Fashion Apparel Law Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : Fashion Legal Issues

Over twenty major retailers have been sued in class action lawsuits in California for allegedly violating the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act.  The claimed offense involves requesting and recording their customers’ zip codes at the point of sale.  The issue is whether a zip code constitutes “personal identification information” as that term is defined under the Song-Beverly Act.  Recently, for the first time in California, Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager agreed with the defendant retailer[1] that a zip code is not “personal identification information,” and held that requesting and recording zip code information in connection with a credit card transaction is not a violation of the Song-Beverly Act.  Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc. (Oct. 3, 2008) No. 37-2008-00086061.[2] 

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The liaison between fashion and contemporary art has been continuously growing changing over the years.  Painters, photographers, visual artists, illustrators, performers and creative artists, are commissioned by top luxury brands of fashion and trendy stylists to create new collections, to design their websites, to redesign the concept of their stores, to bring elements of innovation to their catwalks, showrooms and fashion show or to contribute to publications.

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The Sheppard Mullin Fashion & Apparel team represented Inform Ventures, producer and niche marketing/advertising agency that works closely with the fashion industry, in connection with the production of the documentary. The documentary called "FutureFashion" showcased top designers presenting cutting-edge, eco-friendly fashions. The documentary was underwritten by Lexus.

Click here to view the documentary.

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Following the examples of Madrid and Milan, the Independent Model Health Inquiry proposed new rules to ban designers from using models under 16 during London Fashion Week.  The Independent Model Health Inquiry consists of a panel of fashion industry experts appointed by the British Fashion Council to investigate the health of catwalk models, following the death of two underweight models last year.  The panel concluded this month that models under 16 are in danger of being exploited because they are made to represent adult women and work in an insufficiently monitored environment.  Working hours for children aged 15 and 16 are restricted by law, yet the long hours teenage models spend at casting sessions are not considered paid employment. In addition, the average age for the onset of anorexia is 16.  The panel also called for greater protection of 17 and 18-year-old models, who should be chaperoned at shows.

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The fashion and apparel industry will confront many interesting and important issues in 2007. The following is a list and brief description of some of the most significant issues facing the industry this year:

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The concern for anorexic models in the fashion industry gained renewed global prominence after the eating-disorder deaths of two young South American models last year. The controversy over these deaths led Madrid government officials in September to ban models below a certain body-mass index from working on city-sponsored fashion shows. Milan followed with a similar ordinance, and in a December deal with the Italian fashion industry, designers agreed not to hire models younger than 16, and to require all models to submit medical proof that they do not suffer from eating disorders as a condition to work.

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