In his latest column published in Fashion Law Journal, Rahul Bagga, Partner at Dentons Link Legal, draws on the iconic monologue from The Devil Wears Prada to explore the complex intersection of fashion, law, and authorship.

He reflects on how Miranda Priestly’s takedown of Andy Sachs is more than just a commentary on sartorial choices — it is a sharp critique of how society, and by extension the law, undervalues the creative, cultural, and economic machinery behind fashion. Bagga highlights that while fashion is an intricate blend of distributed authorship — involving designers, stylists, suppliers, cultural trends, and even viral content — the law remains ill-equipped to recognize this collaborative process. Unlike other creative fields such as music, where distributed agency is acknowledged through royalties and rights, fashion’s “looks” and “vibes” slip through legal frameworks that were never designed to capture such fluid and collaborative authorship.

From the selection of colours like cerulean to the trickle-down effect into fast fashion, Bagga argues that fashion operates as both infrastructure and capital — shaping desire but rarely protecting the visionaries behind it. The law’s tendency to dismiss fashion as mere consumerism or frivolity leaves creators unprotected, as it fails to keep pace with how fashion influences behaviour, identity, and commerce.

Through Priestly’s monologue, Bagga invites us to reconsider fashion not just as product but as expression — one that deserves a more nuanced and evolved legal recognition.

Read the article here.