To this day I can recall my elation when Isabel Marant sent her wedge sneaker down the runway during Paris Fashion Week. Evidently, I was not the only one who saw the appeal of this footwear because the shoe quickly appeared on the feet of numerous celebrities, bloggers, and other trendsetters. The bandwagon effect created by this “it” shoe was quickly realized by fast fashion giants who wasted little time stocking their shelves with a variety of knockoffs. If you are like me, this secondary fashion market is where you acquired your own pair of “Marant-esque” sneakers. Looking back on my purchase of these copied shoes, it is hard to believe how an industry that thrives on such obvious forms of copying can be so profitable when there is very little copyright protection. However, the success and steady flow of new creative ideas suggests that there is a silver-lining to the fashion industry’s general lack of intellectual property protection (there are, of course, an array of instances in which the law provides some form of protection for garments and accessories).
