POLITICS OF FASHION

In the 80’s people would spray your coats and jackets with spray paints as it was so frowned upon; it is something that people are constantly questioning. Leather is another, although it is within the food market too, big cats like tigers, leopards are not considered acceptable within this day and age; and a lot of magazines and boutiques will not touch it. Prada this year have focused on fox fur, which is being looked at in great detail with the Anti Fur Lobby and cosmetic testing. Within the UK, there are no fur farms, and there are no large fur creations within the UK, however it is still large in Europe and other countries abroad. 

An 18th Century Man of Fashion, within the fashion industry there is a stigma, which has been around for 200 years is for men who are too groomed and too into fashion for what is seen acceptable. A Macaroni is someone who pays too much attention to themselves, too much styling and fashion incorporated within one look, has its own term within the industry. Within the industry there is a lot of Social Conditioning, of what is said, and what is acceptable; this is very interesting and something which is looked at and studied very closely within the industry.

Intellectual Properties

DESIGN RIGHTS:

Design rights cover the whole aesthetics of the design itself. It protects the appearance of new products and the individual characters which can be found on it: lines, colours, contours and texture. Design rights are also about £40 in the UK. They are relatively cheap rights to be enforced, and are commonly more used as a marketing tool. With a larger company, such as Burberry, the shape of the bag or the patterns aren’t always design protected as there are so many different new collections being created; which also causes many problems over time. 

MORAL RIGHTS:

This is where you have the right to be acknowledged as the creator to the work, as you have the copy right protection, however it cannot be assigned, it can only be waived within the industry. This lasts for the life of the creator, plus 70 years after their death to protect the piece. 

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION:

This is information which isn’t known by many; such as the ingredients of Coca Cola so that it cannot be copied and replicated; you as the creator want the rights and the protection from this so that you have an individual product. 

When creating a design, product, idea, you need to make sure that you have looked at what is already copyrighted and a document to show your development process which you have undertaken. Make sure everything is dated and noted, to make sure that you have security behind it. Also, owner ship need to be thought of, so that you are another can use the product, coming to an agreement. Make sure that you read the contract which has been given to you, so that your royalties are high enough and that you are defining yourself as well as the company.

Copyright

Copyright protects the expression of create and artistic work; such as music, sounds, dramatic and art work – each piece of copyright is original. Copyright is also automatic and doesn’t need to be registered at all. Copyright can be enforced by the logo, your name and the date it was published. There however are regulations, there needs to be a certain amount of skill and effort, it cannot be already copied, and even derivative work can be original and copyrighted. having a copy righted piece means that you do have exclusive rights however when it comes to working and being contracted this can become very complication. These are the rights you have as a copyrighter:

• Copying the work
• Issuing copies to the public
• Rending work
• Adapting work
• Communication
• Secondary selling and distribution
• Performing showing and playing work

Also, there are many exceptions of the rules of copyright; meaning that you can use it for private study and non commercial research, as well as teaching in schools and colleges. Reporting current events and criticising and reviewing the copy right can also occur. It is however a very grey area and depending on the legal rights of the copyright it can become very complicated. Infringement can also occur with a park or the whole of the copy.

TRADEMARKS

• Trademarks make an indication of the origin of goods and services; marks that distinctive business from the other; gives you individuality and promotes your own work through the trademark. This works by Application and Registration in the relevant class and territory. Trademarks are normally distinguished through: Letters, numbers, colour and shapes. If the trademark however isn’t registered in a different country the trademark which is personal to you can be used somewhere else in the world if it is not registered correctly.

• Half a million pounds to register Trademark around the whole world. Fashion is quite often created in Asian countries, which is why a lot of support and Law Trademark Registrations can be found in those particular countries. China keeps a very close eye on what happens and emerges in the UK, so trademarks are key to keeping the industry fair and unique to each brand to make sure that you aren’t ripped off.

• You can however use the same name, such as Polo, for a different brand. Polo is used for cars, clothing and sweets, however each element of the name is very different and a different sector within the industry.

• Pictures or symbols such as the Nike Swoosh, Burberry Check and the Red Soles of shoes are all trademarked, meaning that no other company can use this as it is individual to that country. You can also make individual positions within an outfit, such as the Fred Perry double stripes on the colour and the edge of the arms to keep the brand unique and different from the others; this enable as theme and key understanding for the brand too.

• Requirement have to be capable of graphical representation, distinguishing goods and services, not descriptor and not contrary to public morality and policies, this enable each and every one of us to have the same chance and the requirements. They last for 10 years, but have to re renewed, but if they aren’t used of the product isn’t launched within 5 years, the trademark can then be cancelled.

• If you do not have the money to create a trademark, you still have the rights to individual use. £170 is how much it costs to create the Trademark; with it registered however it is better to get proof of registration. Infringement is also very common within the industry; you cannot have: Identical mark, goods or services; confusion within the products; and repetition, misrepresentation and damage. Vivienne Westwood’s logo was found to have been Infringed by Red Planet – You have to be incredibly careful with infringement as it can end up in court.

• A Patent is a national right, has to be applied for and granted by individual countries. These normally last for 20 years or so; they can be a description, claim or a drawing which you are trying to protect.

DESIGNER CLUSTERING

Despite the wet and windy weather on Monday, I headed out at 9am to gain a true understanding on where shops are placed within central London; looking and individual brands and their key locations. How fashion brands create a visual presence on the hughstreet and the shopping districts; creating a strong and well developed awareness of the market level clusterings. In particular, I was focusing on Dior and the way the company had presented themselves to the audiences, and how they enticed their target market in competition with other big brands. 

To start the exercise off, I started at Oxford Circus, making my way to Conduit St, which is where a lot of luxury brands are found – Vivienne Westwood, Donna Karan, Moschino, and most importantly Sketch – which is the original show room in London that Dior used to use; a lot of presence of the Dior company still lies there, and the feel of the brand is very much still present. Down this hughstreet is one of many Dior stores; this one predominately selling shoes and bags – which allowed me to explore the new Diorissimo bags for the first time. Then onto Saville Row – the home of tailoring in London, and where Henry Poole & Co and Norton & Sons can be found; all lined up offering something different with their tailoring. Each and every store looked sophisticated and well thought out – which is vital in that particular section of the fashion market. What was also very interesting is that I was able to watch a lot of adjustments and actual tailoring take place, as the lower level of the shop was visible from the street; letting the customers have a more personal experience with the individual store. 

With this close knit shopping sector, there are many different classes of shops; Haute Couture all the way to Economy, which was very interesting to look at the precise grouping and classes and where each shop was placed within the market. Stella McCartney is several doors down from the famous Hartnell Gallery, which sat right next to Matthew Williamson; this close connection between the shops is a clear grouping of the Brand Diffusion market. The hierarchy of fashion is something that is taken very seriously, and walking along Bond Street, Mayfair, Oxford street and even Conduit Street, it is very easy to identify the target audience for that particular street – a very in-depth and personal shopping experience.

AOI Illustration Awards 2014

Last Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to return to Somerset House once again, to view the AOI Illustration Awards 2014; for the 3rd year running, it was an incredible experience, and the work has increased in detail, individuality and adventure. The incredibly unique work was displayed so beautifully throughout 3 small rooms, and even though the weather outside was just horrible, the colours, materials and the whole feel to the exhibition was something else. The work was so personal to each designer, from Charlotte Hasley’s ‘Wandering in Circles’, a round piece which included 3000 hand cut paper curls, to Partrick George’s interpretation of the modern man, each piece was so in-depth and the narrative sprung from each and every illustration. However, there was one piece which stood out to me, not only was it the winner of the AOI Illustration Awards, it was such a powerful and different illustration from the others; a fashion illustration. Created by Jasu Hu, the ‘World’s End Clothes’ was a digital piece combining fashion and architecture. The colours alone, even in black and white, were so deliberate and created the look of material through print; the 6 figures are all so different in creation and style, and the overall composition works so beautifully. Jasu Hu is such an inspiration with his work, and will help to push not only my work forward, but others in the industry. 

Ethical issues with Dior

When approaching a fashion brand, there are so many factors which work in synergy to create the correct brand and the specific message that you want to sent to the target audience. However, this changes depending on the country, or region you are targeting, as it will attract a different audience due to the certain promotions. 

Dior, however, have become very adaptive to this on a European and Global level, and manage their adverts, articles and catwalks to fit the certain audience; regarding ethical issues. Due to it being such a brand there are strict ethical issues to keep the company, audience and creators satisfied. Regarding ethical issues, there are factors like inequity, phrasing, models, environment and fur, which all need to be specifically researched for the target audience. Dior produced a very large fur collection in 1956, which in that time, was acceptable as there was a lot of fur around; however 5 years ago there was a large discussion about the rights of fur and the ethical issues behind it. Therefore, Dior kept away from fun, unlike the competitors which therefore brought a lot of negative publicity upon themselves. 

Legal factors of Dior

Regarding the legal factors of a fashion business, the individual brand can chose the specific legal rights and limitations that they want to put forward. However, there is a law based treatise, Fashion Law and Business Brand and Retailers. This covers the legal entry for starting up a fashion company, and the considerations that need to be made recording the business plan. Trademarks and Copyrights are also key to allow a structure to the business, but also to lay the ground rules out and the legal principles regarding the specific company. 

This is where Dior focused a lot of time when creating the brand 57 years ago. Christian Dior was very set on what he wanted to produce, and the exact outcomes he wished to create. Meaning that all of the products were copyrighted, as well as the individual designs to an extend; the exact shapes and cuts put together with the exact design is not allowed in the fashion world. Although due to the limitations within the industry, overlap is something often occurs and can cause big problems for companies.

False Advertising is also a Law which is in place; but loosely. You have to meet the regulations when advertising, but also on social networks. This is something that is taken seriously by Dior, as not only do they want to make sure their brand is still up keeping their reputation, but also attracting the correct target audience with the advertisements they make. 

For an up and coming business, nowadays there are books, classes and tuitions that can be undertaken by the owner of the company to make sure that they are abiding the law regarding the industry. But, when Dior was first branded, there would have been no strict laws or codes of conduct, which meant that in 1963 overlap of other companies started to take place, which lead Dior to look into protecting his work and the famous brand he had previously created.