Magister Commercii - MCom / One major contribution to entrepreneurship in the past decade is the introduction of social media, which has changed the way in which businesses are operated. It is argued that using social media has signalled a departure for many businesses from the tradition of word-of- mouth advertising of products and services. Furthermore, it has been suggested that social media has become a crucial mechanism of promoting products owing to its potential of reaching many people as well as being cost effective. Following this line of thought, it can be argued that social media platforms can revolutionize communication among individuals and businesses by increasing their networking circle. This study aimed to establish how female- owned Small Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in the fashion retail sector in Cape Town use social media for both business and social networking purposes. The study used a qualitative research design where data were collected through semi-structured interviews and unobtrusive methods. These techniques were preferred because they allowed for an in-depth understanding of social media networking strategies. The findings highlight that social media contributes towards enhancing the existing business networks and the working activities of the female entrepreneurs; with both weak and strong ties playing a vital role towards cementing these connections.

The objectives of this study are to develop an understanding of the quality related issues and gaps relevant to apparel merchandising within the South African context, with a specific focus on Fabric Objective Measurement, a relatively new technology and one which could fruitfully be applied in South Africa, but which appears to have been largely neglected to date. Fabric Objective Measurement (FOM) represents a new generation of instrumentally measured parameters which provide a more complete picture of fabric quality, tailorability and clothing performance. The two main FOM systems, FAST and Kawabata, are discussed under FOM in terms of their applications, control charts and their worldwide utilisation. A literature review has been done on the global clothing sector as well as South African clothing industry. The research involved a questionnaire survey of, and interviews with major clothing and retail companies in South Africa with a specific focus on the gap in the South African clothing industry in terms of FOM and other quality related issues. The data and information so captured are presented graphically, statistically analyzed and interpreted, to arrive at the main conclusions and recommendations. Trubok, Newcastle, the only company in South Africa utilizing FOM, was visited in order to obtain hands on experience with the FAST system as operated in a mill. Two different fabrics were tested and the control charts obtained were interpreted. According to the analysis of the questionnaires and interviews, various conclusions could be drawn. When benchmarking a product, quality emerged as the first criterion, 100 percent retailers and manufacturers agreed to this. Most respondents stated that their fabric and garment testing is mostly done in-house while other respondents stated that their fabric and garment testing is mostly done by their respective suppliers. The most commonly used outside laboratories are SGS and ITS. Merchandising and quality complement each other and with proper quality assessment the merchandising workflow becomes smooth, easy and timely delivery of products. All of the respondents (100 percent) supported this fact. Retailers and manufacturers agreed that quality and merchandising are related to each other and hence helping those in achieving product benchmarking (statistically significant at 95 percent confidence level). Retailers and manufacturers conduct fabric and garment tests on a regular/routine basis and mostly use knitted and woven fabrics in garment making. In addition to the above, the worldwide manufacturers and suppliers of the FAST and Kawabata systems were approached to obtain data and information about the number of such systems sold worldwide and their fields of application. This information was considered important in promoting FOM in South Africa. Only one manufacturer is presently using FAST for quality control purposes. Of the manufacturers and retailers covered, most of them were either unfamiliar or totally unaware of FOM and its application. This indicates that there is considerable scope for introducing this highly advanced technology into the textile and clothing manufacturing and retail pipeline in South Africa. Most of the manufacturers and retailers (50 percent) intend to introduce certain new tests in future. The tests that they are planning to introduce in future may include FAST, which is fairly simple, reliable and productive, as well as enhancing the quality of the garment. If used, FOM can improve the quality and competitiveness on the international level which is currently lacking in the South African clothing sector.

This research was commissioned and funded by The Welding Institute (TWI). The Welding Institute are a global research and development facility specialising in the joining of materials for industrial applications. The purpose of this research was to develop capability in textiles joining, particularly ultrasonic and laser welding technologies, which is relatively new to TWI. The appointed researcher adopted a ‘multi-strategy’ (Cresswell 2009) approach to the research; encompassing methods that were both familiar and unfamiliar to those usually adopted by TWI employees and researchers, whom mostly come from engineering and scientific backgrounds. The research was primarily undertaken with the adoption of a ‘craft-design’ approach that uses material investigation to explore and uncover interesting leads for investigation, which was the familiar approach of the researcher coming from a background in textile design. Material studies were carried out inquisitively without the formation of a particular hypothesis and insights were discussed with industry to identify potential commercial and functional application opportunities. Following the identification of an interest in welding stretchy fabrics Speedo agreed to become the main industry partner for the research, providing materials, access to testing equipment and validation of commercial opportunities for material samples relative to their application. The main hypothesis for the research Laser melted patterns can be used to control the elastic behaviour of stretchy textiles to have a targeted and variable compressive effect on the body developed through discussion with Speedo in response to material samples produced using transmission laser welding equipment. A predominant scientific approach was adopted during the second phase of the research to quantify and control this effect: to demonstrate repeatability and test it both on fabric and the body. Methods that were unfamiliar to the researcher prior to this research such as mechanical testing and microscopic analysis were employed. Selection of either a ‘craft design’ or ‘scientific’ approach was made pragmatically in response to the research as it developed. Through a retrospective analysis of applied methods throughout the research trajectory it has been possible to define this particular ‘multi-strategy’ project as a ‘sequential exploratory’ design (Cresswell 2009), whereby periods of subjective investigation are followed by empirical testing. The main process that has been developed by this research is a decorative method of controlling the elastic behaviour of stretchy fabrics using transmission laser welding equipment for a controlled and variable compressive effect on the body. Compression fabrics are used widely within the medical, lingerie and sportswear fields to apply pressure to the body either for an aesthetic or functional advantage. In swimwear, compression fabrics are applied to streamline the silhouette and minimise drag resistance. The technique developed by this research makes a contribution to knowledge within the field of laser processing of textiles, specifically within the field of transmission laser welding, and within the field of compression apparel. In the field of transmission laser welding a new functional capability for all-over surface patterns has been demonstrated. In the field of compression apparel a new decorative method for achieving an increasingly variable compressive effect for a smoother transition between different zones of stretch has been achieved. N.B. All redacted information throughout this thesis is confidential to Speedo.

Intellectual property law theory is premised on a utilitarian justification granting limited time monopolies for encouraging creation, innovation and its dissemination to society. However, in the last several decades, scholars have been mounting empirical evidence to show that in some industries, creativity and innovation exist outside the contours of intellectual property law and thrive despite their lack of reliance on the laws. Instead, what they uncovered is that creators in these industries follow norms that mitigate issues surrounding some kinds of copying. Intellectual property protection for fashion design in Canada is fragmented across a complex legal landscape that entails several different laws, unique in scope, eligibility requirements and rights. This complex framework is not unique to the fashion design industry but is similar for design industries generally. Navigating through these laws can be daunting and thus inaccessible for the some segments of the design industry that are small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that have limited resources to expend on legal advice and registration. Using grounded theory methodology and qualitative and quantitative methods, this research explored the use of intellectual property law and social norms by the independent fashion design segment in Montreal and in Toronto and the contours of copying and the public domain. What the empirical research reveals is that independent fashion designers do not use the law to protect their designs and instead, use mechanisms that centre on the negative copying norm. Negative copying is copying that is negatively perceived. It is not necessarily legally infringing or economically harmful, although it can be both. Further, it can apply to subject matter that is not the subject matter of intellectual property law. This norm against negative copying is supported by extra-legal prevention and enforcement mechanisms that have been developed by individuals within the segment in order to mitigate the issue of copying. The empirical research also reveals that in addition to the economic incentives to create, there are also a number of non-economic incentives such as identity and reputational interests that drive creativity and help reinforce the norm against negative copying. Using grounded theory enabled me to draw on literature from a number of disciplines in order to help contextualize these findings and approach the analysis from the perspective of intellectual property theory, policy and law, social norms (sociology and psychology) as well as economic geography, and design.

In China, an increasing number of individuals and companies are adopting microblogging, a popular form of social media, in order to connect and interact with other people, and recent online events indicate the power of microblogging in Chinese society. Holding the belief that microblogging brings out the interactive nature of new media as well as the audiences, many companies are exploring microblogging in order to better communicate with their audiences. However, very little is known about how those brands use microblogging to promote themselves and what the audiences’ preferences are on this platform. Employing uses and gratifications and feminism theories, this study examined how fashion brands use Weibo.com, one of the main microblogging platforms in China, to promote themselves and what the Chinese women, the main audience of both Weibo.com and fashion brands, ask for from fashion brands’ tweets. The quantitative content analysis of the tweets of three major fashion brands, namely Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Bvlgari, shows the general pattern of how microblogging are being deployed. A further investigation was conducted through ethnographic content analysis in order to examine the implicit values conveyed by fashion brand’s tweets and the audiences’ preferences towards these values. Results from the analyses revealed that the prevailing topics covered in the fashion brands’ tweets included their products, related celebrities, and the brands’ events or projects, and fashion brands usually combined several topics in one tweet in order to provide more information to the audiences. Taken a deeper look at the latent message of the tweets, fashion appears to play a positive role in emancipating contemporary Chinese women.

The aim of the master thesis is analysis of customer´s consumer behavior in a Second hand shops in Czech Republic. My assistments is processed like a research´s replication of second hand´s life style. This was compared between American and Chinese youth, which its results were recently published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Firstly the research is aimed on discovering reasons, why people buy stuffs there. Secondly which concerns or limits affecting buying the used goods and if social groups have influence on a choice of goods. In the end the main result is discovering common features of consumer´s behavior and subsequent customer profiling.

The goal of the thesis is to explain what design exactly means and describe, its develop and some its parts. Further describes its use as very important marketing tool. The practical part contains implement of design in company Apple computer. The Part of "czech design" describes partnertships of designers and czech firms such as Mattoni, Linet, Pivovary Staropramen etc. The last part contains the foundation of student's brand KATARZE and its presenattion on Desgnblok.

The thesis is divided into two parts. The firts part deals with theoretical description of fashion merchandising, including specification of visual merchandising, sensoring merchandising and other aspects of shopping environment. The second part is dedicated to description of practical application of those principles in a selected shop of an international fashion retailer.

An average Swede buys 13 kilograms textile material every year, but an average Swede also throws away 8 kilograms every year. Adding a layer of exponential growth, I wonder what will happen with these numbers over the years and more importantly – how will it affect the emotional life of the consumer? Over the years I have developed an interest in the systemic entanglement of fashion – mainly as the urgency to create systemic shifts only has increased.  Fashruption is a happy marriage of the words fashion and disruption, and forms the title for this travelogue, exploring what a fashruption could be. Fashion – that adorns the bodies to showcase the self in the social. A phenomenon in constant dynamic flow of becoming, that thrives on an expiration date. And disruption – that perhaps can release space for a renegotiation on the ways we create identities and consume fashion. But what kind of disruption has the power to challenge current behaviours? This project is divided into two parts; first a problem setting design process focusing on exploring emotional logics (or illogics) that fashion is intertwined with, extracting reflections on relationships between production–consumption–creation of identities–waste. Secondly, a fashruption is suggested to be a large-scale campaign directed towards people with future-orientated momentum. It will present a strategy proposing ideas of designed material that gives space for self-reflection at the same time building knowledge, aiming to construct publics – who has the possibility to renegotiate the terms upon which they live.

The Dissertation is providing concise insight into the history of fashion industry, its global evolution and remarkable thresholds leading us into the way we can see it nowadays. Consequent focus is around today's trend of fast fashion being seen as the synonym for affordable and low-cost apparel. Vigorous supply chain analysis delivers valid arguments about negative social and environmental impact on our society as a result of recent fashion trends. Considering all above highlighted issues along with increasingly important sustainability, the theses is trying to outline a future prospect of the industry.