5 things you probably didn’t know about the fashion industry Mark Twain once wrote, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Whether we’re one of the millions of people employed by the sector or just someone who likes to shop on Fifth Avenue or in second-hand stores, we are all touched by the fashion industry. Before the early autumn ushers in fashion weeks around the world, here are five things about the global fashion industry you probably didn’t know: The fashion industry generates up to $2.5 trillion in revenue a year The fashion industry is huge and continues to grow rapidly – according to current growth projections, it will double in the next 10 years, generating up to $5 trillion annually. It’s not just big in terms of revenue – it also employs 60 million people around the world. Clothing accounts for 88% of Haiti’s exports Only 25% of board members of publicly-traded fashion companies are women But while the shop floor is one story, the boardroom is another. 24 April is Fashion Revolution Day Share
London Fashion Week & British Fashion Industry Facts & Figures The 62nd edition of London Fashion Week will take place in its new home: Brewer Street Car Park in the heart of Soho. The schedule features 78 designers who will showcase SS16 collections to UK and international press and buyers across five days. Today, market research firm Mintel has released the following statistics: • £27billion (£27,051billion) worth of womenswear sales predicted for 2015, a 4% rise from £26billion (£25,950billion) in 2014 (Mintel, 2015) • £10.3billion worth of sales of men’s and women’s footwear in 2015, up 6.5% from £9.4billion since 2015 (Mintel, 2015) • £32 billion (£31,842 million) worth of womenswear sales forecasted by 2019, a growth of 23% (Mintel, 2015) • 67% of women have purchased clothes online in 2015, up from 65% in 2014. Celebrating their10th anniversaries this year are designers including Ashish, Erdem, Gareth Pugh, Nicholas Kirkwood and Roksanda. Emerging designers include Le Kilt, Marques’Almeida and Phoebe English.
Michelle Obama, Jackie Kennedy, and the Best Fashion Moments in American Political History At the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage to deliver a rousing argument for uniting the party and casting a vote for Hillary Clinton. Her wardrobe choice—a sapphire blue cap-sleeved dress by American designer Christian Siriano—delivered a clear message, too. She picked the party’s color, matched perfectly to the Convention backdrop, as if to say: This isn’t about me. And Siriano is known not just for his, perhaps, more democratic ascent into fashion—he won Project Runway in 2008—but also for dressing women of all sizes, mostly recently, Leslie Jones for the Ghostbusters premiere. In one dress, the First Lady conveyed elegance and humility, political allegiance as well as national pride. Consider Jackie Kennedy as the beginning of this fascination with Washingtonian dressing. As her party’s greatest hope, these days Clinton looks comfortable in, even unapologetic about, her clothing choices. See more photos of: Read Caption
The History of Online Shopping in Nutshell The Electronic commerce or e-Commerce as is known today evolved as businesses (end to end process) started to shift from real time market to digital market. All of the business today as we see is done over the internet and anything which is not there is meant to be wiped off. Ecommerce, the online shopping system has brought down political and physical barriers giving everyone in the world an equal playing ground for their market, everyone can put their products on sale through the e-stores(website dedicated to selling of product, a virtual store). Speaking about the last decade we saw a great market, rise over the internet, online shopping was introduced wherein firstly computer scientists got interested in then it came to general public and gradually became a substitute for the real market place. Ecommerce, as is generally thought of, is not the birth child of “The Web” but it just got kick’ started by “The Web”. You may be interested in the following related articles as well. Timeline
Fashion and Politics | Fashion Institute of Technology Gallery FIT July 7 – November 7, 2009Online Exhibition Fashion & Politics was a chronological exploration of over 200 years of politics as expressed through fashion. The term politics not only refers to the maneuverings of government, but also encompasses cultural change, sexual codes, and social progress. Throughout history, fashion has been a medium for conveying political ideologies and related social values. Fashion has addressed such important themes as nationalism, feminism and ethnic identity, as well as significant events and subcultural movements. "American Flag" costume, printed cotton, c.1889, USA, gift of Stephen de Pietri, 88.125.1 Vivienne Tam, suit, black and white polyester in checkerboard pattern of "Mao" portraits, 1995, USA, gift of Vivienne Tam, 95.82.5 Mainbocher for United States Navy, W.A.V.E.S. uniform, navy blue wool, 1942, USA, 84.2013.1 Dress, white cotton with red "IKE" print, circa 1956, USA. This exhibition was organized by Jennifer Farley and Melissa Marra.
Death of the high street? Hurrah… | Emma Duncan | Opinion During a slump, businesses in most parts of the economy get knocked sideways. It is during the recovery that you see which sectors are going to thrive in the long run, and which are going to wither. The data currently trickling in suggest that manufacturing, construction and financial and business services are doing pretty well. But there is one bit of the economy that shows little sign of life: that is the high street. The problem is not that people have given up buying stuff. Figures out last week showed that retail sales grew 4.2% in the year to March. That figure includes modern shopping centres, which have been doing reasonably well. That online retailing is gaining at the expense of the bricks-and-mortar stuff is hardly hot news, but this shift gets more airtime than that from, say, offline to online gambling because it has bigger social implications. That's why the need to pump life into our high streets is one of the few issues on which the political parties agree.
10 Most Powerful Luxury Fashion Brands In The World The luxury market has been growing significantly over the past couple of years and is still continuing on an upwards trend. Experts forecast an annual growth rate for the luxury goods market of 5-6% between 2013 and 2015. The Brain & Company estimated the luxury market to be valued at $274 billion, with a potential to reach an astonishing value of $290 value by 2015. Whilst the luxury market has been dominated by Louis Vuitton, which continues to be the most valuable luxury brand on a global scale, other names have been emerging as potential market leaders. Gucci and Prada have experienced the most significant growth. With great growth and potential, brands like Prada, Gucci and Hermes may one day overtake the market. and reach the number one spot. It is believed that Prada and Gucci experienced such high growth in brand value due to an increase in Asian customers, at home and abroad. Read on to find out the Top 10 World’s Most Powerful Luxury Brands. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Mary Portas: how I would have saved BHS | Business British Home Stores had a place in the heart of the 1970s shopper. It was a practical solution brand that was affordable and accessible. At its heart, it delivered good quality, decent stuff for people on a budget. That’s the historical position of British Home Stores. But any retail business like British Home Stores needs to constantly reimagine itself to connect to today’s consumer. Today, the consumer is absolutely king. If we look back over the history of retailing, and the history of BHS, our choices were limited. To separate yourself from the pack, you have to be the best in practice, whatever that means for your particular business. Sadly, British Home Stores was none of those. It was a big chain, so it was in the right towns, in the right places. Through the years, the world has changed in so many different ways; international brands coming in, competition firing up, and the internet has given people access to and knowledge of what is fashionable and where to buy it.
Faux Fur is More Than a Faux Pas, it's Poison One of the arguments most beloved of the anti-fur lobby is that fake fur is actually better for the environment than the real thing. That argument, however, is as fake as the apparel it supports. And some new research has thrown the whole issue around man-made fibres more generally into the limelight. What are these microfibres? But this new study is only part of the story. What the activists have notably left out, however, are the gaping flaws in that research, not least the fact it was commissioned by three European anti-fur groups. On the one hand, we can prove this figure is vastly over-inflated. It also conveniently ignored that mink manure is used as fertiliser and biofuel, and, most importantly, that real fur lasts a long, long time. This last point is perhaps the crux of the matter. And, lest we forget, fake fur, comprising polyacrylates, requires the extraction and fractionating of petroleum as well as the subsequent conversion into fibres and mass manufacturing into products.