黑料社

Designer Steve Madden

Designer Steve Madden started his conversation in Cardozo鈥檚 Moot Court Room with a confession: 鈥淚鈥檓 thinking I should鈥檝e worn better shoes.鈥� Madden鈥檚 outspoken personality and honesty continued to shine through at the FAME and Fashion Law Society (FLS) event 鈥淎n Evening with Steve Madden鈥� on Oct. 17., 2019. Aya Kanai, Chief Fashion Director at Hearst Magazines, moderated the discussion. Kanai asked Madden about the challenges starting his business, promoting a fashion brand in the digital age and even his jail time. 鈥淚 wish I hadn鈥檛 gone,鈥� Madden said of his time in prison, which is detailed in the recent Netflix documentary Maddman. 鈥淲e have a high percentage of incarcerated people in America,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 not working.鈥� Kanai asked about avoiding legal troubles in the modern age and how Madden is keeping his brand safe. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make it easier for Gucci to sue us,鈥� Madden joked. 鈥淭he bigger you are, the bigger the bullseye on your back.鈥� Kanai asked Madden how the company has grown from Madden鈥檚 beginnings selling shoes from the trunk of his car. 鈥淚 was trying to pay the rent,鈥� Madden said. Madden spoke about acquiring companies and building a robust portfolio to complement his namesake brand. His company now owns the license for several other shoe brands, including Dolce Vita and Betsey Johnson. He spoke about the decisions he made when determining which brands were best for his business. 鈥淪teve Madden is the most copied shoe line in the world,鈥� he said. Madden also discussed the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the tension between achieving CSR and the need to make money, asserting that they can鈥檛 have CSR without money. 鈥淭he highest calling is to make money,鈥� Madden said, noting the jobs that were created thanks to the shoe line. 鈥淲e could do so much good.鈥� Kanai also asked how an intellectual property lawyer can manage the 鈥渧ast gray area鈥� of a shoe or other creative brand. Madden responded that his company is a 鈥渟tew鈥� and 鈥渂ig pot鈥� mixing with ideas and keeping track is often a challenge. But he said that is where the innovative thinking of fashion lawyers can become an asset. 鈥淐reativity is important in everything you do鈥� it鈥檚 not necessarily writing or art,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou have to be creative, you have to think differently.鈥� When Kanai asked for questions from the packed audience, Douglas Hand, adjunct professor of fashion law, asked Madden about his decision to name the brand eponymously. 鈥淵ou lose control over what your name is attached to,鈥� Madden admitted. But he said he hopes his brand continues to stay close to his aesthetic. 鈥淥ne day I won鈥檛 be here,鈥� he added. Madden expanded on intellectual property issues before the event in an interview moderated by 3L Simone Dvoskin, the FLS external vice president and senior articles editor for the Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. 鈥淧eople have a saying and want to put it on a T-shirt. So how do I make sure that it鈥檚 my saying? ... You have to own your intellectual property,鈥� Madden said. After the event, which reached full capacity, Dvoskin noted, 鈥淚 thought Aya was a great moderator and asked pertinent questions, especially for our audience. I was also amazed at the reception because so many alumni stuck around afterward. It felt like a real community blossomed last night, with friendly faces everywhere catching up with old friends and meeting new Cardozoites.鈥�