The fashion
industry is a product of the modern age. Prior to the mid-19th century, most
clothing was custom made. It was handmade for individuals, either as home
production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the
20th century—with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine, the
rise of global capitalism and the development of the factory system of
production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as department
stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in standard sizes and
sold at fixed prices. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe
and America, today it is an international and highly globalized industry, with
clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold
world-wide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in
China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and
shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets
internationally. The fashion industry has long been one of the largest
employers in the United States, and it remains so in the 21st century. However,
employment declined considerably as production increasingly moved overseas,
especially to China. Because data on the fashion industry typically are
reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industry’s many
separate sectors, aggregate figures for world production of textiles and
clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure, the industry
accounts for a significant share of world economic output.
The fashion
industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials, principally
fibers and textiles but also leather and fur; the production of fashion goods
by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail sales; and various
forms of advertising and promotion. These levels consist of many separate but
interdependent sectors, all of which are devoted to the goal of satisfying
consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the
industry to operate at a profit.
