Nigeria’s fashion industry, valued in the trillions of naira and supporting millions of livelihoods, deserves legal support built specifically around how it actually operates: seasonal collections, informal supply chains, rapid trend cycles, and a constant tension between creativity and counterfeiting.

Cardinal Counsel is Nigeria’s fashion law firm. Fashion law is not one service among many for us, it is the foundation our practice was built around, and every other service we offer, from business structuring to regulatory compliance to dispute resolution, is delivered with that specialisation at the centre.

Our Fashion Law Services

Intellectual Property and Brand Protection

We register and enforce trademarks for designer brands and fashion houses, secure copyright protection for original textile prints and creative work, and advise on trade dress strategy for distinctive packaging and product design, including the emerging risk of AI generated content replicating a designer’s or model’s original work.

Contracts and Commercial Transactions

We draft and negotiate the agreements that hold a fashion business together: manufacturing and supply contracts, licensing and collaboration agreements between designers and brands, retail and stockist arrangements for international expansion, and mother agency agreements for modelling and talent representation.

Business Structuring and Company Formation

From company incorporation to founder structuring, we build the legal foundation fashion entrepreneurs need from day one, whether launching a first collection or scaling into a multi-brand operation.

International Market Entry and Distribution

We advise international fashion, beauty, and retail brands entering the Nigerian and wider African market on entity structuring, distribution and franchise agreements, and customs compliance, and support Nigerian designers preparing to distribute abroad.

Regulatory, Trade, and Sustainability Compliance

We guide fashion, textile, and beauty businesses through Nigeria’s evolving regulatory landscape, from NAFDAC registration and labelling requirements for cosmetics and fragrance products, to import and export compliance amid shifting textile trade policy. We advise exporters on eligibility and compliance under AGOA and other preferential trade frameworks, standards and certification requirements for entering international markets, and the growing body of sustainability and ESG compliance obligations shaping global fashion supply chains.

E-Commerce, Data Protection, and Consumer Compliance

As fashion retail moves online, we draft terms of service and refund policies compliant with Nigerian consumer protection law, and ensure e-commerce platforms, loyalty programmes, and customer databases meet Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 requirements.

Dispute Resolution and Enforcement
We respond to cease and desist correspondence, resolve contract disputes between designers, agencies, and brands, and represent clients in arbitration and mediation, including international fora such as the ICC.

Why Cardinal Counsel Leads Fashion Law in Nigeria

Cardinal Counsel’s position at the forefront of fashion law in Nigeria is not accidental. It reflects a combination of pioneering leadership, deep institutional integration into the fashion industry itself, and a practice structure built specifically for how fashion businesses actually operate.

Pioneering Leadership

Cardinal Counsel is led by Bernice Ofunre Asein, Esq., author of Fashion Law in Africa, the first fashion law text published on the African continent. This is not a firm that added fashion as a sub-category to a general corporate practice. It was built by someone who defined the field itself, giving clients access to a depth of specialist expertise that general commercial firms cannot replicate.

Institutional Integration

Cardinal Counsel’s leadership also serves as the executive force behind the Fashion Law Institute Africa, the continent’s first institution dedicated to fashion policy, education, and business development, and as official Legal Counsel to the Nigerian Fashion Council. This places the firm at the centre of the regulatory and structural growth of Nigeria’s fashion industry, not on the periphery advising clients from a distance.

A Practice Built for Fashion, Not Adapted to It

Unlike traditional corporate firms that treat fashion as a minor sub-category within a broader commercial practice, Cardinal Counsel was built from the ground up for startups, fast-moving apparel brands, and creative entrepreneurs. This is reflected structurally too: rather than the rigid hourly billing common at older firms, we offer practical, subscription-based legal retainers designed around how growing fashion businesses actually need to access legal support.

End-to-End Fashion Legal Strategy

Cardinal Counsel’s work extends well beyond basic trademark filing. Our practice covers textile and sketch copyright protection, global brand expansion and international IP strategy, vendor, manufacturer, and modelling contracts, and investor readiness and funding support for fashion ventures, giving clients a single point of legal expertise across the full commercial lifecycle of a fashion business.

Work With Us

Whether you are a designer protecting your first collection, a modelling agency reviewing your contracts, or an international brand entering the Nigerian market, Cardinal Counsel can help you build the legal foundation your business needs.

Contact us at info@cardinalcounsel.co to arrange a consultation.

Cardinal Counsel (Barristers & Solicitors)
Suite D14, Adeniran Ogunsanya Mall, Surulere, Lagos
info@cardinalcounsel.co