Copying in the fashion industry is no new concept. Charles Frederic Worth, considered the pioneer of haute-couture, started stitching his name onto his original creations as early as in 1850 to protect himself from sly copycats. However, with the extensive multiplication of clothing brands and the strong development of fast-fashion, this phenomenon has grown hugely over the past decades. Despite the increasing magnitude of the copying problem, regulations to protect designers are still scarce and complex, especially in the United States. No clear patents or copyrights exist like in the pharmaceutical industry for example. The reasons for this leniency are multifold: Firstly, clothes are considered a more a commodity rather…

AI AKA Artificial intelligence: computer completed tasks by simulating human intelligence. Blockchain: states of information at a determined moment in time represented by a chain of blocks. Each block can be traced to the previous one while each chain of blocks resides independently in a decentralised network which requires general consensus and thus ensures validity. Blockchain and artificial intelligence are few of the trending, fuzzy technological terms we encounter e v e r y w h e r e. Technological revolutions, the greatest inventions after the internet, call them as you want: it feels like they could change the way we do business forever. Fashion, one of the most complex and…

Subsidies for small to medium retailers and higher taxes for tech-giants. These are the new directives to be introduced in the UK by April 2020 in order to level the playing field between different distribution channels in a country that is greatly affected by the crisis of historical retail chains such as Marks & Spencer or Debenhams. Many retailers are struggling to survive as the competition from online firms – that employ fewer staff and pay lower tax rates – is increasing quickly. Phillip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Member of Parliament, introduced two ways to level the playing field: firstly, support retailers with the profitability of their…

Sunday, 2 December 2018 A few weeks ago, Victoria’s Secret announced new lingerie megastore opening, this time – in Rome, Italy. The news came in as a bit of surprise – in the wake of last summer’s losses in revenue and 55% drop in shares since the beginning of the year, it would seem that L Brands, owner of Victoria’s Secret and Pink, would be too busy implementing changes in business to be stretching the problem to new markets overseas. But can a turnaround happen for lingerie juggernaut? On the day of Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show airing, let’s see if all that glitters is gold. Victoria’s Secret dropped to their…

Fashion is an everyday topic for everyone. Most people usually spend some time thinking about what to wear, but not everyone thinks about how to wear it. From closing zippers to buttoning our shirts, there are many aspects that don’t seem like a bother to most. But for people with disabilities, it’s a whole other story. Once defined by exclusivity, fashion has started to develop as a more all-accepting sector in the past years. Although it has started catering to a broader variety of body types, incomes, and cultural backgrounds, clothing made for people with disabilities, called “the adaptive wear industry”, is still lagging behind. Increasing ranges for disability would…

There’s a movement going on. A movement within the fashion industry where people have collectively chosen to take a stand against big fast fashion brands and ask the million dollar question: Who made my clothes? In August 2014, a garment factory in Rana Plaza collapsed, killing more than 1,134garment workers. Workers who had families, friends, children, partners. So this is a revolution synonymous not only with protecting the environment but also the people behind our 3$ garments. “The True Cost” is a documentary that can be found on Netflix, and the first thing anyone involved in the slow-fashion movement will recommend to the “newcomers”. Not only is the documentary very…

“It’s something like a pear with a pink propeller, that flies around and smells like summer“. This is how Philipp Ulita from the Berlin Fashion Film Festival describes the genre of fashion film. Indeed, fashion film echoes complexity: a kaleidoscope of tangible and intangible socio-cultural elements that fashion creates and sustains. Petra Collins x Gucci Fashion film is a vehicle of emotion which activates storytelling. In a fast-paced, digitalised world the spread and reach of information is so great and attention seeking that fashion brands use different technological and artistic innovations to express their brand identity, create content and target consumers. They are short films which are adapted to our…

From Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to ‘rocknrolla’ Bianca Jagger and it-girl Jane Birkin one word comes to mind: VINTAGE. Vintage fashion has always been a point of inspiration, a source of reinvention for the fashion industry. Divided into decades or eras, vintage is always recurrent through some timeless and revolutionary big trends. Surprisingly (or not), in the universe of fast-fashion, the vintage luxury fashion market is booming. The reason? Firstly, the prices of new products have gone up by at least 15% creating a drive to buy vintage. Secondly, vintage is outside the fashion cycle, it represents a personal, unique and bold statement against modern day artificial consumerism.…