Luxury labels, and their famous logos, are being co-opted by streetwear makers in a blossoming marriage of high and low, chic and street. The trend is indicative of the pervasive appeal of luxury brands and the ongoing dialogue between high fashion and youth culture.
Central to the trend, however, are the legal issues of trademark protection, and what legal strategies designer brands should pursue to guard their logos while cultivating a potential constituency of style-savvy customers.
“I think this is a very current trend and issue. You have the convergence of constitutional law, free-speech issues, intellectual property law and a general overlay of business and commercial law. It’s a fascinating area,” said Douglas Hand, a partner at Hand Baldachin & Amburgey, a firm with a large fashion industry practice.
“I think designer brands should be very vigilant to these issues. The main value of these companies is their intellectual property, specifically, their trademarks. Given that, to not diligently police and enforce trademarks in this industry is just not good business.”
Hermès is a particularly popular inspiration for streetwear brands at the moment. Apart from Lichtenberg’s “Homiés” designs, there are “Hotmès” hats from Unif and “Hornés” designs from What About Yves. The lines are available at streetwear retailers like Karmaloop and Asos, but also high-end stores such as Brown’s, Colette, Lane Crawford, Holt Renfrew, Harvey Nichols and Net-a-porter.
The legality of a parody rests on two key legal tests: whether there is actual consumer confusion between the two brands and whether there is dilution of the original brand’s value, said Joseph Gioconda, an attorney who specializes in intellectual property cases and whose clients include Hermès.
“It’s fair to say that in the designer community, there is a spectrum of opinion about these types of activities,” said Gioconda. “On one end of the spectrum are companies like Louis Vuitton who have taken a very aggressive stance to the use of their name or logo in any context. Other brands see it as a relatively inconsequential act with no direct threat to their own commercial value. Brands have different cultures and sensibilities.”
Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy and Olivier Rousteing at Balmain may be two designers who appreciate streetwear’s current fascination with luxury logos. Earlier this month, Tisci posted a photo of LPD’s “Tisci” jersey to his own Instagram feed. According to LPD founder Benjamin Fainlight, a number of “Tisci” T-shirts and jerseys have been ordered by the Givenchy office in Paris. Givenchy declined to comment.
Similarly, Rousteing has posted a photo on his Instagram feed of himself wearing a sweatshirt by Criminal Damage that riffs on the Balmain logo, turning it into “Ballin.’” Balmain declined to comment as well.
Other companies have taken a more overtly hostile stance toward perceived infringements of their trademarks. Earlier this year, lawyers for Dolce & Gabbana sent LPD a cease-and-desist letter after the New York company hosted a pop-up shop at Lane Crawford that included its “Gabbana” jerseys. “They thought it would cause brand confusion. I respect their wishes, but I think they’re misunderstanding the concept,” said Fainlight.
Cartier at the beginning of this year sent New York designer Fahad Al-Hunaif, along with retailer American Two Shot, cease-and-desist letters for creating and selling hats that substituted an off-color word in the Cartier script. “I responded right away and was very compliant,” said Olivia Wolfe, cofounder of American Two Shot. “We’re a young company, and we don’t want to fight with anyone.” Cartier declined to comment.
source: wwd