Capitalism’s Favorite Child

Pierre-Yves Donzé is professor of business history at Osaka University, Japan and visiting professor at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Ben Wubs is professor of international business history at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

• List of figuresList of tables List of boxes Acknowledgements Introduction1. The emergence of the modern fashion businessThe global expansion of the commodity trade—wool, cotton, and silkTechnological innovation—textile machinery, sewing machines, and artificial colorsStandardization of sizesNew consumption temples—department storesConclusion2. The rise of haute couture or high-end fashion The inventor of a new business: Charles Frederick WorthThe heyday of French haute couture (1880–1939)Haute couture as a transnational industryTrade associations in haute coutureConclusion3. Fashion for the massesChange in consumption habitsClothing industry around the worldNetworks and large factoriesProducing fabrics for the European coloniesThe internalization model in apparel retail: C&AThe outsourcing model: M&SConclusion4. West meets East and the RestHow British cotton conquered the world and deindustrialized IndiaJapan’s Meiji Restoration, selective Westernization, and uniformsForced opening of China, the Opium Wars, and the Westernization of Chinese cultureChinese and Japanese influences on Western fashionWax fabrics connected Asia, Europe, and AfricaConclusion5. American fashionFur, cotton, and slaveryIndustrialization and textilesReady-to-wearThe rise of New York fashionThe rise of denimLeisure and sportswearConclusion6. Fashion, fascism, and the Second World WarItalian fascism, fashion, and fibersNazi autarky, Aryanization, and artificial fibersJapan’s fashion during the military dictatorshipParis fashion during the German occupationBritish-controlled fashionAmerican independence from ParisConclusion7. Postwar fashion systemsA new business model for Parisian haute coutureUS fashion industry—mass production, creativity and imitationThe emergence of Italian fashionWestern fashion and garments in JapanGrowth of global apparel industryConclusion8. Global fashion: Outsourcing and the end of the production paradigm Global shifts in the textile and apparel industriesThe rise of global fashion companiesMediatization of fashionThe Japanese wayFashion in developing economiesConclusion9. Fashion conglomerates and fast fashionThe rise of LVMHFinancialization of luxury fashion brands Fast fashion—retail and production(Un)sustainability and fashionConclusion10. Sports to fashionSportswear and casual style in the United StatesA German sports-shoemaker conquers Germany—and then the worldGame changers—the rise of Nike and ReebokNear-death experience and revival of adidasMarketing of sportswearFashionalization of adidasConclusion 11. Digital fashion and global production networksGlobalization and global production networksFashion forecasting: WGSN (London) and Stylesight (New York) E-commerce, fast fashion, and the destruction of traditional retailMediatization, bloggers, and influencersThe Fourth Industrial Revolution in fashionConclusionConclusionReferencesIndex

This book’s scope and breadth has long been needed in the field of fashion history. Its macro approach to the growth of mass fashion, luxury brands and the textile complex since the mid-nineteenth century is readable, easily digestible, thought-provoking and well-researched.