Globalization of the Fashion Industry - Essay Example

? 25 June Globalization of the Fashion Industry Fashion industry has been there since the very beginning of human civilization. In ancient societies, the clothes people wore depicted their social status, with the rich wearing lustrous clothes made with fine fabrics while the poor wearing patched clothes. But throughout the history until the development of media, fashion was essentially a cultural trait as the trends remained restricted to the geographic boundaries. The development of media brought a revolutionary change not only in fashion, but also its spread across nations, and for the most part of it, the change has been positive. Fashion images projected in the films, magazines, television, and the Internet have created a global style that has spread across different cultures and geographic boundaries. T-shirts, blue jeans, baseball caps, and athletic costumes are traded everywhere from China to Manhattan, and to the African villages. Fashion systems in Asia, Africa, and the West borrow different kinds of textile elements and styles from one another. All these styles are housed under one roof in the large shopping malls in the rich countries. These products gain the attention of customers belonging to all age-groups, ethnicities, genders, cultures, and professions like high-tech global bazaars. This trend of the homogenizing effect across countries and cultures as well as the increased variety of costumes and accessories within the geographic locations reflects a global paradox. Although the shopping malls in different countries across the world have similar stores and the products sold are same, yet every single item has a huge variety. There is a seemingly baffling and infinite variety of cuts and fits in jeans both for men and women, ranging from the billowing baggy style to the stretched tight jeans, and from tapered at the ankle jeans to the bell-bottom jeans. Different styles have been developed to suit the individualistic needs of men and women belonging to different age-groups, and having different heights and physiques. “While a somewhat baggy, “relaxed” cut can signify dignified middle-aged femininity, a baggy cut taken to excess can signify hyper-masculine ghetto street smarts. Each variation takes its turn as an ephemeral and arbitrary signifier of shifting identities based on age, gender, ethnicity, or subculture” (“Globalization”). These days, the Fashion week in different cities around the world including Oslo, Berlin, Lahore, and Kiev are the same. The Fashion week was first organized in 1943 in the New York City. In those days, it was not possible for the Americans to visit Paris to know the latest trends in fashion. The objective of the organizers of the event was to attract the American designers. Fashion weeks are events in which both national and international designers get an opportunity to display their works which not only helps them gain the media attention but also earns them millions of tourist dollars in revenue. Proliferation of the fashion weeks all over the world is a potential sign of globalization of the fashion industry. These days, the most impressive fashion weeks are annually organized in London, Paris, New York, and Milan. The fashion industry grew by leaps and bounds as the fashion weeks were started to be organized in the Islamic countries. In the year 2006, the first fashion week was organized in Tehran. This fashion week featured modestly dressed women. The models wore hijabs, abayas, gowns, and other Islamic outfits in bright colors and prints. In the same year, fashion week was arranged in New Delhi which featured 60 designers. Out of the 160 buyers who were attracted by the event, over 70 were international. The event earned the organizers profit worth $50 million. Globalization of the fashion industry reached its apogee with the use of the Internet. Internet not only spread awareness about the latest fashion trends, but also enabled the consumers to shop the latest accessories right from their home online. “For consumers in dominant Western countries, globalization means an abundance of fashions sold by giant retailers who can update inventory, make transnational trade deals, and coordinate worldwide distribution of goods at the click of a computer” (“Globalization”). Globalization of the fashion industry has caused new kinds of challenges to surface. Challenges faced by the fashion industry include but are not limited to outsourcing, environmental problems, intellectual property rights, loss of styles, and piracy. In the year 2005, the international trade in apparel went up to $276 bullion. Americans purchased over a billion outfits from China. Over the years, more and more manufacturers have established factories in China and India in an attempt to cut short the manufacturing cost. A vast majority of such high-end companies started as family-owned businesses. Huge conglomerates bought these companies during the late 1980’s, and converted them into global brands producing goods for the middle market. They would charge the customers more with the rationale that the clothes were handmade by the European artisans, yet there was little truth in it. Violation of intellectual property rights is another issue. The US-based fashion designers lack protection under the laws of intellectual property, other than the use of logos and brands. Fashion designers in Europe are more protected under the intellectual property laws. Dresses and designs of accessories are copied as soon as the images of models displaying them on the ramps are posted on the Internet. Concluding, fashion industry has existed for thousands of years, but did not see a boom as enormous as it did with the development of media and the related technologies. Factors promoting the globalization of the fashion industry include outsourcing and trade. In addition to that, the fact that societies in the advanced countries have become increasingly multicultural over the decades is also a significant cause of globalization of the fashion industry as migrants belonging to different cultures have inspired the indigenous people with their fashion. Developing countries like China and India have played an important role in the globalization of the fashion industry by allowing the high-end companies to establish industries in them and save money by reducing the manufacturing cost with cheap labor. Challenges faced by the fashion designers with the globalization of the fashion industry include outsourcing, environmental problems, intellectual property rights, loss of styles, and piracy. Works Cited “Globalization.” 20 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 June 2012. . Read More