fashion industry, Kristian Dowling/Getty Imagesmultibillion-dollar global enterprise devoted to the business of making and selling clothes. Some observers distinguish between the fashion industry (which makes “high fashion”) and the apparel industry (which makes ordinary clothes or “mass fashion”), but by the 1970s the boundaries between them had blurred. Fashion is best defined simply as the style or styles of clothing and accessories worn at any given time by groups of people. There may appear to be differences between the expensive designer fashions shown on the runways of Paris or New York and the mass-produced sportswear and street styles sold in malls and markets around the world. However, the fashion industry encompasses the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, and promotion of all types of apparel (men’s, women’s, and children’s) from the most rarefied and expensive haute couture (literally, “high sewing”) and designer fashions to ordinary everyday clothing—from couture ball gowns to Juicy Couture-brand sweatpants. Sometimes the broader term “fashion industries” is used to refer to myriad industries and services that employ millions of people internationally.
The fashion industry is a product of the modern age. Prior to the mid-19th century, virtually all clothing was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century—with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine, the rise of global capitalism and the development of the factory system of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as department stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in standard sizes and sold at fixed prices. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, today it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold in a third. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets internationally. The fashion industry has long been one of the largest employers in the United States, and it remains so in the 21st century. However, employment declined considerably as production increasingly moved overseas, especially to China. Because data on the fashion industry typically are reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industry’s many separate sectors, aggregate figures for world production of textiles and clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure, the industry inarguably accounts for a significant share of world economic output.
The fashion industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials, principally fibres and textiles but also leather and fur; the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail sales; and various forms of advertising and promotion. These levels consist of many separate but interdependent sectors, all of which are devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit.
APMost fashions are made from textiles. The partial automation of the spinning and weaving of wool, cotton, and other natural fibres was one of the first accomplishments of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. In the 21st century those processes are highly automated and carried out by computer-controlled high-speed machinery. A large sector of the textile industry produces fabrics for use in apparel. Both natural fibres (such as wool, cotton, silk, and linen) and synthetic fibres (such as nylon, acrylic, and polyester) are used. A growing interest in sustainable fashion (or “eco-fashion”) led to greater use of environmentally friendly fibres, such as hemp. High-tech synthetic fabrics confer such properties as moisture wicking (e.g., Coolmax), stain resistance (e.g., 303 High Tech Fabric Guard), retention or dissipation of body heat, and protection against fire, weapons (e.g., Kevlar), cold (e.g., Thinsulate), ultraviolet radiation (Solarweave), and other hazards. Fabrics are produced with a wide range of effects through dyeing, weaving, printing, and other manufacturing and finishing processes. Together with fashion forecasters, textile manufacturers work well in advance of the apparel production cycle to create fabrics with colours, textures, and other qualities that anticipate consumer demand.
Brand X Pictures/ThinkstockMaria Teijeiro—Photodisc/ThinkstockHistorically, very few fashion designers have become famous “name” designers, such as Coco Chanel or Calvin Klein, who create prestigious high-fashion collections, whether couture or prêt-á-porter (“ready-to-wear”). These designers are influential in setting trends in fashion, but, contrary to popular belief, they do not dictate new styles; rather, they endeavour to design clothes that will meet consumer demand. The vast majority of designers work in anonymity for manufacturers, as part of design teams, adapting trendsetting styles into marketable garments for average consumers. Designers draw inspiration from a wide range of sources, including film and television costumes, street styles, and active sportswear. For most designers, traditional design methods, such as doing sketches on paper and draping fabric on mannequins, have been supplemented or replaced by computer-assisted design techniques. These allow designers to rapidly make changes to a proposed design’s silhouette, fabric, trimmings, and other elements and afford them the ability to instantaneously share the proposed changes with colleagues—whether in the next room or on another continent.
Only a minuscule number of designers and manufacturers produce innovative high-fashion apparel. An even smaller number (mostly in Paris) produce haute couture. Most manufacturers produce moderate-priced or budget apparel. Some companies use their own production facilities for some or all of the manufacturing process, but most rely on separately owned manufacturing firms or contractors to produce garments to the fashion company’s specifications. In the field of women’s apparel, manufacturers typically produce several product lines (collections) a year, which they deliver to retailers at predetermined times of the year. Some “fast fashion” manufacturers produce new merchandise even more frequently. An entire product development team is involved in planning a line and developing the designs. The materials (fabric, linings, buttons, etc.) need to be sourced and ordered, and samples need to be made for presentation to retail buyers.
An important stage in garment production is the translation of the clothing design into a pattern in a range of sizes. Because the proportions of the human body change with increases or decreases in weight, patterns cannot simply be scaled up or down uniformly from a basic template. Pattern making was traditionally a highly skilled profession. In the early 21st century, despite innovations in computer programming, designs in larger sizes are difficult to adjust for every figure. Whatever the size, the pattern—whether drawn on paper or programmed as a set of computer instructions—determines how fabric is cut into the pieces that will be joined to make a garment. For all but the most expensive clothing, fabric cutting is accomplished by computer-guided knives or high-intensity lasers that can cut many layers of fabric at once.
The next stage of production involves the assembly of the garment. Here too, technological innovation, including the development of computer-guided machinery, resulted in the automation of some stages of garment assembly. Nevertheless, the fundamental process of sewing remains labour-intensive. This puts inexorable pressure on clothing manufacturers to seek out low-wage environments for the location of their factories, where issues of industrial safety and the exploitation of workers often arise. The fashion industry in New York City was dominated by sweatshops located on the Lower East Side until the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire of 1911 led to greater unionization and regulation of the industry in the United States. In the late 20th century China emerged as the world’s largest producer of clothing because of its low labour costs and highly disciplined workforce.
Assembled garments go through various processes collectively known as “finishing.” These include the addition of decorative elements (embroidery, beading); buttons and buttonholes, hooks and eyes, snaps, zippers, and other fasteners; hems and cuffs; and brand-name labels and other labels (often legally required) specifying fibre content, laundry instructions, and country of manufacture. Finished garments are then pressed and packed for shipment.
For much of the period following World War II, trade in textiles and garments was strictly regulated by importing countries, which imposed quotas and tariffs. These protectionist measures, which were intended (ultimately without success) to prevent textile and clothing production from moving from high-wage to low-wage countries, were gradually abandoned beginning in the 1980s. They were replaced by a free-trade approach, under the regulatory aegis of the World Trade Organization and other international regulatory bodies, that recognized the competitive advantage of low-wage countries but also the advantage provided to consumers in rich countries through the availability of highly affordable apparel. The advent of containerization and relatively inexpensive air freight also made it possible for production to be closely tied to market conditions even across globe-spanning distances.
Although usually not considered part of the apparel industry for trade and statistical purposes, the manufacture and sale of accessories, such as shoes and handbags, and underwear are closely allied with the fashion industry. As with garments, the production of accessories ranges from very expensive luxury goods to inexpensive mass-produced items. Like apparel manufacturing, accessory production tends to gravitate to low-wage environments. Producers of high-end accessories, especially handbags, are plagued by competition from counterfeit goods (“knockoffs”), sometimes produced using inferior materials in the same factories as the authentic goods. The trade in such imitation goods is illegal under various international agreements but is difficult to control. It costs name-brand manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lost sales.
Comstock—Jupiterimages/ThinkstockOnce the clothes have been designed and manufactured, they need to be sold. But how are clothes to get from the manufacturer to the customer? The business of buying clothes from manufacturers and selling them to customers is known as retail. Retailers make initial purchases for resale three to six months before the customer is able to buy the clothes in-store.
Digital Vision/ThinkstockFashion marketing is the process of managing the flow of merchandise from the initial selection of designs to be produced to the presentation of products to retail customers, with the goal of maximizing a company’s sales and profitability. Successful fashion marketing depends on understanding consumer desire and responding with appropriate products. Marketers use sales tracking data, attention to media coverage, focus groups, and other means of ascertaining consumer preferences to provide feedback to designers and manufacturers about the type and quantity of goods to be produced. Marketers are thus responsible for identifying and defining a fashion producer’s target customers and for responding to the preferences of those customers.
Marketing operates at both the wholesale and retail levels. Companies that do not sell their own products at retail must place those products at wholesale prices in the hands of retailers, such as boutiques, department stores, and online sales companies. They use fashion shows, catalogs, and a sales force armed with sample products to find a close fit between the manufacturer’s products and the retailer’s customers. Marketers for companies that do sell their own products at retail are primarily concerned with matching products to their own customer base. At both the wholesale and the retail level, marketing also involves promotional activities such as print and other media advertising aimed at establishing brand recognition and brand reputation for diverse characteristics such as quality, low price, or trendiness.
Closely related to marketing is merchandising, which attempts to maximize sales and profitability by inducing consumers to buy a company’s products. In the standard definition of the term, merchandising involves selling the right product, at the right price, at the right time and place, to the right customers. Fashion merchandisers must thus utilize marketers’ information about customer preferences as the basis for decisions about such things as stocking appropriate merchandise in adequate but not excessive quantities, offering items for sale at attractive but still profitable prices, and discounting overstocked goods. Merchandising also involves presenting goods attractively and accessibly through the use of store windows, in-store displays, and special promotional events. Merchandising specialists must be able to respond to surges in demand by rapidly acquiring new stocks of the favoured product. An inventory-tracking computer program in a department store in London, for example, can trigger an automatic order to a production facility in Shanghai for a certain quantity of garments of a specified type and size to be delivered in a matter of days.
By the early 21st century the Internet had become an increasingly important retail outlet, creating new challenges (e.g., the inability for customers to try on clothes prior to purchase, the need for facilities designed to handle clothing returns and exchanges) and opening up new opportunities for merchandisers (e.g., the ability to provide customers with shopping opportunities 24 hours per day, affording access to rural customers). In an era of increasingly diverse shopping options for retail customers and of intense price competition among retailers, merchandising has emerged as one of the cornerstones of the modern fashion industry.
© K2 Images/Shutterstock.comFashion designers and manufacturers promote their clothes not only to retailers (such as fashion buyers) but also to the media (fashion journalists) and directly to customers. Already in the late 19th century, Paris couture houses began to offer their clients private viewings of the latest fashions. By the early 20th century, not only couture houses but also department stores regularly put on fashion shows with professional models. In imitation of Parisian couturiers, ready-to-wear designers in other countries also began mounting fashion shows for an audience that combined private clients, journalists, and buyers. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, fashion shows became more elaborate and theatrical, were held in larger venues with specially constructed elevated runways (“catwalks”) for the models, and played an increasingly prominent role in the presentation of new fashions.
By the early 21st century, fashion shows were a regular part of the fashion calendar. The couture shows, held twice a year in Paris (in January and July) by the official syndicate of couture designers (comprising the most exclusive and expensive fashion houses), present outfits that might be ordered by potential clients but which often are intended more to showcase the designers’ ideas about fashion trends and brand image. Ready-to-wear fashion shows, separately presenting both women’s and men’s wear, are held during spring and fall “Fashion Weeks,” of which the most important take place in Paris, Milan, New York, and London. However, there are literally dozens of other Fashion Weeks internationally—from Tokyo to São Paolo. These shows, of much greater commercial importance than the couture shows, are aimed primarily at fashion journalists and at buyers for department stores, wholesalers, and other major markets. Extensively covered in the media, fashion shows both reflect and advance the direction of fashion change. Photographs and videos of fashion shows are instantaneously transmitted to mass-market producers who produce inexpensive clothing copied from or inspired by the runway designs.
Media of all kinds are essential to the marketing of fashion. The first dedicated fashion magazines appeared in England and France in the late 18th century. In the 19th century, fashion magazines—such as the French La Mode Illustrée, the British Lady’s Realm, and the American Godey’s Lady’s Book—proliferated and flourished. Featuring articles, hand-coloured illustrations (known as fashion plates), and advertisements, fashion magazines—together with other developments such as the sewing machine, department stores, and ready-to-wear clothing produced in standard sizes—played a significant role in promoting the democratization of fashion in the modern era. The development of effective and inexpensive methods of reproducing photographs in print media in the early 20th century led to the rise of fashion photography and of heavily illustrated fashion magazines such as Vogue. Magazine advertising rapidly became a principal marketing tool for the fashion industry.
The creation of cinema newsreels—short motion pictures of current events—and the rise of television made it possible for people all over the world to see fashion shows and to imitate the fashionable clothing worn by celebrities. The dominance of visual media continued in the Internet age, with fashion blogs emerging as an increasingly important means of disseminating fashion information. Red-carpet events such as awards ceremonies provide an opportunity for celebrities to be photographed wearing designer fashions, thus providing valuable publicity to the designers.
Most people in the world today wear what can be described as “world fashion,” a simplified and very low-cost version of Western clothing, often a T-shirt with pants or a skirt, manufactured on a mass scale. However, there are also numerous smaller and specialized fashion industries in various parts of the world that cater to specific national, regional, ethnic, or religious markets. Examples include the design, production, and marketing of saris in India and of boubous in Senegal. These industries operate in parallel with the global fashion industry on a minor and localized scale.
One significant development in the field of ethno-religious dress was widespread adoption of the hijab (religiously appropriate attire) among Muslim women not only in the Middle East but throughout the Islamic world in the early 21st century. With millions of Muslim women living in numerous countries worldwide, veiling norms and styles are myriad. For some, veiling can mean a withdrawal from the vicissitudes of fashion altogether. Other women, including those for whom modest garments are obligatory in public, may wear fashionable European styles underneath their more conservative street attire. Still others have sought looks that are themselves both chic and modest. At the beginning of the 21st century the international market for modest fashions was growing. Muslim and non-Muslim designers produced a widening selection of appropriate and stylish looks, and numerous fashion blogs and magazines targeting Muslim women became available. Some designers and manufacturers confronted not only the aesthetics of modest attire but also the practical challenges associated with conservative dress, as seen in efforts to produce modest yet effective swimwear and sportswear for Muslim female athletes.
The fashion industry forms part of a larger social and cultural phenomenon known as the “fashion system,” a concept that embraces not only the business of fashion but also the art and craft of fashion, and not only production but also consumption. The fashion designer is an important factor, but so also is the individual consumer who chooses, buys, and wears clothes, as well as the language and imagery that contribute to how consumers think about fashion. The fashion system involves all the factors that are involved in the entire process of fashion change. Some factors are intrinsic to fashion, which involves variation for the sake of novelty (e.g., when hemlines have been low for a while, they will rise). Other factors are external (e.g., major historical events such as wars, revolutions, economic booms or busts, and the feminist movement). Individual trendsetters (e.g., Madonna and Diana, princess of Wales) also play a role, as do changes in lifestyle (e.g., new sports such as skateboarding) and music (e.g., rock and roll, hip-hop). Fashion is a complex social phenomenon, involving sometimes conflicting motives, such as creating an individual identity and being part of a group, emulating fashion leaders and rebelling against conformity. The fashion industry thrives by being diverse and flexible enough to gratify any consumer’s desire to embrace or even to reject fashionability, however that term might be defined.