Aesthetic Meets Antitrust: Luxury Brands And Fast Fashion In The Global Market Through The Lens Of Competition Law
- IJLLR Journal
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
Deshika Raj D, LLM, School of Law, Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to examine the intersection of aesthetics, luxury brands and anti-trust in the fashion industry, with a specific focus on the dominance of the luxury brands and their suppression of fast fashion competitors. By analyzing the situation within the framework of the competition law, the study investigates the branding, intellectual property rights, and the exclusivity strategies which enables the luxury brands to exercise disproportionate market power. The main aim is to critically examine whether the Indian competition act 2002, is adequate enough to address these challenges and to draw comparative insights from the approaches adopted in the European Union and the United States. The present literature has highlighted the role of the intellectual property, fashion capital and the consumer perception in sustaining the market dominance of the luxury fashion brands. The studies show how the luxury brands use strategic approach and use aesthetics and exclusivity to limit the diffusion of fashion trends, thereby creating barriers for fast fashion competitors. Whereas, scholars' works have paid limited attention to the specific intersection of competition law and the fashion markets, especially in the Indian context. This gap underscores the relevance of this present study. The methodology used in this study is primality doctrinal legal research, which looks at the statutory provisions, case laws and the scholarly commentary. A comparative approach is also incorporated to analyses the regulatory framework of the European union and the united states of America both their countries which have developed more enhanced mechanisms to monitor the Indian fashion market dominance. The findings show that the luxury brands' reliance on aesthetic, brand image and intellectual property protection not only sustains their market dominance but also marginalized fashion brands, which are restricting the consumer choice and innovation. The Indian competition mechanism, while equipped to regulate traditional monopoly practice, lacks fashion dominance in a rapid globalizing market.
Keywords: competition law, luxury brands, fashion, aesthetics, intellectual property, market dominance, anti-competitive behavior
