From the Business of Fashion to

Fashion Entrepreneurship
A Retrospective on the Marriage of Style and Commerce through the Ages
 Fashion, History, &
Commerce

• Fashion is a complex social and

cultural phenomenon with
strong economic implications.
• The fashion phenomenon is best
appreciated through clothes and
other forms of personal
adornment
• The paradox of fashion has been
used through the ages as a way of
identifying with a group (or class)
but at the same time of expressing
individuality by separating oneself
from another group (or class).
• Promoting this paradox through
clothes and personal adornment
has become big business for many
entrepreneurs.
• Entrepreneurs, fashion
designers, and other
influencers through the ages
have had to consider
economic development,
consumption patterns,
manufacturing options, and
social movements as critical
indicators of how to profit
from fashion.
Many celebrated
personalities in
history contributed
significantly to the
evolution of fashion
as a business….who
are some of them?
 CHARLES FREDERICK WORTH
(1825 – 1895)

• Father of haute couture.

• Apart from his legendary creativity, he was
also acknowledged as one of the first
designers with exemplary business skills.
• Worth was the first designer to ask clients
to go to his shop and choose clothes worn
by “live” mannequins.
• Believed in aggressively promoting himself
through extensive magazine spreads and
features.
• The House of Worth was one of the first
multi-generational family businesses in the
fashion industry.
 GABRIELLE “Coco” CHANEL
(1883 – 1971)

• Defied convention by wearing clothes

like a man.
• She created the image of a “modern
and powerful woman.”
• Many of her designs were inspired by
menswear.
• She hated the rich so she made them
dress like workers.
 CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA
(1895 – 1972)

• He was an exceptional tailor and

technician; he often started his
creations by studying the fabric.
• Balenciaga gave women a “new”
silhouette.
• His creations allowed women of many
sizes to wear his styles.
• Innovated with the use of many
fabrics with a variety of prints.
 CHRISTIAN DIOR
(1905 – 1957)
• He introduced the “new look”.
• One of the first who worked side by side
with a financier who funded his first shop
in Paris.
• Introduced a more modern and global
view of fashion where even men as well
as women from around the globe became
interested in being stylish.
• He understood the importance of
combining creativity with business sense.
• Pioneered licensing in the fashion
business.
 YVES SAINT LAURENT
(1936 – 2008)
• The first haute couture designer who
ventured into pret-a-porter
(ready-to-wear).
• He acknowledged that making less
expensive clothes will reach a larger
clientele.
• One of the first to tap black models
and to embrace diversity in fashion.
• Used popular culture, modern art, and
exotic cultures around the world as
inspiration for his creations.
Critical areas for the earliest fashion firms to monitor in
order to ensure quality and profitability (Chambre Syndicale de la
Couture, 1910)
• Education and training of the
workforce
• Diffusion of information
between the members regarding
common problems
• Propaganda
• Negotiation with authorities
• Protection of intellectual
property
• The 1st and 2nd world wars slowed down the
export of French clothes (and style)
overseas.
• This forced other countries to develop their
own centers of fashion.
• The United Kingdom, Italy, and the United
States gradually developed their own
manufacturing bases for garments and
subsequently introduced their own
interpretation of style based on their
distinct personalities and lifestyles.
• The birth of an indigenous American
fashion industry gave rise to relaxed,
functional, contemporary, and
mass-produced apparel.
• As fashion became more
“democratic”, fashion centers
around the world emerged.
• New York, Milan, London, and
even Tokyo threatened the
reputation of Paris as the
fulcrum of global fashion.
• The establishment of textile
manufacturing hubs and the
expansion of department
stores around the world
contributed significantly to the
meteoric rise of fashion as a
lucrative business.
 THE EVOLUTION OF MEN’S STYLE

For an extensive review of

the history of men’s fashion,
I highly recommend this
article:
https://www.businessinsider
.com/history-of-mens-style-
2015-1
So what does it take to succeed in
this industry…..today, in the year
2020?
 FASHION
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
• Ideally combines one’s
knowledge in design, business,
and manufacturing.
• Many basic inputs can now be
outsourced or imported….but
some innate capabilities
remain critical for the fashion
entrepreneur or the
management team to naturally
manifest.
 CAPABILITY 1:

The ability to develop a

new symbolic language -
a style - that is
experienced by
customers as distinctive,
consistent, and new.
 CAPABILITY 2

The ability to manage the

process of communication
on which fashion depends.
 CAPABILITY 3

The ability to understand

and manage strategic,
marketing, and branding
issues for the start-up
firm.
 CAPABILITY 4

The ability to improve

lives and to create
higher value for others.
 REFERENCES
Fernandes, C.E. (2019). Fashion Design Entrepreneurship: Skills and solutions to create a fashion business.
Journal of Textile Science and Fashion Technology 3(1) 2019. JTSFT.MS.ID.000553.
DOI:10.33552/JTSFT.2019.03.000553.
Fontana, G.L. and Miranda, J.A.M. (2016). The business of fashion in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries. Economic History Research 12 (2016).
Karra, N. and Phillips, N. (2008). Otherwise it is just commerce: Understanding fashion
entrepreneurship. Conference paper: The Creative Industries and Intellectual Property. University of
London, 22-23 May 2008.
Krick, J. (2004 October). Charles Frederick Worth (1825–1895) and the House of Worth. Retrieved from:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wrth/hd_wrth.htm
McDowell, C. (2015, August 21). Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972). Retrieved from:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/education/cristobal-balenciaga-1895-1972.
McDowell, C. (2015, August 21). Yves Saint Laurent (1936-2008). Retrieved from:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/education/yves-saint-laurent-1936-2008-2
McDowell, C. (2015, November 23). Christian Dior (1905-1957). Retrieved from:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/education/christian-dior-1905-1957
McDowell, C. (2015, November 27). Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (1883-1971). Retrieved from:
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/education/gabrielle-coco-chanel-1883-1971.