Gastrofashion: IP considerations in Latin America

For more than two decades, luxury fashion brands have been extending their retail experience into dining across Asia, transforming physical shops into immersive lifestyle destinations that generate viral moments. Labels such as Agnès b., Vivienne Westwood, and Armani were early pioneers of this sensory retail shift. In the years that followed, high-end brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Coach, and Tiffany & Co. launched similar spaces to capture customer dwell time and drive long-term attachment.

In Latin America, the same lifestyle trend initially developed in a different direction, taking root through homegrown regional brands. These included Argentine labels Jazmín, Portsaid, and Revolver; Mexico’s Defino and JR Kiyo; and Brazil’s Welcome Sunny Garments, Cantão, and Farm, which paired their fashion offerings with creative culinary concepts. International giants such as Tiffany & Co. later established premium dining experiences in metropolitan hubs including Mexico City and São Paulo.

Before these fashion and hospitality partnerships take place, a range of intellectual property issues must be addressed to protect the core identity of the brand as it is translated into architecture, service, and atmosphere:

• Trademark classifications to secure distinct rights across new commercial sectors.

• IP licensing arrangements defining scope, territory, duration, and financial participation.

• Publicity rights concerning campaign assets, influencer content, and guest-generated media.

• Brand ownership over new intellectual property produced during collaborations.

• Brand control and protection to ensure strict oversight of menus, uniforms, interiors, and customer service standards.

• Multi-jurisdictional operating frameworks balancing global consistency with local legal requirements.

The fragmented intellectual property filing systems across different countries — unlike the European Union’s unified framework — and the distinct way in which local trademark offices handle class expansions create additional hurdles:

• Regional trademark nuances: companies must navigate the multiclass and single-class filing systems commonly used by Latin American patent and trademark offices, such as Brazil’s Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) and Mexico’s Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI). Expanding an apparel brand into restaurant and hospitality classes requires precise local filing strategies to prevent trademark squatters or conflicts with prior rights.

• Local regulatory friction: brand-control frameworks must incorporate the requirements of local consumer protection and advertising bodies, such as Brazil’s CONAR and Mexico’s PROFECO, since local advertising and operational oversight rules may be significantly stricter than those in North America or Europe.

The intellectual property practices of a number of Latin Counsel subscribing firms provide these essential legal services for managing cross-border expansion.

Beyond morning espresso and afternoon tea, this brand-extension strategy has also expanded into more diverse ventures, including temporary pop-up bistros, branded beach clubs, and specialty dessert bars.

These creative expansions allow luxury labels to test new geographical markets and engage younger consumer groups without immediately assuming the risks associated with long-term real estate investments. They also operate as IP-driven storytelling platforms where audiences can physically inhabit a designer’s world.

With international travelers, expatriates, and investors increasingly visiting, living, and investing in Latin America, this cross-cultural retail dynamic is set to intensify.

Recently, I visited one of the restaurants operated by these luxury brands — a brand that prides itself on elegance and class. Although the decoration and design were absolutely exquisite, a chef inside the kitchen, which had a see-through window, was wearing a wifebeater with a cigarette dangling from his right ear.

"It doesn’t matter how much we helped the brand jump through the legal hoops to make the restaurant happen, when you see a scene like that, a small dirt is ruining whole pot of soup," said the IP lawyer who dined with me.

Author: Crystal Lo