Fordham's Fashion Law Institute director, Susan Scafidi (left) and Diane von Furstenberg (right) at the event. Photo: Getty Images
This morning Diane von Furstenberg and the CFDA joined forces with Fordham Law School for the founding of the country's first fashion law initiative.
Through a combination of specialized coursework, fashion-law symposium, and pro-bono legal resources, the center aims to assist designers in navigating the complicated issues of intellectual property, business, international trade, as well as government regulation issues that they encounter as they grow their businesses.
As workers put the finishing touches on the tents across the street, the CFDA and von Furstenberg, who has launched legal battles in the past over copycat producers, committed $100,000 to the founding of the center. "For a designer that's been in the industry a long,long time, having a lawyer that understands fashion is a very good thing," she said. Then DVF joined the center's elegantly attired director Susan Scafidi in banging a gavel to declare the center in session.
Meanwhile, take a tour of the brand new Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week space at Lincoln Center.