Caroline de Baere

Laforma / Footwear Industry Expert, Adjunct Professor and Educator

As a footwear and fashion industry expert, Caroline relies on over three decades of deep knowledge in research, design, product development, manufacturing, and merchandising to successfully work with and provide consulting services to both large brands and start-ups. Her industry strengths focus on all aspects of branding from initial concept through final delivery to the consumer.

Caroline is the named inventor on 4 United States footwear design patents and in 2019 began teaching footwear design as an Adjunct II Professor at California College of the Arts. With a deep connection to all things footwear, she is very engaged in working with young designers as an educator, mentor, and advocate as they launch their careers.

With far-reaching industry experience, Caroline is more recently engaged in public speaking and podcasts as a guest lecturer, panelist, moderator, and event chair at over 20 conferences and universities across the United States and Asia for events such as PI Apparel, the Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA), Polymers in Footwear, and more.

Proficiency and deep expertise have led Caroline to excel at providing Intellectual Property expert witness services for over 2 dozen litigation cases since 2012 related to offering unique and well considered opinions on design/utility patents, trademark, trade dress, trade secrets, and counterfeits, as well as materials research and analysis. This includes live testimony, both virtually and in person.

2024 brings about several new initiatives such as joining the United States Footwear Manufacturers Association (USFMA) as a strategic consultant to engage in growing their membership and co-launching IP Science: A Brand Protection Masterclass to share knowledge and facilitate understanding and empowerment of design ownership.