A groundbreaking milestone in Africa’s creative and legal sectors will unfold this Saturday as Bernice Asein, a pioneering legal innovator and founder of the Fashion Law Institute, launches Fashion Law in Africa, the first comprehensive textbook on fashion law on the continent.

The book, described as a “call to action” for legal reform and economic empowerment, addresses the critical lack of structured legal frameworks in Africa’s $6 billion fashion industry — a sector celebrated for its creative excellence but burdened by informality and weak regulatory support.

“The creative ingenuity across Africa is world-class, but without the right legal frameworks, much of its value is lost,” Asein said ahead of the launch. “This book is a call to action — to protect, scale, and sustain our fashion economy with laws that reflect our realities.”

Key areas covered in the book include:

• Intellectual property rights
• Digital fashion and e-commerce
• Cross-border trade and the AfCFTA
• Fashion contracts and licensing
• Sustainability and ethical practices

Beyond offering legal clarity, Fashion Law in Africa provides practical tools and insights for designers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, students, and policymakers navigating the rapidly evolving African fashion landscape.

The book’s release comes at a pivotal time, as concerns about intellectual property theft, ethical sourcing, and creative exploitation become central to policy conversations across the continent. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) opening up new markets, the need for harmonised, enforceable regulations in the fashion sector has never been greater.

Asein, known for her policy advocacy and legal literacy initiatives, has been instrumental in pushing fashion law into mainstream legal discourse in Africa. Through the Fashion Law Institute, she has trained and mentored a new generation of legal professionals and creatives committed to protecting Africa’s fashion value chain.

Described as more than just a textbook, Fashion Law in Africa is being hailed as a manifesto for reform, a blueprint for resilience, and a tool for building a rights-based fashion economy.

The official launch will take place in Lagos on Saturday, July 26, 2025, bringing together stakeholders from across the fashion, legal, policy, and academic sectors. The book will be available in select bookstores and on major online platforms following the event.