Susan Scafidi

Fordham Law Fashion Law Institute Director Susan Scafidi

Academic Director, Fashion Law Institute

[email protected]
Counterfeit Chic

Faculty Assistant: Joseph Nolfo, nolfo@law.fordham.edu

Susan Scafidi is the first professor ever to offer a course in Fashion Law, and she is internationally recognized for her leadership in establishing the field. She has testified regarding the proposed extension of legal protection to fashion designs and continues to work actively with members of Congress and the fashion industry on this and other issues. Her additional areas of expertise encompass property, intellectual property, cultural property, international law, trusts &estates, and legal history. Professor Scafidi founded and directs the nonprofit Fashion Law Institute, which was established with the generous support and advice of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and its president, Diane von Furstenberg, and is located at Fordham Law School. Prior to teaching at Fordham, Professor Scafidi was a tenured member of both the law and history faculties at SMU, and she has taught at a number of other schools, including Yale, Georgetown, and Cardozo.

Selected Publications

Professor Scafidi is the author of Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law (2005), as well as articles in the areas of intellectual property, cultural property, and of course fashion law. In addition, she has spoken to legal, design, and academic audiences around the globe and has contributed commentary to hundreds of media reports on issues related to law and the fashion industry. Professor Scafidi also created and maintains the first website on fashion law, Counterfeit Chic, which has been recognized as one of the American Bar Association’s top 100 blogs.

Education

After graduating from Duke University and the Yale Law School, she pursued graduate study in legal history at Berkeley and the University of Chicago and clerked for a distinguished legal historian, Judge Morris S. Arnold of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Susan Scafidi Press Highlights

Business of Fashion: Prof. Susan Scafidi Comments on the “Very Demure, Very Mindful” Trademark Filing

Bloomberg Law: Prof. Susan Scafidi Predicts a Shift in the Customization Market, if Nike Wins Lawsuit

Women’s Wear Daily: Prof. Susan Scafidi Says Potential Saks-Neiman’s Merger “Likely to Face Significant Skepticism”

Reuters: Prof. Susan Scafidi Comments on FTC Lawsuit Against Coach and Michael Kors Merger

SPY: Prof. Susan Scafidi Weighs In on the Legality of Taylor Swift’s Handmade Chiefs Jacket

Business of Fashion: Prof. Susan Scafidi on Brands Who Don’t Want Their Goods Sold on Shein

The New York Times: Prof. Susan Scafidi on the Marketing of the Trump Mug Shot

The New York Times: Prof. Susan Scafidi Discusses Workplace Dress Codes

CBS News: Professor Susan Scafidi Explains Shein Lawsuit

AdAge: Prof. Susan Scafidi Says “The embrace of dupes has become its own moral statement”

New York Post: Prof. Susan Scafidi On Buyer Trend To Cheaper Substitutes

Sourcing Journal: Fordham Law’s Fashion Law Institute Welcomes 14th Cohort

Bloomberg Law Podcast: Professor Susan Scafidi Discusses Laws Banning Drag Shows

Ad Age: Prof. Susan Scafidi on Adidas Opposition to Black Lives Matter 3-Stripe Trademark

The Wall Street Journal: Prof. Susan Scafidi on FTC Ordering Tech Platforms to Address Fraudulent Advertising

Making Sense of the Hermès V. Rothschild Metabirkins Verdict

What the Hermès MetaBirkins Victory Means for the NFT Market

Fashion Law Institute Director Susan Scafidi Shares Expert Opinion on Balenciaga

China’s Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Faces Dozens of Lawsuits Alleging Design Theft

Chanel Restricts Sales to Russians Abroad