Copyright Laws Won’t Beat the Fashion Industry The New Republic is an American magazine that tackles topics in politics as well as the liberal arts. In 2007, Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman, professors at UVA and UCLA Law School, wrote an article in the magazine The New Republic, on “How Copyright Law Could Kill the Fashion Industry.” In the beginning of the article, the authors introduce senator of New York, Chuck Shumer. Shumer is said to bring out a bill that protects fashion designs by making them copyright. Raustiala and Sprigman’s commentary on fashion victims is both effective and ineffective in defending the idea that copying original fashion designs promotes development and creativity in the fashion industry. Raustiala and Sprigman assume that fashion will not be the same if each design belonged exclusively to one person or organization. In fact, they compare it to the music and film industries, making it clear that the copying …show more content…
For example, on the first page of the article Raustiala and Sprigman state, “growth and creativity in the fashion industry depend on copying” (Kaustiala and Sprigman, 1). On the second page, the authors mention “[when fashion designers] see something that they like, they copy it” (Kaustiala and Sprigman, 2). The authors want to make sure the reader clearly understands this point, but they would be more successful if they do it in an ingenious way. To make sure the reader understands this point, the authors should have used specific examples directly related to fashion. They could have also used quotes from renowned fashion designers such as Coco Chanel or Marc Jacobs. The fact that the authors aren’t ingenious in defending their point makes the reader question the validity of their argument. In essence, expanding on the subject could have helped the authors propose a better
Berry, Hannah. “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual.” The Norton Field Guide to
On late August of 2007, Dana Thomas writes to the general public on the horrors made possible by the buying and selling of counterfeit fashion goods to persuade the end of the consumerism funding monstrous acts. Through the incorporation of ethos, logos, and pathos in her journalism, Thomas persuades her audience with the uncoverings of the sources behind the making of the counterfeit goods.
From the conventional Victorian dresses of the 1800’s to the rock-and-roll tee shirts of the 1980’s, American culture has experienced incredibly diverse trends in clothing. This ever changing timeline of fashion provokes the question: what is the cause of such differing styles? By considering the state of society throughout the era, it can be seen that clothing directly correlates with the current way of life. Specifically, American women’s fashion of the 1920’s and 1930’s proves to not simply be a meaningless trend – but rather an accurate reflection of the specific era. As the stock market booms and society prospers, women’s fashion undergoes drastic change during the 1920’s.
It is interesting to consider Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption as it pertains to the modern day fashion industry, specifically the luxury fashion sector. In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen said “we all find a costly hand-wrought articles of apparel much preferable to a less expensive imitation of it;” however, at the beginning of the 20th century, couture clothing was exclusively available to those who were very wealthy, simply because of how much the garments cost. By the mid-1930’s, businesses were beginning to change their ways of thinking after seeing the enormous profit that the Walt Disney Company received once they licensed the making of Mickey Mouse novelty items. Christian Dior was the first of many fashion designers to foll...
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.
To conclude, the capability to create customized clothing is becoming undemanding as technology evolves. Ready made apparel was only available in predetermined sizes 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 clothing in many ways, making it effortless to design the clothing and to also produce them. With the creation of new technology making clothes, fabrics will become easier.
Baker, Patricia, and Robert Price. Fashions of a Decade. New York: Facts on File, 1991. Print.
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
Strunk, William and White, E.B. The Elements of Style: Fourth Edition Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2000, 1979.
In the early 1800s, France was the sole fashion capital of the world; everyone who was anyone looked towards Paris for inspiration (DeJean, 35). French fashion authority was not disputed until the late twentieth century when Italy emerged as a major fashion hub (DeJean, 80). During the nineteenth century, mass produced clothing was beginning to be marketed and the appearance of department stores was on the rise (Stearns, 211). High fashion looks were being adapted and sold into “midlevel stores” so that the greater public could have what was once only available to the social elite (DeJean, 38). People were obsessed with expensive fashions; wealthy parents were advised not the let their children run around in expensive clothing. People would wait for children dressed in expensive clothing to walk by and then they would kidnap them and steal their clothes to sell for money (DeJean, 39). Accessories were another obsession of France‘s fashion; they felt no outfit was complete without something like jewelry or a shrug to finish off the look and make it all around polished (DeJean, 61). As designers put lines together, marketing began to become important to fashion in the nineteenth century; fashion plates came into use as a way to show off fashion l...
Fashion is an outlet people use to express themselves. People anxiously wait to see what the next trends are as seasons pass by. We buy anything that doesn’t break a bank, people buy a $10 shirt just because it’s cheap and they might not even wear it, but it’s all right, since it wasn’t expensive. As harmless and normal as that scenario sounds, the fashion industry has created the harmful concept that is “fast fashion”, in which stores sell an abundance of extremely cheap trendy clothing and “where deliveries are small and often, with stock delivered twice a week, for instant-access fashion.” (Cochrane)
My essay is going to be a discussion on whether fine art, fashion and designers are linked with each other. On starting my essay I looked up the definition of Fine art, the term is used to distinguish the variation of creative art forms, developed by humans. Some of the many concepts which fall under this category are painting, drawing, calligraphy, sculpture etc. I agree that fine art uses lots of visually appealing methods which seem graceful, like calligraphy the work produced is quite delicate and pretty. The area in fine art which I seek to specialise in is fashion it’s an expression in today’s society which defines the popular trends and style within clothes, foot wear and accessories. I feel that many designers of today create outfits, as a way of expressing their difficult to understand innovations. Artists and designers are arguably alike due to using similar creative techniques, and media to plan and craft their masterpiece. Art has always been a main influence in fashion, without fine art the majority of the vast selection of patterns and clothes wouldn’t have existed in the past or even the present day. Take Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian dress, created in 1965. Yves Saint Laurent was inspired by the 1920s abstract geometric pattern painting of Piet Mondrian work. Yves Saint Laurent realised during the 1960s that the simplicity and the flat planes, were ideal for the developing sack dress. Later on Yves Saint Laurent’s dress was replicated many times due to being so popular. As shown by Yves Saint Laurent, The patterns on dresses and other fabric weren’t an accident made by the designer who created them. But in fact inspirations from artists work. I believe that fashion is built upon art and culture of an entire era, si...
Gardner, Marilyn. "Fast Fashion Is a Problem." The Fashion Industry. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Fashion Industry Gives Rise to a 'Disposable Culture, '." The Christian Science Monitor. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Nov.
middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.
Fashion is a controversial issue in society nowadays. We live in a consumerism advanced era in which whether following fashion trends or not has become a debatable point. Many people believe that it is important to follow fashion trends. For example, Lord Chesterfield once said, “If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.” The question is why fashion should be an essential matter of concern to all of us. As far as I am concerned, each person should be able to decide if one wants to follow a trend or not.