Beyond the label: non-traditional trademarks in the luxury fashion industry

In today’s luxury fashion industry, brand identity extends far beyond traditional words and figurative trademarks; visual elements such as patterns, shapes, and textures have become essential instruments of brand differentiation and consumer recognition. The emergence of “quiet luxury” as a dominant trend in contemporary fashion has further amplified the strategic importance of non-traditional trademarks, this shift elevates them from supplementary brand assets to core elements of competitive strategy, making their legal protection increasingly critical for business success. The challenge is their protection through trademark registration; for a design to qualify for trademark protection and registration, it must meet tough distinctiveness requirements that can often conflict with their functional and aesthetic character. This thesis examines how non-traditional trademarks function as distinctive signs in luxury fashion and what legal requirements and consumer perception determine their eligibility for trademark protection. The central case study is Christian Dior's Cannage pattern, which achieved trademark registration in the European Union while being rejected by the Swiss Federal Administrative Court in 2014 for lack of distinctiveness; the allows a comparative analysis of how different legal systems interpret and apply the distinctiveness requirement. The thesis combines doctrinal analysis with empirical research to offer evidence on whether current legal standards for pattern mark distinctiveness adequately reflect the reality of consumer perception in the luxury fashion market.