintaining high standards and lifestyle choices beyond their boutiques. For example, Moschino, Armani, Missoni, and Louis Vuitton have invested in their own hotel businesses, while Prada and LVMH have acquired chains of historic Milanese pastry shops.
Thus, fashion law is a comprehensive specialized field that is based on the norms of intellectual property law, civil and commercial law, customs law, international law, and labor law. Issues related to real estate, advertising and labeling, the fight against counterfeit goods, trade secrets, consumer protection, and more also play a significant role in fashion law.
Given the diversity of the subject matter, it is too early to speak of the conceptual formation of fashion law, but business analysts predict a bright future for fashion law not only abroad but also in Russia.
The article was published in the Legal Insight magazine No. 1 (57) 2017.
However, the legal regulation of fashion as an independent field in global practice is relatively new. The need for a separate comprehensive regulation of this industry is primarily due to its enormous growth rate. Today, the fashion industry ranks fifth among the most capital-intensive sectors of the modern economy, and according to forecasts by the Boston Consulting Group, the global luxury goods market is expected to reach a value of $1.18 trillion by 2020.
In Western legal systems, there is a clear trend towards the development of new legal frameworks to meet the needs of rapidly growing sectors of the economy. Thus, sports law, energy law, entertainment law, and so on have been formed and are actively developing.
In the Russian legal tradition, it is customary to distinguish between branches of law based on their independent subject matter and method of regulation. This has led to the fact that only the distinction between public and private law remains scientifically indisputable. All other specializations are classified as branches of legislation based on their subject matter, such as the comprehensive term «commercial law» that encompasses all aspects of entrepreneurial activities, regardless of industry or sector. In Western jurisdictions, especially in countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal family, on the contrary, the approach is from the particular to the general, where the industry or sector of the economy is at the core, and the relevant legal norms are «strung» on it, and the whole is called a branch of law. It is this «sectoral» approach that allows for the creation of legal regulation that meets the specific needs of a particular industry. This is the case with fashion law, which is nothing more than a collection of norms that regulate the fashion industry.
Until recently, the fashion and luxury goods market was studied only from the perspective of marketing and management, but not from the perspective of applicable law and regulatory requirements. As Business Insider reported two years ago, it is surprising that it took so long for lawyers to pay attention to this rapidly growing industry.
It is believed that the emergence of fashion law as an independent field began with the publication of the dissertation «International Law of Fashion» in French in 2000 (Jeanne Belhumeur, «Le Droit International de la Mode»). In 2004, another significant work by a group of French lawyers on the law of luxury («Droit du luxe») was published.
Then the baton was passed on to the Americans, when in 2006 Professor Susan Scafidi opened the first Master's program (LLM) in Fashion Law at the New York-based Fordham Law School, and already in 2010, with the support of the famous designer Diane von Fürstenberg and the American Council of Fashion Designers, a separate institute dedicated to the study of fashion law — the Fashion Law Institute — was opened.
Accordingly, in the English and American legal literature, this area has been called "fashion law," which is generally accepted today throughout the world. Fashion law is defined as an industry that includes the legal content of a style, including issues that may arise throughout the «life» of a piece of clothing, starting with the appearance of an original idea from the designer and ending with the entry of this piece of clothing into the buyer's wardrobe. In addition to the clothing and accessories industry, fashion law also applies to industries such as light industry (textile production), modeling, media, cosmetics and perfumes.
Moreover, the concepts of «fashion», «style», and «luxury» have long since gone beyond mere appearance and have become a way of life. As a result, fashion brands are increasingly focused on maintaining high standards and lifestyle choices beyond their boutiques. For example, Moschino, Armani, Missoni, and Louis Vuitton have invested in their own hotel businesses, while Prada and LVMH have acquired chains of historic Milanese pastry shops.
Thus, fashion law is a comprehensive specialized field that is based on the norms of intellectual property law, civil and commercial law, customs law, international law, and labor law. Issues related to real estate, advertising and labeling, the fight against counterfeit goods, trade secrets, consumer protection, and more also play a significant role in fashion law.
Given the diversity of the subject matter, it is too early to speak of the conceptual formation of fashion law, but business analysts predict a bright future for fashion law not only abroad but also in Russia.
The article was published in the Legal Insight magazine No. 1 (57) 2017.