Fashion generates over a trillion dollars in sales annually and has the priceless ability to beguile its customers around the world. Fashion Entrepreneurship: The Creation of the Global Fashion Business provides the first authoritative history of the global fashion industry, from its emergence to the present day, with a focus on the entrepreneurs at the nucleus of many of the world's influential brands. It shows how successive generations of entrepreneurs built and developed their brands, democratizing access to fashion brands throughout the world.
This book analyzes the careers of the greatest fashion entrepreneurs from the nineteenth century onward, including such legendary names as Charles Worth, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Giorgio Armani. It shows how this distinct form of entrepreneurship has arisen and what lessons new entrepreneurs can learn from the past to create thriving fashion businesses in today's rapidly changing modern world.
Filled with fascinating stories from the world of fashion, as well as detailed business analysis and practical advice for people looking to create successful brands, Fashion Entrepreneurship is an essential read for students of fashion and entrepreneurship, and anyone looking to understand, and succeed in, this most glamorous of industries.
Introduction: The Business of Fashion
Part I Fashion Rising
The Birth of Fashion Entrepreneurship (1845-1895)
Fashion, Art, and Beauty (1895-1914)
Part II Fashion Diffusion
Fashion Amid War and Depression (1914-1945)
The Golden Age of Haute Couture (1945-1959)
The Changing Face of the Fashion Business (1960s onward)
Part III Fashion Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice
Building the Fashion Firm: Entrepreneurial Capabilities for Fashion Business Success
The Fashion Entrepreneurship Model: Dynamics Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Fashion Business Models: Entrepreneurial Drivers, Opportunities, and Challenges
Conclusion: The Dream Makers