Did you know that you can copy any item of clothing by any designer and it's perfectly legal? Designers have trademark protection, but no copyright protection and no patent protection to speak of. All they have, really, is trademark protection, and so it means that anybody could copy any garment on any person and sell it as their own design.

The only thing you can not do is copy brand logos and trademarks.

Johanna Blakley who studies the impact of mass media and entertainment on our world shares some really interesting perspectives in her Ted talk. She says the copyright laws that grip film, music and software industries hardly touches the fashion industry ... and fashion benefits in both innovation and sales. In her talk, she talks about what all creative industries can learn from fashion's free culture.

Reflection Questions

Here are a few questions to reflect on to make the most of the clip and what Johanna has to say. 

1. Why does the fashion industry have no copyright...

Watch the full-length documentary by Alexa Chung for British Vogue. She's guided by questions from the viewing public from all over the world.  Alexa investigates the fashion industry for you from the inside out. Rather than

Rather than a world that is frivolous, elitist and unprofitable, Alexa explains and proves to us that as an art form, an industry and most of all as a career choice, fashion can be underrated and holds masses of opportunity for anyone who wants to get involved.

This is a great documentary for anyone interested in working in the fashion industry.

Watch this film to learn all about the future of our clothing by some of the world's most innovative fashion design companies on the planet to get their opinion on clothing and its future, including: heroes of sustainability, Patagonia; tech-clothing giants, Studio XO; sportswear icon, adidas; and Biocouture, a consultancy exploring living organisms to grow clothing and accessories.