It’s fashionable to be patentable!

If you know much about patents, or indeed have met a patent attorney, you may think that patents and patent attorneys have very little to do with the world of fashion. After all, patents are awarded for inventions that solve technical problems, while fashion is not known for being practical. Despite this apparent mismatch, I am delighted to report that there is a long history of patents being awarded to innovations in the field of fashion.

I first became aware of this when I read the brilliant historical fiction novel A Net For Small Fishes by Lucy Jago.  The novel is set in the early 1600s and the central character is a real-life historical figure, Anne Turner, who is described as being one of the first women to hold a patent.

Picture of Anne Turner from The University of Leicester archives

Turner’s patent was for a saffron starch recipe which was used to dye ruffs and cuffs a deep yellow. Sadly, A Net For Small Fishes is silent on the patentability requirements in the Jacobean era. However, the book notes that previous methods of dying cuffs and ruffs yellow had used urine, leaving the dyed items with an unpleasant odour. This problem was overcome by the saffron starch, which also achieved a deeper yellow colour than was previously possibly. Accordingly, Turner’s dye clearly solved a technical problem, much like a modern patentable invention.

The next patent of interest I found was for an invention developed about 250 years later and 5,000 miles away from Jacobean London. I am in fact talking about the invention of Levi’s jeans, which were made in Reno, Nevada and patented in 1873. The invention came about, in part, due to the rough working conditions in the Wild West taking their toll on working men’s clothes. A tailor, called Jacob Davis, was asked to produce a pair of robust trousers for a woodcutter. Davis came up with the idea of putting metal rivets at points of strain, such as pocket corners, to strengthen the trousers. These trousers were a hit.

A drawing of Jacob Davis’ trouser design with metal rivets at the points of strain

Based on this story, you may be wondering why we don’t refer to the famous jean as Davis’s.  While Davis quickly realised the potential of the jeans, he lacked the financial means to scale up production. Davis approached a businessman, called Levi Strauss, requesting financial backing. Strauss ran a dry goods company called Levi Strauss & Co. which had supplied Davis with the fabric he had used to make the invention. Strauss agreed to partner with Davis and provide the necessary funding, enabling Davis to file a patent application for the invention, entitled “Improvement In Fastening Pocket-Opening”. The rest is history.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, fashion of a less practical sort was causing problems. It wasn’t until I read an excellent article by Clare Bucknell in the London Review of Books¹ that I considered the problems a hooped skirt or bustle might cause for a wearer. In her article, Bucknell explains that even sitting in an armchair was difficult, as you might have to sit with your skirts bunched up to your ears!

However, help was at hand in the form of London clothiers Stapley and Smith. They developed a bustle, called the New Phantom, which comprised steel wires attached to a pivot. When the wearer was standing, the wires defined a frame over which the wearer’s skirt sat to give the desired shape. However, when the wearer sat down, the pivot allowed the wires to fold flat against the wearer’s body. An example of the New Phantom forms part of the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A’s website notes that a novelty version of the bustle played God Save the Queen each time the wearer sat down². Unfortunately, the website is silent as to whether or not this further innovation was also the subject of a patent application.

Picture of the ‘Phantom’ from the V&A website and archive

Jumping forward to the present day, my colleagues and I have noticed an increase in patent applications relating to sustainability. Some of these innovations relate to new sustainable materials which can be used in the fashion industry. For instance, the University of Texas System filed a patent application for sustainable sequins (WO 2023/102217 A1). The application describes biodegradable sequins which can be made without generating substantial waste. Similarly, an Italian company, Colonna S.p.A., has a granted European patent (EP 4033027 B1) for a process for the manufacture of a vegan faux leather material. The patent defines a process for producing a faux leather material with a lower environmental impact than prior art techniques. The patent explains that this process produces a durable material analogous to natural leather, both in terms of how it looks and how it feels.

Other innovations in the field look at how existing materials can be processed and reused more efficiently. For instance, Imperial College have filed a patent application relating to a method of recycling dye (WO 2022/175559 A1). The application describes a method where a dye can be stripped from a dyed fabric. The dye can then be recovered and reused. The application notes that this technology will allow textile manufactures to not only buy less synthetic dyes, but also to reuse or sell the now dye-free fabric. Alternatively, the fabric could be transformed into new fibres, using methodology developed by a Japanese company called Spiber Inc. Spiber has developed a process where a bio-based material (e.g. a cotton or wool fabric) is broken down and then undergoes microbial fermentation to produce a Brewed Protein^TM. The Brewed Protein^TM can then be spun to provide Brewed Protein^TM fibres, which can in turn be used to produce new textiles. The technology is protected by a number of granted patents and pending patent applications (for instance, see EP 2421890 B1). Vogue Business recently wrote an article about Spiber’s technology and noted that a number of companies, such as The North Face in Japan, have adopted it³.

Given how clothes are an essential feature of our daily lives, it should not come as a surprise that innovations within the fashion industry can highlight the problems and concerns of the age. However, in the present day, the fashion industry is keen to apply serious science to address these problems, and ensure we all have a sustainable and fashionable future.