IP is the newest buzzword in fashion – the pun, unfortunately, was irresistible. The latest breakaway faction of the Indian fashion industry – the Fashion Foundation of India – has set up what is intended to be “an apex body… that will work towards capacity building of the fashion, design and manufacturing industry.”
Indian fashion has bred many a copycat, as allegations over the years lead us to believe, and surely, several “victims” in the industry will be breathing a sigh of relief. What will be interesting to see is whether this initiative will be sufficient to attract a large enough body of designers to the FFI. The Times of India is cynical of the new organisation, suggesting that the FFI may be little else than a group of designers displeased with the functionings of the existing Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI); and that it may be beset with similar bureaucratic trappings. We can only wait in the wings to see the form and degree of support the legal cell of the FFI will provide its members, and whether the system actually proceeds beyond rhetoric.
At the same time, I draw your attention to an excellent post that Shamnad had done a little under a year ago on the piracy paradox in fashion design. The post quotes an academic article by Professors Rausiala and Springman, paraphrased by NYT thus (as quoted in the post):
“Copying enables designs and styles to move quickly from early adopters to the masses. And since no one cool wants to keep wearing something after everybody else is wearing it, the copying of designs helps fuel the incessant demand for something new. The situation is not necessarily easy on designers, who have to keep coming up with new ideas rather than being able to milk a trend for years. But it means that in the industry as a whole there is more innovation, more competition, and probably more sales than there otherwise would be.”
Do read the post and the article for a fascinating exploration of this thesis. Maybe this will also give the Indian designers an opportunity to rethink any attempts towards excessive protectionism.
