The Functionality Doctrine: Utilitarian and Aesthetic Functionality Explained
A brand can build a famous look around a feature that also does useful work. A red sole helps a shoe stand out on…
Online Returns Law for Fashion Brands: US, EU and UK Rules
Returns cost fashion brands real money, and three legal systems govern how they handle them. The National Retail Federation and Happy Returns project that…
CSDDD and Fashion: Due Diligence Duties After the Omnibus Changes
On 26 February 2026, the EU published Directive (EU) 2026/470 in the Official Journal, and it rewrote the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive before…
How Brands Reduce Textile Waste (and Which Laws Now Require It)
The fashion industry makes more clothing than it sells. UNEP counts 92 million tonnes of textile waste a year, and the European Environment Agency…
The End of De Minimis: How Tariff Changes Hit Shein, Temu and Small Brands
For almost a decade, a parcel worth $800 or less entered the United States without duty. Use of the exemption grew from 134 million…
The FTC Fake Reviews Rule and Fashion: What Brands Can No Longer Do With Customer Reviews
In January 2022, Fashion Nova agreed to pay $4.2 million to settle FTC claims that it blocked negative reviews from its website. In January…
Influencer Gifting: Disclosure Rules Plus a Gift Note Template
A free product in a PR package triggers a disclosure duty in the United States, the United Kingdom and India, and an influencer who…
The Glamourisation of Work and the Normalisation of Precariousness in The Devil Wears Prada: A Brazilian Labour Law Analysis
Research area: Labor Law; Fashion Law. Introduction: Cinema, as a form of large-scale cultural narrative, is not limited to showing labor relations, but rather…
Whimsy Made Me Want It. But Which Brand Was It Again?
One evening, I was lying in bed scrolling through TikTok. I saw a woman wearing a soft, romantic summer top. I liked her video,…
What US Customs Seized in 2025: Counterfeit Fashion by the Numbers
US Customs and Border Protection seized nearly 79 million counterfeit items in fiscal year 2025, the year that ran from October 2024 to September…
IEEPA Tariff Refunds: What Fashion Importers Can Claim After Learning Resources v. Trump
On 20 February 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not…
Sustainable Fashion Startups: Legal Checklist Before You Launch
A sustainable fashion startup sells a promise as well as a product, and the law now tests that promise more closely than it tests…
adidas v. Thom Browne: How a Four-Bar Stripe Beat the Three Stripes
On 12 January 2023, a Manhattan jury took less than two hours to decide a dispute that had run for years. It found that…
California Resale Certificates for Clothing Brands and Boutiques: State-by-State Guide
A resale certificate lets a boutique or clothing brand buy stock from a supplier without paying sales tax on it, because the tax gets…
Modeling Jobs: Where to Find Legit Work and the Red Flags to Avoid
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics counted about 4,200 modeling jobs in 2025 and projects a 2 percent decline by 2035. It expects roughly…
What Constitutes a Fast Fashion Brand?
No statute defines fast fashion for the whole industry, so the answer depends on who asks. A fashion historian describes a business model, and…
What Does a Fashion Designer Do? Daily Work and Legal Basics
A fashion designer creates clothing, footwear and accessories, and the job runs from a rough sketch to a garment on a rail. The US…