Apple and Amazon are coming under the microscope of Italy’s antitrust authority in connection with their alleged pattern of preventing unauthorized parties from reselling products on Amazon’s sweeping online marketplace. In a statement on Wednesday, the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità garante della concorrenza e del mercato) confirmed the probe, which is aimed at determining whether Apple and...
Fashion
What Must Companies Do – and Disclose – When Faced With Allegations of Bad Behavior by Their CEOs?
Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman’s parent company Tapestry revealed on Tuesday that its chairman and chief executive Jide Zeitlin would resign for “personal reasons.” The announcement seemed suspiciously abrupt given that the 56-year old former Goldman Sachs executive had been in the dual role for less than a year (after first joining the company’s board...
Kanye West is Fighting with a Fragrance Company Over Their Respective “YZY” Trademarks
In June 2018, YZY filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). The company – a Miami-based fragrance and cosmetics wholesaler – sought to register a stylized version of its name for use on “fragrances and hair care preparations,” among other related products, only to be shot down by the national...
Retail Woes: A Running List of Fashion Bankruptcies
On the heels of an array of retail bankruptcy filings that began to unfold over the course of the year in 2016, New York-based designer Bibhu Mohapatra and retailers The Limited, Wet Seal, and Payless all made headlines when they filed for Chapter 11 protection in early 2017. They were swiftly followed by a handful...
Steven Klein, Nars Prevail in Copyright Case After Allegedly Hijacking Photo of Makeup Design for Collab
Steven Klein and Francoise Nars have prevailed in a case filed against them by makeup artist Sammy Mourabit. According to the copyright infringement suit filed in a New York state court in August 2018, Mourabit claimed that the famed fashion photographer and the makeup mogul used his work that appeared in a 2013 editorial in...
LAW After Filing Suit Against KKW, Seed Beauty is Taking on Kylie Cosmetics, Coty in New Trade Secret Lawsuit
On the heels of alluding to impending litigation involving Kylie Cosmetics in the trade dress secret case it filed against Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty late last month, Seed Beauty has named Coty, Inc. and Kylie Jenner’s corporate entity King Kylie LLC in a markedly similar lawsuit. In the newly-initiated legal battle, beauty brand incubator Seed Beauty is...
Sensors Woven into a Shirt Can Monitor Vital Signs
MIT researchers have developed a way to incorporate electronic sensors into stretchy fabrics, allowing them to create shirts or other garments that could be used to monitor vital signs such as temperature, respiration, and heart rate. The sensor-embedded garments, which are machine washable, can be customized to fit close to the body of the person...
How Women Dress for Other Women
“If you can’t be better than your competition,” Vogue editor Anna Wintour once said, “just dress better.” Indeed, new research suggests that women don’t just dress to be fashionable, or to outdo one another when it comes to enticing men. They also dress for other women. But Wintour’s quote misses some of the nuances that...
There’s a Complex History of Skin Lighteners in Africa and Beyond
Somali-American activists recently scored a victory against Amazon and against colourism, which is prejudice based on preference for people with lighter skin tones. Members of the non-profit The Beautywell Project teamed up with the Sierra Club to convince the online retail giant to stop selling skin lightening products that contain mercury. After more than a...
From Gucci to Supreme: Fashion Brands Are Tapping into Disney’s $60 Billion Merch Machine
Disney is not just for kids. That seemed to be a clear takeaway when Gucci sent a $4,500 plastic purse in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head down the runway at Le Palace in Paris as part of its Spring/Summer 2019 collection. As it turns out, the appearance of one of Disney’s most well-known characters...