Fordham University Law professor Susan Scafidi in partnership with the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and it’s president Diane von Furstenberg will launching a new Institute dedicated to teaching and preserving fashion law on September 8^th 2010 in New York, this institute will be directed by Professor Susan Scafidi who pioneered the field of fashion law, and is internationally recognised for her expertise and created the first U.S law school course in the area. Working with the CFDA who are providing financial backing to the institute will provide students of the institute with opportunities to become leaders in this emerging field, and in addition to this the institute will also be supported by an advisory board including distinguished members of the fashion industry.

The Fashion Law Institute is being put in place to provide designers in need to legal aid with the help and support that they deserve. Students at the institute will learn and develop their skills in all areas of law that affects the fashion industry covering areas such as copyright, intellectual property, business and finance, international trade, government regulation, consumer culture, civil rights, employee and sustainability issues, in a number of seminars and classes, it will also dispense free legal advice to students and designers who are unable to afford the typical lawyers fees. With the Institute being in a good proximity to Manhattan’s Garment District frequent interaction between Fordham Law community and members of the fashion industry will be easily facilitated, this will also include opportunities for internships to be supplied by some of the worlds best-known fashion houses. In addition to this, New York fashion week has recently moved to Damrosch Park in Lincoln, which means it will take place literally outside the institute’s front door.

This institute has not been put in place to turn designers into lawyers, it is simply to inform and educate of the rights that anyone who is running a business is entitled to and what the legal aspects are surrounding the business. When designers set up businesses, even if they do not know how to deal with a legal situation they will at least be aware of when they should call a lawyer or when they should avoid calling a lawyer. This is where the institute comes in, as a centralised haven to turn to when they are in need of assistance.

Fashion law should be an established as a standard part of legal repertoire. The fashion design community is a lot larger than people seem to think and it should have somewhere to go to educate itself with the necessary legal knowledge, and supplied with the right advise it needs to survive.

This institute is offering a completely new field of expertise to the fashion industry, and will create and education and whole new generation of fashion lawyers. Not only that, but it will help designers to be more knowledgeable about what they are actually entitled to and about all legal aspects of their potential businesses. Scafidi hopes her new venture will become a recognizable arena of law, and so do members of the fashion industry, all businesses and industries need support and legal aid, and its about time the fashion industry was represented, and given the support if deserves.