The Routledge Companion to Fashion and Business

The Routledge Companion to Fashion and Business brings together the latest research in one authoritative volume and engages with the past, present and future of fashion business to explore current and emerging issues. Fashion has expanded its reach into every area of our lives, satisfying a human desire for novelty and expression through self-adornment. Yet overproduction and lack of self-regulation have resulted in an industry previously renowned for its creativity and influence, now making headlines because of its negative environmental and social impacts. Fashion businesses and their customers have shown a desire to move towards a more sustainable, circular fashion system, necessitating changes in design, production, promotion, retail and life cycle management. Fashion straddles many disciplines, including design, economics, psychology, marketing, management and retail, sociology, material and cultural studies, human geography and business ethics. Six thematic parts illustrate the breadth and significance of the fashion industry, written by those actively and currently engaged in its creation, management and critique.

Part I introduces the economic history of fashion and the significance of the textiles industry as a driver of industrialisation. Part II introduces key concepts in fashion psychology, consumer behaviour and trend prediction as well as contemporary fashion promotion platforms and practices. Part III explores the links between fashion and place, the changing landscape of fashion retail and the contribution of cultural heritage to emerging economies. Part IV shows how the past influences today’s fashion business through archives and exhibits, second-hand vintage and charity retail, reproduction of historical dress and circular fashion initiatives. Part V highlights fashion’s environmental and social impacts, reflecting on how fashion activism, regulations, policies and emergent practices can deliver a more sustainable fashion industry. Part VI comprises contributions from activists, entrepreneurs and individuals at the cutting edge of fashion business, offering an engaging collection of opinion pieces that reimagine the future of fashion business.

With contributions from a range of highly esteemed international academics, cultural commentators and industry insiders, The Routledge Companion to Fashion and Business is an authoritative reference work for scholars, students and practitioners.