New Paradigms in Education in Fashion Business

Need of Advanced Training Program for Students/Professionals in Fashion Industry

Textile and Apparel industry today is in a state of flux. With changes in the world sweeping across the domains of knowledge and redefining paradigms, mere functional knowledge of the various operations and processes will no longer suffice. To address these, there is a need for advanced training programs for students/professionals in fashion industry. This articles explores the broad forces which are shaping the global fashion industry and the ways a fashion professional- be it a fashion designer, stylist, merchandiser or a professional- can equip himself/herself by advanced training.

The state of economy will influence the success of a business. The pivotal concepts relating to a fashion professionals are tariffs and exchange rate of currency. A professional should know the various tariffs for textile, clothing and footwear and the change in these tariffs with some new government policy. Equally important is the exchange rate for the currency. A low value of currency benefits a professional for his business especially when many of his customers are from overseas. This effect can be seen in a country like India where appreciation in Rupee is witnessing the slowdown in garment and apparel exports.

The political climate of the world in a country can affect the success of a fashion business. With the development of regional trade blocs, the traditional sources of production, distribution and consumption are shifting. Currently price of goods is not the only criterion to source a merchandise from a particular country.  cost of supply chain has become more important to reach at a sourcing decision. With neighboring trade barriers vanishing, traditional garment exporters are finding it extremely difficult to remain cost competitive vis-à-vis the partners inside the trade blocs. However, it also throws an opportunity for the exporters to establish their own presence in that trade bloc. Equally important is the assistance given by the government to help the  business in a country. Government can give incentives, grants and impose tariffs on imported goods. It is imperative from a fashion professional to train himself to understand these nuances and use them for the advantage of his business.

It is said by Gerald M Hall, District Director, US Department of Labor that “The apparel industry is perhaps the hardest industry the US Department of Labor has ever Faced”. It is said that out of $100 dress made in US, only $6 goes to the worker who actually sewed the garment. This and other issues such as ergonomics, more meaningful systems of work, compliance with labor laws and elimination of illegal sweatshops are some of the social issues,  a fashion professional must be able to appreciate. Similarly for a fashion designer there are issues such as the connotation of color in a particular culture, how much to ‘undress’ the models and use of religious motifs are some of the factors that are determined by a particular society. A fashion professional  needs to train himself to address these issues.

Fashion Professionals must be aware of the technological developments if they are to succeed in the 21^st century. There have been many developments in fibers, yarns, fabrics and finishing techniques. Technology affecting the apparel industry includes computerized equipment and material transport systems. Wider looms, more computerized equipments and the increasing use of robotics to move material within the plant are other technologies recently designed to make a production house more efficient.

Equally astonishing is the integration of IT at each part of the apparel value chain. Designing solutions allow the design staff to create their own fabrics ( woven and knits), designs and prints. Thousands of digital snaps, capturing the essence of runway and street fashion in Paris, Milan or US can be modified to get the right color and silhouettes instantly. It is possible to even ‘virtualise’ how the merchandise will look at the retail store or when the customer wears it. It has made possible the online color matching and pickups which are so much needed for sample development. IT is helpful in pattern making, grading, cut planning, real-time shop-floor data collection, fabric and thread costing, labor cost estimation and production planning and control. IT savvy fashion professionals are the need of the hour.

Retail industry is changing dramatically. The emphasis has recently been shifted to quick response and lean retailing. It is a challenge for the apparel manufacturers to understand and adapt to the requirements of the retailers by providing value-added services. Increasingly retailers are focusing on the core business and are passing all other responsibilities on the clothing manufacturing business partners. These include design, product developments, sourcing, ready to sell packaging and logistics, shipping and distribution to buyer’s location. A professional needs to understand all these functions in order to service the retailers efficiently and effectively.

Intellectual Property, which have been in dormancy in 20^th century , has gained importance in this century. The reason for this (according to www.wipo.int) is that the national economies of the world are moving to knowledge intensive economies and the trade in knowledge intensive products has increased dramatically. There are many facets of IP which can be related to fashion industry. Design, the registration of which helps the owner to protect all others from exploiting its new or original ornamental or aesthetics aspects which may relate to a three dimensional feature, such as the shape of a hat or a two dimensional feature such as a textile print.

Then there are branding and trademark issues. Big fashion houses value their brand equity and fiercely protect their brand names through registration of trademark and protection of associated artwork by copyright laws. Similarly a portfolio of patents, such as new fabrics that do not crease or are softer, can help attract business partners or investors. Then there are trade secrets which may range from a list of key suppliers and/or buyers, to use of software tools for fashion design to logistics management of the entire value chain.  It is there fore imperative that a fashion professional should train himself for the various Intellectual Property Rights Laws.

To sum up, all the factors mentioned above require some advanced training and can not be learnt effectively on the job. The fashion professional will do well to  prepare themselves for these modern challenges by taking advanced training program in fashion and apparel management.