Michael Kors Is Told He is OUT

Well it seems that the Project Runway judge has more explaining to do than Kenley ever had to do about her Balenciaga knockoff.

He has just been slapped with a lawuit by the keeper of the legacy of American designer Tony Duquette. There are allegations that Mr. Kors has used the Duquette name and photos from a book about him by Abrams in order to market his newest resort collection. He is alleged to have used the Duquette mark knowingly and wilfully without permission or license to use it.

Mr. Kors has no comment on the pending litigation.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2009/01/inspiration-or.html

The Sweet Smell of a Lawsuit?

It seems like vampires are dangerous types. Not only do they love going out at night, sucking the blood of innocents and wearing leather but now you can add trademark infringement to the list too.

According to New York Magazine: "After Twilight released a perfume that looked suspiciously similar to Nina Ricci's, Nina Ricci (owned by Puig) announced today that the label is taking legal action against the Twilight makers. So vampires can get away with bloodsucking, but not trademark infringement? Got it. [Now Smell This]"

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/01/nina_ricci_takes_legal_action.html

I have posted the pictures of Nina Ricci's perfume Nina and the claimed infringing Twilight perfume. I would have to say that the pictures are compelling. Thanks Jo for this tip!

Gucci Gone Bad?

It seems that there is *always* something going on in the world of fashion. This past week, Jennifer Gucci has been sued by Gucci America. Jennifer Gucci was the former wife of Paolo Gucci who was heir to the Gucci fashion house. Paolo Gucci has been credited with introducing the interlocking G logo and with increasing the fashion house's popularity in the United States.

What has Jennifer been credited with? Well according to the papers filed with the Manhattan Federal Court, Gucci America claims that Ms. Gucci's lawyer Mr. Edward Litwak was attempting to sell licensing deals bearing the Gucci name.

"It should be clear to this court by now that Litwak is, plainly and simply, a con man," Gucci America attorney John Maltbie wrote in the filing.

"He has bilked numerous unsuspecting individuals into giving him hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for licenses to use the name[s] Jennifer Gucci and Gemma Gucci," the papers state.

Mr. Maltbie is an associate for Arnold & Porter in the New York office where he works in the Intellectual Property practice group.

Napster Still Influences in 2009

After Napster was shut down, more and more consumers turned to other downloading sites in order to get their music. These consumers do not care that this is considered copyright infringement, they just think its silly to pay overinflated prices in order to listen to perhaps two tracks that they like and get 12 more that they don't like. When Itunes introduced its individual tracks price points, it was great until consumers realized that they did not want to pay $1 for a song that in essence is less than $0.50 when you buy the CD.

So what does the music industry do? You can't force consumers to buy songs right? Well it seems that some music industry heads have noticed consumer habits will not change, so they have to change their marketing initiatives in order to stay alive in this economy. New York Times did an excellent article on this. It provides a comprehensive list of what is going on in the EU as well as the U.S.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/business/worldbusiness/19digital.html?em

Check it out.

Product Placement Alert In Bride Wars

Did anyone else notice the OBVIOUS product placement of Ropes & Gray's building in the movie Bride Wars? They tried to downplay the name of the firm that Kate Hudson's character Liv worked for, but Ropes & Gray's logo popped up so many times I wondered if they paid to be a part of the movie.

Of course, Tiffany & Co. also made an appearance. The movie itself was a running promotion of The Plaza Hotel. And the famous line: "You don't alter a Vera, you alter yourself to fit into Vera." It was a good movie, but can we make a movie that feels less like a two hour commercial? I already saw enough of it with the Sex & The City movie. Oy vey. Especially Jennifer Hudson hawking Bag, Borrow Or Steal.

Oh wait, there was this OBVIOUS after party for the movies premiere held where else? Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue. Please note: I happen to love Tiffany & Co, but obvious product placement annoys even the best of us. I did love how Tiffany rolled out the iconic Tiffany "blue" carpet.

Premiere of "Bride Wars" at Tiffany and Co. on January 5, 2009 in New York City.
(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images North America)

Cable Needs to Watch Out

This post is not really geared towards fashion at all, but it deserves mention on this blog. I did do a concentration in Intellectual Property & TECHNOLOGY. The tech geek does surface onces in a while.

That is because the lovely folks of Boxee have identified a viable technology and created some genius software to allow individuals to bypass cable television. The software allows you to hook your computer to your television in order to view episodes that are available on the internet. This is worthy of mention because episodes from television are becoming readily available on the internet. Whether it is Tess of the D'Ubervilles from PBS' Masterpiece Theatre, the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, or The Real Housewives of Atlanta, all of it is accessible through the internet. AND they are available without as many intrusive commercials. It truly does seem like the new TiVo right?

Check out the article that the New York Times did on Boxee here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/17/technology/internet/17video.html

Macy's Knockoffs Are Not Doing Well?

Well it seems that the people over at Macy's are having a tough time with this recession. It seems that the "Macy's Model" of doing business is out dated, irrelevant, and well out of fashion. According to an analysis of the business by Gerson Lehrman Group, Macy's has done well for itself in the past by building a strong private label. This was done by Macy's bringing trendy item pieces quickly to market with attractive price points even with markups. It was commonly accepted that a department store would also carry its own line of apparel (Lord & Taylor and Saks also do this). This recession has basically prevented obvious trends from forming. When there are no obvious trends, there is nothing for Macy's to "knock off" from major designers in order to churn out their own private label. Designers have been loath to present anything "trendy" for fear that consumers would revolt because the pieces would have a limited shelf life. Fast fashion chains like Uniqlo, H&M, Zara and Forever 21 have also cut into potential sales for Macy's.

Since Macy's does not have the resources to actually retain actual design talent, what will Macy's do with its private label? My recommendation is that Macy's attempts to create classic basics for any working individual's wardrobe. It does not require design talent (well expensive design talent) and it will lure shoppers back to Macy's. What will happen? Only time will tell.