Narciso Rodriguez needs the long arm of the law.Photo: Getty Images
Rodriguez said he designs and puts together a 250-piece collection in one year over the course of six to 12 months for the fall and spring runway shows, which cost an average of $800,000 to stage. The fabric for samples costs another $800,000, pattern and design development costs $1.5 million, travel for design and fabric development reaches $350,000 and marketing rings up another $2.5 million.
That adds up to almost $6 million in the hole before sales. And if you don't feel bad for designers, you can't help but get misty when Rodriguez drops the Kennedy wedding: He designed Carolyn Bessette's famously simple wedding dress when she married John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996. Yet he only sold 40 of those dresses, while copycat designs sold 7 to 8 million. This injustice can no longer stand. Pass the bill, Congress! Do it for John John!
If only we could afford the originals.
Designer vs. Vendor: Battle over Copyright Issue Hits Congress [WWD]
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