Fashion Industry & How it Works

The fashion industry is a thriving industry, creating the billions of dresses, suits and other clothing and accessories consumers purchase. The fashion industry works in the following way: The process for creating ready-to-wear or haute couture clothing starts with fashion market research and trend forecasting. Designers work to create the apparel drafting. After the design has been approved by the designer, apparel production begins.

Once the product is complete, fashion marketing and fashion buying come into play.

The process ends with fashion merchandising retail. The product is seen in department stores and high-end boutiques.

Western fashion has evolved over centuries.

The 16th century in Europe saw apparel sewn with broad shoulders and heavy-cut velvet decorated by intricate lace and fine gold. This was especially seen in the fashion worn by aristocrats. Fast-forward two centuries, and women’s fashion consisted of domed skirts and cinched waists.

Western society leaped into the 20th century with short skirts baring leg. As the fashion industry has evolved, designers have perfected new designs and brought into style new fabrics.

In the 19th century, English settlers brought the textile industry to the U.S. Women in the U.S. during the 1800s had their dresses tailor-made.

As the tailors noticed similarities among the women for whom they sewed, they developed patterns. Hence, pattern making was born.

Apprentices learned the patterns and how to make them, becoming designers and dressmakers. The fashion industry continued to evolve into the mega-marketing industry it has now become.

The fashion industry is made up of clothing manufacturers, designers, models, behind-the-scenes make-up and hair artists, merchandisers and buyers.

The single element common among these roles is that these professions are extremely creative. Each professional has been trained in a highly specialized field.

The fashion industry is important to the culture of each society, as the byproducts of each designer provide a style or identification of the person wearing the clothes. Style is an identity marker, and the fashion industry is essential to transforming individuals solely by what they wear.

Aside from designing one-piece wonders for elite clientele such as Hollywood mega stars, which serves as a catalyst for more economical couture designs, the fashion industry clothes us all. Be it famous brand-name jeans or brands marketed solely by retail chain stores, the fashion industry is the source of all the designs, material choices and marketing via models showing off the clothes on Paris, Milan or New York runways.

The fashion industry is composed of two primary sectors: ready-to-wear (couture) and haute couture (high fashion).

Ready-to-wear makes up the bulk of fashion because it is less expensive than haute couture and far more easily accessible. Designers showing promise might make their mark designing haute couture.

The fashion industry spans the globe. Western societies have metamorphosed drastically since earlier centuries. Asian societies, too, like India’s enormous Bollywood film industry, make use of extremely diverse and talented pools of designers who dress every movie's heroines and heroes.