Capitalisms Favorite Child: Global Fashion Business since 1850

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Combining research methods from business and global history, Donz and Wubs equip readers with a vital and expansive new analysis of the development of the global fashion industry from the mid-19th century to today.

Ranging across Europe, the Americas and Asia over two centuries, Donz and Wubs bring the work of manufacturers and designers together with trade associations, fashion forecasters and retailers to investigate the transformations of this truly global business - 'capitalism's favorite child' (Werner Sombart).. New data and sources reveal unexpected threads and detail within even such well-trodden narratives as Chanel under the occupation, the Nylon revolution, and the retail strategy of United Colours of Benetton.

What impact do the hidden histories of fabric trades such as cotton, wool and silk have on how we dress today What continues to divide high and low fashion when low-cost production countries transition into high-income economies How do technological changes from fast fashion to e-commerce trace back to the industrys beginnings and what can students, scholars, and industry leaders learn from this history about what the future might hold

Featuring new work on unstudied areas from Swiss silk companies in East Asia to the influence of finance on modern fashion, this is the most global, long-term, and interconnected history of the industry to date.

Author Bio

Pierre-Yves Donz is professor of business history at Osaka University, Japan and visiting professor at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

Ben Wubs is professor of international business history at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.