Fashion industry, multibillion-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.
Key sectors of the fashion industry
Textile design and production
Most
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.
Workers sew garments at a factory in Fanchang, in southern Anhui Province, China.AP
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