Fashion

At the same time, fashion and apparel companies must stay on top of shifting trends and meet consumer demands while taking on the challenges of intense competition, counterfeiting, and intellectual property infringement. Operating at the intersection of creativity and commerce, Pryor Cashman is perfectly positioned to help clients establish, extend and protect their fashion brands across the world. Our decades of experience, diverse practices, and broad network of influencers and dealmakers across fashion, entertainment, media, and finance enable us to address the unique combination of legal and business challenges our clients face in the world of fashion.

What We Do

Pryor Cashman helps clients establish, manage and grow their companies in the fashion industry, guiding them through their day-to-day business issues and handling their sophisticated transactions. We represent a broad spectrum of fashion, luxury goods, apparel, and textile businesses, including:

• Fashion design houses
• Large apparel manufacturers and distributors
• Retailers ranging from small boutiques to high-end department stores
• Regional, national, and international chains and their online stores
• Major online-exclusive retailers
• Trade shows
• Fashion and celebrity brands

We help form corporate entities, negotiate real estate leases, complex joint venture and partnership agreements, and execute the sales, acquisitions, and mergers of businesses.

We also advise on transactions integral to getting products to consumers, negotiating and drafting contracts relating to supply, manufacture, and distribution. Our labor + employment and immigration attorneys assist international fashion houses with employment agreements, labor issues, and the global movement of their top talent.

Retail Leasing

Few firms do the volume of deals we handle in the commercial retail space, particularly in exclusive locations. We have negotiated leasing transactions on behalf of various landlords for numerous flagship stores, including Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Anthropologie, Skims, Hermes, Starbucks, Restoration Hardware and Uniqlo, whose 666 Fifth Avenue lease, when negotiated, was the largest retail leasing transaction ever in New York City. We also represent international retailers - including Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Chopard, Goyard, Gucci, H&M, Jimmy Choo, Stella McCartney, Theory and Yves Saint Laurent - in a wide variety of real estate transactions involving luxury storefronts, mall and outlet centers, and warehouse space.

Licensing and Merchandising

Licensing and merchandising are major revenue streams for pop stars, Hollywood actors and actresses, models and reality TV personalities, as well as celebrity chefs and pro athletes. With one of the preeminent entertainment practices in the country, Pryor Cashman is at the forefront of celebrity branding and monetizing name and likeness rights. Famous figures such as Cher, Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams, Russell Simmons, Paula Abdul, and many others rely on us to protect and optimize their brands. Leveraging relationships across the entertainment, music, and fashion industries, we negotiate celebrity endorsement deals, develop partnerships between high-end designers and retailers, and connect fashion companies with new channels and markets for distribution.

Protecting Creative Assets

In the marketplace, in the media and in the digital arena, our intellectual property attorneys secure, enforce and defend our clients’ copyrights, trademarks, and patents against counterfeiting, piracy, and infringement. We have handled game-changing copyright, trademark, trade dress, trade secrets, and unfair competition cases, and our attorneys have led the industry in pursuing cybersquatters. We also have obtained design patents for apparel items such as stretch denim jeans, sandals, underwear, jewelry, and costumes.

Relevant experience includes the representation of:

• WHP Global, a newly launched brand management platform backed by Oaktree Capital Management, in various matters, including their acquisition of legacy women's fashion brand Anne Klein (from Premier Brands Group), their acquisition of Joseph Abboud trademarks (from Tailored Brands), and their $150 million investment by Oaktree Capital Management, among others.
• Camuto Group, the organization best known for the Vince Camuto® brand and the footwear licenses of Jessica Simpson® and Lucky Brand®, in a $341 million agreement to sell its operations to North American footwear and accessories retailer DSW Inc. We also assisted Camuto with related tax and employee benefits matters.
• Cher, international music and culture icon, in connection with her license and endorsement agreement with Edge Beauty LLC relating to her newest perfume, Eau de Couture by Cher. We advised on the launch, including relevant licensing and endorsement agreements.
• Carolina Footwear Group LLC in its acquisition and licensing transaction with Cherokee Global Brands Inc.
• Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, and others in a lawsuit against Eleven Paris, a French fashion brand that used their names and images on T-shirts and other merchandise without permission.
• Charlotte Olympia, a British luxury shoe and accessories brand, in defeating a challenge brought by GMA Accessories, Inc. which sought to prevent the registration of the CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA trademark.
• Cartier North America, an international luxury retailer of jewelry, watches, and other products, together with luxury watch retailer Tourneau LLC, in connection with an antitrust and contract suit against French fashion house Chanel Inc.
• L’Oréal in handling their U.S. trademark portfolio and related TTAB work for brands including Atelier Cologne, Clarisonic, Decleor, Dessange, Essie, Garnier, House 99, IT Cosmetics,  Kerastase, Kiehl’s, La Roche-Posay, Lancôme, L’Oréal Paris, Matrix, Maybelline, NYX Professional Makeup, Prada, Pureology, Redken, Roger & Gallet, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay,  Vichy, Victor & Rolf, and Yves Saint Laurent.
• Richemont in handling their entire global trademark portfolio management and prosecution, assisting with real estate (leasing), immigration and visa procurement, and with various litigation matters for brands including Alaïa, A. Lange et Sohn, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Chloé, Dunhill, IWC, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Montblanc, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels.
• Global fashion brands including MUJI, Jimmy Choo Ltd., Prada, Versace, Supreme, and others in leasing and real estate matters around the United States.
• Gucci America, Inc., an Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods, in selling its 17-story Manhattan office building and in leasing dozens of retail locations across the U.S.
• Thalía Sodi, a fashion designer, in connection with her strategic partnership with Authentic Brands Group as part of an effort to advance the global expansion of her highly-popular apparel and accessories brand.
• Stefani Germanotta p/k/a Lady Gaga in numerous trademark litigations around the world, TTAB oppositions, and ICANN proceedings concerning infringement of the LADY GAGA mark.
• Neil Lane, jewelry designer, collector, and curator, in the launch of Neil Lane Bridal with Kay Jewelers, a specialty retail jewelry store chain with over 1,300 stores located in all 50 states.