When it comes to the fashion industry, Johanna Blakley, managing director and director of research at the Norman Lear Center, says that it’s okay to copy the work of others. In fact, the industry thrives on it.
Blakley was recently featured on National Public Radio’s TED Radio Hour to discuss what originality means in the “free culture” of the fashion industry. People may be surprised to learn that reproducing an item of clothing is completely legal because the fashion industry has very little intellectual property protection. In turn, it’s a place where “copying is the rule, not the exception,” said TED Radio Hour host Guy Raz.
“The genius is really in curating things from the past and reviving them in the present,” said Blakley, adding that most trends come from a large archive of preexisting designs that have just been reimagined.
The segment is part of a TED Radio Hour series that explores copying the work of others while still being innovative and asking the question: “What is Original?”
Listen to her TED Radio Hour segment here. Also, check out Blakley’s 2010 TED Talk on the same topic.
TED Radio Hour is a collaborative show, put on by NPR and non-profit organization TED, that incorporates TED Talks into radio segments around different themes and ideas.
Raz was selected as this year’s speaker at the USC Annenberg James L. Loper Lecture in Public Service Broadcasting. Prior to his lecture, he also stopped by USC Annenberg for a study break with students.
