Cynthia Sakai, founder of Vita Fede, recently secured a U.S. Patent and Trademark for the brand’s signature Titan bracelet.  We caught up with her to find out why she felt it was an important step to take for her brand.

Can you tell us about Vita Fede and how the brand came about?

When I was 22, I owned a multi-line showroom and my friend who had the showroom across from me brought back bracelets from a trip to Italy, and I was immediately intrigued. They were traditional bracelets from the Ponte Vecchio area in Florence. I decided that with a few tweaks in the material, color and metal, I could sell these out of my own showroom to specialty and top-tier department stores. That first season, I sold about 10,000 units and shortly thereafter, I shifted my focus to establishing my own jewelry line full-time. As much as I enjoyed owning my showroom, I wanted the opportunity to create my own brand.

 As your brand continues to grow, what is the biggest challenge that your business faces?

Vita Fede recently moved our headquarters cross-country from Los Angeles to New York City. Developing roots in a new city has been one of the biggest challenges so far.

Compared to when you started your first brand at 18 years old, how has the importance for legal protection changed for fashion brands? 

Social media has changed the landscape since when I first started out. We are in a ‘see now, buy now’ environment and the knockoff process is much quicker. There used to be physical, printed line sheets to sell from, and now, fast fashion retailers can see an image on a social channel and immediately start the replication process.

Why was it so important for you to protect the signature design of your Titan bracelet? 

The Titan bracelet is iconic to our brand, and it was getting knocked off by so many designers, even reputable ones! Numerous counterfeits in the market went as far as producing the packaging that accompanies a real VF purchase – bags and boxes were embossed with our logo. It was disheartening to see the style I created and stood behind being produced in a low-grade version. We pride ourselves in using only the finest quality materials, all handmade in Italy, so I knew I had to do something upon seeing a flood of fakes in the market. Everyone at Team Vita, especially our Italian manufacturers who have worked countless hours handcrafting each Titan, was so thrilled when we received the news that we secured the trademark protecting the original design; a bracelet that ends with a cone shape on each side.

What advice would you give to a designer who is thinking about applying for a US Patent or Trademark?

Apply to protect styles you truly believe in from the beginning. Our Titan trademark case lasted multiple years because we didn’t get ahead of it. By the time we filed, numerous retailers and fast fashion brands had knocked it off so it made the process longer by providing evidence the design originated with VF.

Fast fashion brands have become the leaders of product infringement. How do you think this problem can be solved? 

Product infringement is a difficult issue to solve entirely.  I think the best answer to combat the issue is to build a brand where quality is a cornerstone of your DNA and customers won’t sway as easily when presented with a cheaper alternative. Ultimately, they are the ones who have the buying power to make ethical decisions.

 What advice would you give a young designer who cannot financially invest in a patent?  

If a young designer can properly budget early on for a patent, it will be worth it in the long run.

What’s next for Vita Fede?

There are a few exciting projects in the works, stay tuned!