Tereza Kuldova

Post-doctoral Fellow for The Enterprise of Culture
Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History
University of Oslo

Dr Tereza Kuldova is a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. She is a trained social anthropologist and has studied the elite segment of the Indian fashion industry and conducted research on India for more than seven years. She has followed the production of luxury fashion from poor neighborhoods to elite designer studios and focused both on the material and immaterial production of prestige and heritage luxury and their functions in contemporary Indian politics and economy. She is currently part of the Enterprise of Culture research project funded by the HERA II program of the European Science Foundation. Among her recent publications is an edited volume Fashion India: Spectacular Capitalism (Oslo: Akademika Publishing, 2013). Her monograph Luxury Indian Fashion: A Social Critique (London: Bloomsbury) was published in 2016. She has also curated and designed an ethnographic museum exhibition Fashion India (2013 – 2014) at the Historical Museum in Oslo.

Abstract

Outlaws in Fashion Business: Hells Angels vs. Alexander McQueen

Hells Angels, the notorious one-percenter motorcycle club with chapters all over the world, considered by many governments a global criminal organization, has over the last decade proven to be one of the toughest protectors of their trademarked gang insignias and of their fashion apparel and accessories labels for supporters, such as the ‘Support 81’ label run by Hells Angels’ chapters worldwide. The famous skull with wings logo (‘HAMC Death Head’), the words ‘Hells Angels’, ‘Big Red Machine, ‘Support 81’, ‘Red and White’, and ‘Route 81’ are all trademarked and copyrighted by the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation (HAMC) worldwide, in addition to local variations. The tall will explain why is it that the outlaws have such a passion for the trademark law and fashion design.