During the Paris Fashion Week, we've via our Facebook page, showcased the swanky Intellectual Property behind some of the most iconic fashion items to have hit the runway. Just in case you've missed it, here are the goodies:-
Industrial Design:
1. First off, let us look back to the 50s at one of the icons of ROLEX - the GMT MASTER 1675. With its dual-toned blue and red bezel, the 1675 is easily the most recognisable Rolex watch. As a testament to its ageless appeal, the GMT MASTER series is still in production today (see https://www.rolex.com/watches/gmt-master-ii/m116719blro-0001.html).
2. To many, fashion is all about standing out, to have that which no one else has. That's why many fashion houses choose to protect their unique and gorgeous designs through design patents (a.k.a. registered/industrial designs), in order to keep the designs exclusively theirs!
E.g. - Saint Laurent's 2014 Anita Fringed Bag and its corresponding design patent application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Patent:
3. 'Honey, can you help me with this?'...quite possibly the only useful input required of men in a dressing room! But can you imagine what fashion would be like without these nifty zippers?
*seen here in a 1917 patent application at the USPTO.
4. Because cotton is so yesterday, Anna Grindi has revolutionized the clothing industry by creating a fabric from the cork tree bark (see http://www.wipo.int/ipadvantage/en/details.jsp?id=2667).The fabric is said to be almost indestructible, waterproof, and stain-proof. Above all, Grindi's fabric is produced without involving felling trees.
In the words of Coco Chanel, “in order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different”.
Trademark:
5. Lastly, we simply cannot take our eyes off the most desired and flirtatious stilettos. Yes! It's all about Christian Louboutin's famous trademark - that shiny, red-lacquered soles which got every celebrity flaunting.
That's a wrap for our IP parade! Hope you enjoyed the voguish side of IP! And yes! There's a reason why the word IP is in Hip.