One of the biggest driving forces in the fashion industry nowadays is the continuous introduction of new trends and the opportunity for designers to display their creativity. So, when that individuality is stolen or copied from a designer, it can produce uneasy consequences. Known as “design piracy”, this widespread reproduction of designs has actually been around for decades. Not much has been done at a federal level to prevent the moral and economic repercussions that stem from it. However, despite the fact that designers lose both independent recognition and profit for their work, in the long run, fashion piracy actually helps grow the industry by swiftly moving styles through society to make way for the next line of innovative designs.
Because there is a lack of legal property protection in the U.S. fashion industry, design piracy has become a prominent trend. Designers really only have trademark protection, meaning that virtually anyone can reproduce their design and sell it as their own, so long as they leave out the actual brand label. In other words, designs are only protected if the features of the garments are uniquely enough to be considered “one-of-a-kind”, or if the design has a pattern or graphic image (Blakley).
In our society today, those involved in the fashion industry must constantly work to put out the newest styles and stay ahead of everyone else. However, although creating these innovative designs is very costly and time-consuming, the combination of advanced garment production and cheap labor makes duplicating these designs to be much quicker, cheaper, and easier. With current technology, photos and videos of revealed concepts can be instantly seen by people from all over the world. Those who fancy it...
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Works Cited
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To conclude, the capability to create customized clothing is becoming undemanding as technology evolves. Ready made apparel were only available in predetermined size before the American Civil War, this exemplifies how the sizes were arbitrary and were not the same on a broad scale. The statement “The wealthy’s clothes were made by tailors” is a prime example of how tailored outfits are costly. Today, designers have computer-aided design to their disposal this improved the creation of cloths in many ways making it effortless to design the clothing and to also produce them. With the creation of new technology making cloths, fabrics will become
The creation and sale of low-cost counterfeits, replicas and knock-offs of brand-name originals is a common occurrence. Across all markets, counterfeiting and Piracy account for $461 billion (OECD/EUIPO, 2016). Only 25 countries have GDPs greater than that. (Statistics Times, 2017) In the world of fashion accessories, there are many companies that look to benefit from consumers’ desires to own something luxurious while paying not-so-luxurious prices. Such is the case of Finer Bags, a company that sold what they advertised as replica or original designer brand bags. Was Finer Bags breaking the law? Was it unethical? Before attempting to answer those questions, it is best if we consider the differences between the terms counterfeit, replica, knock-off, and copy. While all represent closely copied designs of another product, the main difference
Each article of clothing would be fashioned from a list of options to include preset patterns, styles, button and shoe colors etc. The customer would feel as if they were creating a one of a kind design personalized to their taste. Stylish designs could even be posted on the company’s website along with the creator’s name to promote this individualization of the tradition. Mass customization has its benefits in consumer markets. According to (Pollard, Chuo, & Lee, 2013, pg. 102) “Mass customization means that manufactures are able to customize products on large scale and at high speed, as well as lower cost.” Key to the success of this venture is maximizing the number of stock components across all forms of the clothing line. Offering 20 different clothing patterns, 3 fur lining colors and up to 10 different accessories of which you pick 3, say shoes, belt and scarf allows for the possibility of approximately 14,500 different combinations or "20×(" ■(3@1)")×(" ■("10" @"3" )")"
Piracy causes people to lose the motivation to create. Companies, filmmakers, and musicians are all interested in producing and selling their products. However, many companies and people lose motivation to create products if they cannot make a profit from their products. For ex...
Fast fashion is a complex and multifaceted problem that has effects reaching to every corner of the globe. ‘Fast fashion,’ similar to fast food, is cheap, easily accessible, mass produced globally standardized product. It is characterized by sweatshop labor, supply chains, and large profits for the sellers. From the countries that grow the raw material for clothing, to those that produce textiles, to those that contain sweatshops, to those that are full of consumers ready to buy the next item on the shelves, this is a growing global issue that needs to be stopped in its tracks.
From point A to point B, do you know how your favourite haute couture look is created? Do you know if it is created sustainably? Let’s follow the design process behind the scenes of the average haute couture garment. There will be a few unfamiliar terms to the beginner fashion design student that will be defined in order to further their understanding of this research paper. An introduction to haute couture fashion, we will explore a brief history of haute couture, what haute couture is, and the design process behind creating a couture garment. Following the introduction to haute couture we will have a short insight into the philosophy of local industry professional Don Fabian Lee, the owner of Trend Customs Tailors, a couture atelier located
“This New York Fashion Week, models and editors are stylishly dressed but fashion designers are naked. Legally naked, that is” (Scafidi, Rodriguez, NYT). Fashion design is a form of art. Currently there is no set of copyright laws to protect fashion design. Consequently, especially within the past 10 years, fashion designers have struggled to protect their form of art. Americans concerned with the future of the fashion industry started to stand up for the industry and propose acts to protect it, yet none have been successful enough to pass. Based on information from The Council of Fashion Designer Association, most fashion designers would agree, this needs to change. Fashion designers should have fashion design copyright
Fashion has been around ever since ancient times, since the time of the Romans, it survived the world wars and is yet today a business with rapid changes. Fashion started off as an art form, a way for the riches to show their social status with unique and innovative designs that only they could afford. It was a way to separate the social classes of the society. In this paper I will include the creator of haute couture, and how the following designers developed couture, as well as having leading names in today’s ready-to-wear industry. The list is long, but I chose to focus on the three most important designers of the modern fashion industry.
Robbert Van Ooijen. "Why Piracy Is Good For Innovation." 'hypebot' N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Fast Fashion may be the most significant disruptive in the retail industry today. Troublesome novelties, or product or services, that alter an prevailing market by presenting minimalism, suitability, convenience and affordability, have the most positive influence on a company. Because fashion is ever changing and technology is always evolving the amount of production time it takes for something to be manufactured
The Fashion Industry can be described as a glamorous world with cameras flashing, beautiful models strutting down the runway, in stunning and grand designs. What really goes on behind fashion’s dolled up doors is only an illusion compared to what reality is. Beautiful people, stylish clothing and timeless sophistication all make up the illusion of the glitz and glam of the fashion industry, but behind the curtains countless of models and designers constantly fall victim to this industry’s ever changing wrath. Fashion can be defined as a popular trend especially in styles of dress, ornaments or behavior. A model is a person who poses or displays for art purposes, fashion or other products and advertising. Fashion models are used mainly to promote products focusing mostly on clothing and accessory. The two main type of modeling in the fashion industry is commercial modeling and high fashion modeling. High Fashion models usually work for campaigns, designer’s collections and magazine editorials for high fashion designers. Runway modeling also known as “catwalk modeling” is displaying fashions and is generally performed by high fashion models. In my research paper, my main focus will be the multiple effects on high fashion models based upon the industry’s unregulated standards.
Over the past decade the societal view of creative society has greatly changed due to advances in computer technology and the Internet. In 1995, aware of the beginning of this change, two authors wrote articles in Wired Magazine expressing diametrically opposed views on how this technological change would take form, and how it would affect copyright law. In the article "The Emperor's Clothes Still Fit Just Fine" Lance Rose hypothesized that the criminal nature of copyright infringement would prevent it from developing into a socially acceptable practice. Thus, he wrote, we would not need to revise copyright law to prevent copyright infringement. In another article, Entitled "Intellectual Value", Esther Dyson presented a completely different view of the copyright issue. She based many her arguments on the belief that mainstream copyright infringement would proliferate in the following years, causing a radical revision of American ideas and laws towards intellectual property. What has happened since then? Who was right? This paper analyzes the situation then and now, with the knowledge that these trends are still in a state of transformation. As new software and hardware innovations make it easier to create, copy, alter, and disseminate original digital content, this discussion will be come even more critical.
Globalization in its most technical form refers to the lowering of economic and trade barriers between nations, which results in increasing international trade as well as reducing costs through allowing for resource use efficiency (Stiglitz, 2002). Under this model of globalization, the main focus is on economic gain, including the promise of poverty reduction or elimination and other significant social and economic gains (Stiglitz, 2002). Of course, this promise of economic improvement through globalization is not fully delivered on; many countries, particularly developing countries, have actually had losses in their positions through globalization, particularly forced economic globalization (Stiglitz, 2002). However, other
Fashion takes on many different facets and concerns many subsets— a model sashaying down the runway in a gown encrusted in real gems, Lady Gaga’s infamous dress made of cuts of raw beef, a teenage girl obsessing over the season’s latest styles— it is all an expression of our minds and who we are or want to be, made tangible. It is a medium just like any other, for while artists wield brushes and paints, designers use thread and cloth to illustrate their vision. The artistry is none more so apparent than in the exclusive world of haute couture, a world of extravagance that caters to aesthetics, producing one-of-a-kind wearable masterpieces that are made to be admired rather than worn. It is without doubt, high fashion and its design is an art.
Knorr, Caroline, “Illegal Downloads: When Sharing Becomes Stealing” (November 19, 2010) https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/illegal-downloads-when-sharing-becomes-stealing (March 31, 2014)