After our hugely successful first event in 2021, we are proud to present the second edition of our free Women in Fashion Law virtual event. In celebration of International Women’s Month 2025 and this year’s #AccelerateAction theme, we’ll bring together leading legal professionals, industry experts, and innovators from the UK and US to explore the intersection of fashion and law.
Join us for an insightful panel discussion, interactive workshop, and a Q&A session. Whether you’re passionate about legal innovation, sustainability, intellectual property, social justice or the ever-evolving world of fashion technology, this event promises to inform, inspire, and empower the next generation of fashion law leaders.
Workshops to choose from (you can only choose 1):
The Legal Lookbook: Navigating Fashion IP Law in the U.S. with Ashley Cloud
This virtual workshop provides a snapshot into how fashion brands navigate the world of intellectual property in the U.S. fashion industry when fashion design protection is nuanced and oftentimes difficult to protect. We will use the following hot topics to demonstrate different strategies brands use to protect their creativity. (Note: These topics may change depending on if there are any newer topics that arise between now and the date of the workshop).
- Katy Perry vs. Katie Perry: The Battle Between the Indie Designer and the Mega Pop Star
- The Wirkin Bag: The Power of Trade Dress for Fashion Accessories
- The UGG Since 1974 Rebrand: When is it Just Business vs. Just Plain Unfair
Fashion Policy 2025 with Kenya Wiley
From AI innovation and immigration to social media, sustainability and trade, the new U.S. president and members of Congress have announced numerous policies that will impact fashion’s future. This workshop, led by former U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee counsel and regulatory attorney Kenya Wiley, will explore recent policy developments in the United States and implications for fashion law attorneys worldwide. We will also discuss the role of regulatory attorneys in preparing comments for agency rulemaking and guiding brands and retailers in another age of deregulation.
Preparing for a Career in Fashion Law: Education, Research, Practice with Professor Johanna Gibson
This breakout workshop will focus on legal education in fashion, opportunities within the legal academy and wider professional community, and the significance of further education in fashion law for the development of the practice area and discipline. The discussion will consider the interdisciplinary demands of a career in fashion law, how to prepare for the scope and complexity of fashion law practice through further study and continuing professional development, and important ways to think and act creatively to unlock opportunities and progression. Participants will be introduced to ways in which to enhance their employability - through further specialist study, interdisciplinarity, and networking in the legal academy - and how to create unique opportunities for shaping future careers and developing the kind of interdisciplinary expertise the field demands. The workshop will also look at the way in which education more widely has been a part of the professionalisation of the fashion industry in the UK, and how formal study in fashion law feeds back into legal practice, transforming and professionalising this emerging and very exciting area of law and policy.