Fashion lawyer Julian Blanchard reveals how to build your brand for long-term success.
The industry has never been more dynamic and active at a grassroots level.Brands like Spell and the Gypsy Collective are doing great and are attracting a fierce loyal following and the attention of celebrities like Margot Robbie, Miley Cyrus and Delta Goodrem.The key for newcomers in the industry, as well as well-known brands, will be stitching things up right at the backend.Here are seven critical points to consider when launching and growing a business in the fashion industry:
Initial structuring: Things to consider are the risk and tax implications of operating as a sole trader or through a company or a trust.
Trademarks: Registering a trademark gives the owner exclusive rights to use the mark on the class of goods (class 25 for apparel) and simplifies the enforcement process if someone tries to rip off the brand. Each country has its own trademark regulation.
Counterfeits: There are two types of counterfeit issues – cheap imitation products, often manufactured in SE Asian countries, which can sometimes be stopped at the border by lodging a notice with customs; or legitimate traders who imitate a brand’s designs rather than coming up with their own original work – if the imitation involves breach of copyright, or a registered design, then it should be dealt with initially by a “cease and desist” letter.
Labelling: Country of origin and care instructions are the mandatory laws regarding labelling.
International expansion: There are several ways to tackle overseas markets – you can appoint a person in the foreign country as your sales agent; appoint someone as your distributor or set up your own operations in each country. Each comes with pros and cons.
Funding: Once the business grows to a certain size, there are a few options to access capital and grow bigger – these include getting funds from a bank, from venture capitalists crowdfunding or an equity investment.
Exit: You’ve grown a brand over a number of years and now you want to get a significant pay out – some options for the next step include sale to another founder, a management buy-out, trade sale or initial public offering.Many fashion businesses get into trouble and in many cases, the issue could have been minimised or avoided altogether with the right legal advice before the trouble started.A stitch in time saves nine. I’ve seen designers accidently sail too close to the wind and somehow rip off someone else’s design. They got pulled up for it and then needed to respond to a cease and desist.I’ve also seen employees steal confidential data and then you have to try to keep, or put back the genie in the bottle – it can turn messy pretty quickly.Some things are unavoidable, but with the right advice it’s not difficult to avoid or remediate these kinds of issues.
Julian is a lawyer with 30 years’ experience. Notably he spent seven years as Billabong’s first global in-house lawyer. He then went on to work with fashion brands like Byron Bay clothing and fashion label Afends; motorchic Deus ex Machina; global eyewear brand Epokhe; surfwear company Vissla; fashion powerhouse One Teaspoon and boho chic Spell and Gypsy Collective. To purchase a copy of Fashion Law: The Complete Guide, (RRP$49.50) visit www.blanchardlegal.com.au
“My husband (goldsmith Erik Sandquist) was great. While Christina and I were working, he’d cook dishes like chili con carne for us.”An early partnership with long-established Danish footwear company Sanita promised great things, but the Global Financial Crisis dealt a punishing blow and Gitte decided to go it alone. .“It was a terrible time and affected even Denmark’s major banks, but luckily Lola Ramona survived and we’ve done well in recent years, especially since we opened our own factory in China,” she says.“Using different factories for small orders is always a hassle, so it’s great to have control. A fantastic woman runs the factory. I call her my soulmate.”Quality leathers, pampered comfort (“we add an extra layer of padding”) and striking detail on heels and insoles are among Lola Ramona’s key footwear features. So are the whimsical names that identify the designs.There’s canny reasoning behind Elsie Strut, Stella Lollipop, Cecilia Spats and Co. “I got the naming idea from Levi’s,” confesses Gitte. “Consumers know exactly how say, a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans look and feel, and that sort of instant recognition is important with footwear, especially when you’re buying online.
”I used a different process for our brand name. I wanted something that sounded like a real girl and could be pronounced in all languages. That’s how Lola Ramona was born. She’s feminine and distinctive.”Years of experience gained through working with giants such as Sweden’s H &M and America’s Levi Strauss, and later as an independent agent representing international brands including Lacoste, Paul Smith and Caterpillar, have served Gitte well since she founded Lola Ramona.Family members have also made valuable contributions and not just through their cooking skills. “My 93-year-old grandmother has a basement full of wonderful stuff she’s kept for decades and I have lots of fun digging around in it. Great for inspiration!”A small retail store attached to her office in Copenhagen is Gitte’s only concession to bricks and mortar. The real action happens on Lola Ramona’s award-winning online store and new product lines may soon be enjoying that global reach.“Not clothes, but accessories such as gloves, hats and scarves,” reveals Gitte Sandquist. “The problem is finding the time to develop them. Right now we’re so busy, things are just crazy, but I’m not complaining.”To find out more about Lola Ramona, please contact Judy Williams, Australian & New Zealand distributor at 
