Get Free Shipping on orders over $89
Designing Clothes : Culture and Organization of the Fashion Industry - Veronica Manlow

Designing Clothes

Culture and Organization of the Fashion Industry

By: Veronica Manlow

Paperback | 15 February 2009 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback


RRP $108.00

$94.99

12%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $23.75 with

 or 

Ships in 3 to 5 business days

Fashion is all around us: we see it, we buy it, we read aboutit, but most people know little about fashion as a business.Veronica Manlow considers the broader signifi cance offashion in society, the creative process of fashion design,and how fashion unfolds in an organizational contextwhere design is conceived and executed. To get a trueinsider's perspective, she became an intern at fashiongiant Tommy Hilfi ger. Th ere, she observed and recordedhow a business's culture is built on a brand that is linkedto the charisma and style of its leader.

Fashion firms are not just in the business of sellingclothing along with a variety of sidelines. Th ese companiesmust also sell a larger concept around which people canidentify and distinguish themselves from others. Manlowdefi nes the four main tasks of a fashion fi rm as creationof an image, translation of that image into a product,presentation of the product, and selling the product. Eachof these processes is interrelated and each requires theeff orts of a variety of specialists, who are often in distantlocations. Manlow shows how the design and presentationof fashion is infl uenced by changes in society, bothcultural and economic. Information about past sales andreception of items, as well as projective research informsdesign, manufacturing, sales, distribution, and marketingdecisions.

Manlow offers a comprehensive view of the ways inwhich creative decisions are made, leading up to the creationof actual styles. She helps to defi ne the contributionfashion fi rms make in upholding, challenging, or redefi ningthe social order. Readers will fi nd this a fascinatingexamination of an industry that is quite visible, but littleunderstood.

Veronica Manlow is assistant professor inthe Department of Economics at BrooklynCollege.

Industry Reviews

-[A] top pick for college-level collections strong in fashion history and design... Not only art collections but business libraries as well will find it an important survey of how the presentation of fashion is influenced by social change. From fashion industry trends and leadership to the efforts of the fashion designer, Designing Clothes is an excellent, in-depth survey.-

--Midwest Book Review

-Anyone interested in the American clothing/fashion industry will find this book a helpful introduction to its unique history and culture. Extensive bibliography. Highly recommended.-

--B. B. Chico, Choice

-An outstanding book, beautifully combining classical theory, ethnography, and interviews. Must reading for anyone who wants to understand how clothes are designed and what this says about ourselves and the society in which we live.-

--William Helmreich, City University of New York Graduate Center

-Designing Clothes offers a variety of unique insider views into the alluring world of the fashion industry. Designers and their roles in fashion are described, not in the usual cliched ways, but in 21st century terms, as charismatic cultural arbiters. . . . [A]ccurately dispels some of the unrealistic mystique surrounding this powerful industry.-

--Francesca Sterlacci, FIT


"[A] top pick for college-level collections strong in fashion history and design... Not only art collections but business libraries as well will find it an important survey of how the presentation of fashion is influenced by social change. From fashion industry trends and leadership to the efforts of the fashion designer, Designing Clothes is an excellent, in-depth survey."

--Midwest Book Review

"Anyone interested in the American clothing/fashion industry will find this book a helpful introduction to its unique history and culture. Extensive bibliography. Highly recommended."

--B. B. Chico, Choice

"An outstanding book, beautifully combining classical theory, ethnography, and interviews. Must reading for anyone who wants to understand how clothes are designed and what this says about ourselves and the society in which we live."

--William Helmreich, City University of New York Graduate Center

"Designing Clothes offers a variety of unique insider views into the alluring world of the fashion industry. Designers and their roles in fashion are described, not in the usual cliched ways, but in 21st century terms, as charismatic cultural arbiters. . . . [A]ccurately dispels some of the unrealistic mystique surrounding this powerful industry."

--Francesca Sterlacci, FIT


"[A] top pick for college-level collections strong in fashion history and design... Not only art collections but business libraries as well will find it an important survey of how the presentation of fashion is influenced by social change. From fashion industry trends and leadership to the efforts of the fashion designer, Designing Clothes is an excellent, in-depth survey."

--Midwest Book Review

"Anyone interested in the American clothing/fashion industry will find this book a helpful introduction to its unique history and culture. Extensive bibliography. Highly recommended."

--B. B. Chico, Choice

"An outstanding book, beautifully combining classical theory, ethnography, and interviews. Must reading for anyone who wants to understand how clothes are designed and what this says about ourselves and the society in which we live."

--William Helmreich, City University of New York Graduate Center

"Designing Clothes offers a variety of unique insider views into the alluring world of the fashion industry. Designers and their roles in fashion are described, not in the usual cliched ways, but in 21st century terms, as charismatic cultural arbiters. . . . [A]ccurately dispels some of the unrealistic mystique surrounding this powerful industry."

--Francesca Sterlacci, FIT


"[A] top pick for college-level collections strong in fashion history and design... Not only art collections but business libraries as well will find it an important survey of how the presentation of fashion is influenced by social change. From fashion industry trends and leadership to the efforts of the fashion designer, "Designing Clothes" is an excellent, in-depth survey."

"--Midwest Book Review"

"Anyone interested in the American clothing/fashion industry will find this book a helpful introduction to its unique history and culture. Extensive bibliography. Highly recommended."

--B. B. Chico, "Choice"


"[A] top pick for college-level collections strong in fashion history and design... Not only art collections but business libraries as well will find it an important survey of how the presentation of fashion is influenced by social change. From fashion industry trends and leadership to the efforts of the fashion designer, "Designing Clothes" is an excellent, in-depth survey."
--"Midwest Book Review"

"Anyone interested in the American clothing/fashion industry will find this book a helpful introduction to its unique history and culture. Extensive bibliography. Highly recommended."
-- B. B. Chico, "Choice"

More in Sociology

Being Old...and learning to love it! - Prue Leith

RRP $55.00

$42.75

22%
OFF
Aphrodisia : Women, Sex and Pleasure in the Classical World - Jean Menzies
She Births : Your practical guide to a beautiful birth - Nadine Richardson
Going On and On : Why Our Longevity Threatens the Future - Lucinda Holdforth
Black Skin, White Masks : Penguin Modern Classics - Frantz Fanon

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF
Invisible Boys : An award-winning LGBTQIA+ coming of age novel - Holden Sheppard
Talking to My Daughter : The Sunday Times Bestseller - Yanis Varoufakis
Beit Trad : Recipes, Stories & the Art of Lebanese Hospitality - Sarah Trad
MONEYMANIA : Wealth, Power and the Cult of Economics - The Rebel Accountant
Caste : The International Bestseller - Isabel Wilkerson

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF