TFG Exclusive: Fashion Quote of the Day

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

                - Coco Chanel

Louis Vuitton takes on Fashion Law Symposium

What was supposed to be an event to highlight the fashion law practice area because a fashion law topic itself. The intellectual property group at the University of Pennsylvania Law School decided to host a fashion law symposium, only to receive a cease and desist letter from one of the leading luxury brands in the world. Why would Louis Vuitton feel compelled to kill the fashion law mood? The event flyer did not sit well with MichaelPantalony, the Director of Civil Enforcement for the French fashion house. 

While clever in incorporating the symbols for copyright and trademark into the brand's signature monogram, Louis Vuitton argued the event flyer was willful infringement and dilution of the brand's trademarks. How so? The flyer misleads the public into thinking that Louis Vuitton sponsored the event. Furthermore, Louis Vuittoncontended that it would "mislead others into thinking that this type of unlawful activity is somehow 'legal' or constitutes 'fair use' because the Penn Intellectual Property Group is sponsoring a seminar on fashion law and 'must be experts.'" For a fully copy of the cease and desist letter, click here. 

Penn Law changed the event flyer to the following:

Nevertheless, the school countered Louis Vuitton's arguments with the following:

• Trademark infringement consists of using a trademark in interstate commerce that is substantially similar to the original trademark and that would likely cause confusion.
• The event flyer not being adopted as a trademark for interstate commerce of goods or service
• There is no likelihood of confusion because the lawyers, law students, and fashion industryexecutives attending the event would not think Louis Vuitton was sponsoring the event
• The event flyer falls within the noncommercial use exception
• The event flyer is fair use as artwork parody, as in the case Louis Vuitton v. Haute Diggity Dog, LLC.

For a fully copy of Penn's response, click here. While both sides present valid arguments, it's clear LouisVuitton's main goal was to make an example of the IP law group. 

TFG Exclusive: Style Curator

TFG would like to introduce its readers to the Cambridge Satchel Company. Some of you may be aware of this new "it" bag that has been featured all over the street style blogs and TFG personally spotted them all over NYFW. The bags are handmade in England from real leather and come in nearly every color of the rainbow and sizes ranging from 11"-15" in width. TFG is particularly obsessed with the line of neon colors, which are on trend for spring. For those of you who can appreciate having an "it" bag, but are tired of price points that are equivalent of two or in some cases three months rent, the Cambridge Satchel Company line is worth looking into. At 150-200 dollars, you will not only be on par with other fashionistas, but you can give your wallet a break with a guilt-free purchase. Those of us at TFG who personally own the bag in two colors already can testify to the quality of the leather and the awesomeness of the bag. Be warned: you will be stopped and asked "where did you get that bag?" quite frequently. Check out our favorite colors!

Marni for H&M

Here at The Fashion Grid, Marni is one of our favorite designers. With her innovative use of color and print, TFG loves the feminine quirkiness of her designs. For those of you unfamiliar with Marni, the aesthetic can best be described as a modern take on 1970s secretary-chic. The fashion line was founded in 1994 by Consuelo Castiglioni, who continues to be the label's designer.  Today was the launch of Marni's line for H&M women and men, adding to the growing list of designer collaborations the fast-fashion retailer has geniusly offered its customers over the years. Here are some of our favorite looks from the line and a video footage of an interview with Castiglioni and the Marni for H&M photo shoot. 

Fashion Geek Alert: FashionLab Digitizes Fashion

Technological advances in the fashion industry have been prompting industry insiders to tap into their inner geek. With social shopping, flash-sales, personal styling, mood boards, and fashion bloggers all finding their place on the internet, fashion is quickly moving online and rapidly becoming computerized. The most recent development is FashionLab, a software that enables fashion designers to envision their garments in 3-D from the earliest stages of the creative process. 

FashionLab was developed by Dassault Systèmes with a few fashion designers and veterans, including Julien Fournié and Jean Paul Cauvin. As reported by Fast Company, Dassault Systèmes already had the technology in place, having created 3-D simulations involving icebergs.  Now, with the use of a digital pen, fashion designers are able to make a drawing and move it around in 3-D on a computer screen, bringing the designer's vision to life earlier on in the design process. 

So what are the advantages of digitizing the fashion process? Efficiency and cost-effectiveness. FashionLab can only further enhance what Tom Ford coined as "fashion immediacy" by helping designers communicate their vision more effectively and potentially minimizing the chance of errors in the production process or delays with poorly executed designs. While fashion designers will always dictate the trends, it's clear the geeks are going to revolutionize and take over the industry.