"We are all implicated in the circuits of fashion production, consumption and disposal. But, it is rare that analyses manage to articulate the power dynamics which shape the cultural environment, texture lived experience and outline their salience for capital reproduction on a global scale. This impressive text does exactly that. It provides a critical, historical, socio-cultural perspective on this important industry which has significant impacts on our lives and potentially devastating effects in terms of inter-generational justice. It is essential reading." - Mark Tadajewski, University of York; Royal Holloway, University of London, UK "Professor Ekström once again has her finger on the pulse of consumer culture – and it’s racing! This book offers valuable critical perspectives on fashion as both a dizzying on- and off-line arena of consumption practices feeding personal identity and social hierarchies, and an exemplary model of market expansion feeding on symbolic, material and economic struggles and policing among consumers, and between activists, firms, and governing agents. This collection is essential reading for visionary marketing, fashion, design, and sustainability industry practitioners, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and future leaders in understanding what’s at stake with fashion now and in preparing for a sustainable future." - Professor Lisa Penaloza, KEDGE Business School, France"This book presents a very timely and remarkably comprehensive interdisciplinary perspective on the fashion industry’s cultural, societal, economic and ecological consequences. Nicely balancing historical and contemporary insights, readers of this book will learn about, not only what the fashion system has wrought, but how it could re-deployed to create a more sustainable and culturally diverse future." - Craig J. Thompson, Churchill Professor of Marketing, University of Wisconsin-Madison"This is a timely collection on the power of fashion to both reflect and influence social and cultural norms as well as the role of marketing in these processes. All the chapters make significant contributions to our understanding of the complex dynamics at the intersection of marketing and the fashion system. The volume is thus crucial reading for anyone seeking insights into the many diverse ways that fashion permeates contemporary society." - Pauline Maclaran, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK"This collection of fascinating essays tells us that fashion is more than an industry; it has become a central fact of our consumer society, making the discipline of marketing a key to understanding the workings of our unsustainable economy. The chapters reveal the mechanics of many fashion systems, from guns to runways, facemasks to museums, showing us why fashion provides both pleasure and dangers." - Richard R. Wilk, Distinguished Provost’s Professor Emeritus, Indiana University, USA
