On the 19th of February 2019, Bocconi Students for Fashion held an event on corporate social responsibility (CSR) hosting Stefano Bassi (Enviro-Coordinator at Patagonia Milano), Matteo Marzotto (President of Dondup), Chicco Barina (Head Designer of Dondup), and Simon Giuliani (Marketing Director at Candiani Denim). The discussion was moderated by Professor Francesca Romana Rinaldi of Bocconi University. The issue of sustainability and CSR in fashion and luxury was discussed extensively this evening. Being a matter of ever-growing importance in the industry, points brought up included the main challenges and trends in sustainable fashion. It was noted that despite the fact that clothing sales have increased since the year 2000, clothing utilisation…
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The Life & Work of Karl Lagerfeld
On Tuesday, February 19th, Karl Lagerfeld passed away in Paris at the age of 85. The iconic German fashion designer left a huge impact on the industry, most notably through his role as creative director of Chanel and Fendi. Lagerfeld was born in Hamburg in 1933 – although his date of birth was disputed as he often stated to have been born in 1938. His father made a fortune by introducing condensed milk into the German market and as a consequence, Karl and his two sisters grew up in a wealthy home where intellectual activity was encouraged and where he was often exposed to literature, art and philosophy. With the…
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Fashion Shows In The Digital Era: An Evolutionary Dead End?
Sunday, 17 February 2019 As we are going through another fashion month and anticipating Milan Fashion Week, the silent question of fashion show validity has been an elephant in the room for some years now. With sales in the fashion industry are stagnating and many important players are going into debt yet still splurging on influencer-intense catwalk shows, designers are wondering – could marketing budgets be used more wisely? It came as a bit of surprise when Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Emily Ratajkowski flew over to Milan to walk in Versace show during the last Men’s Fashion Week, resulting in us not being able to recall a single male…
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The Rise of Merch in the Digital Age
Concert ‘merch’ has always been a feature of artist’s careers. And the rise of digitalisation is helping this business take on a strikingly new importance and become one of the main attractions of the show. Read more about the interesting factors at play in the growth of the merch market in the digital age!
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The textile revolution
-It takes 700 gallons of water to make one and only regular white T-shirt. -In the US 12.8 tons of textile are dumped in landfills every year. And the list goes on. Textile is the one to blame for the fact that fashion is one of the most polluting industries. Fibres such as cotton but also synthetics such as polyester and viscose have a devastating environmental footprint on our forests, seas and air. Our thirst for consumerism has led to the explosion of fast fashion and the situation can only aggravate. The question is, how can we replace such cheap and easily accessible textiles? A quick google search is enough for…
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Your go-to guide for a career in the fashion industry: Financial Analyst
At the core of each business there exists the basic question of how to finance your next steps. Fashion is no different. In fact, finance is one of the incremental, yet not really talked about, elements allowing for the world of fashion to function the way we know it today.
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Your go-to guide for a career in the fashion industry: Human Resources
We have all heard about the infamous HR departments, but do we actually know their role and importance within fashion companies? Let’s face it: Human Resources is one of those areas of business that is often outshined by the glamorous money-making machines of finance or technology. In fact, however, it is all of those Human Resources departments that are responsible for selecting, recruiting, and developing this promising talent, as well as maintaining relationships within the firm. This is no different for the fashion industry. In fact, it might be even more important for Fashion and Luxury over any other industry, simply because the growth within the sector is almost fully…
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The Business of Hype and Drop Culture
The fashion and luxury industries as we know them are undergoing a tremendous change to keep up with the new generation of consumers—who are set to account for 45 percent of the global luxury market by 2025— and their new shopping behaviours. Normal marketing strategies don’t cut it for most brands anymore, and this is where the business of ‘hype’ comes in. Supreme x Louis Vuitton © Tolga Akmen So what are the keys to a successful hype fashion brand? The first rule is that there are no rules. Unlike traditional fashion brands that release collections with the seasons and undergo a long period of professional training, they implement the…
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Your go-to guide for a career in the fashion industry: Fashion Buying
We often hear of fashion buying being named as one of the most prestigious and sought-after positions in the industry. But do we actually know what fashion buying is? Coated with the allure of mystery, fashion show invites and samples, fashion buying is not one uniform profession described as choice of what department stores will offer during a given season. It is in fact a very complex career choice, which requires not only interest in fashion, but also business acumen, analytical skills, and most importantly, creativity. Although the tasks of a fashion buyer also include monitoring stock and fashion forecasts, or researching the market, it is the understanding of art…
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The Imitation Game
Copying in the fashion industry is no new concept. Charles Frederic Worth, considered the pioneer of haute-couture, started stitching his name onto his original creations as early as in 1850 to protect himself from sly copycats. However, with the extensive multiplication of clothing brands and the strong development of fast-fashion, this phenomenon has grown hugely over the past decades. Despite the increasing magnitude of the copying problem, regulations to protect designers are still scarce and complex, especially in the United States. No clear patents or copyrights exist like in the pharmaceutical industry for example. The reasons for this leniency are multifold: Firstly, clothes are considered a more a commodity rather…
