Fashion companies consistently prove to be the most prolific and successful of the international retailers. Success is attributed to small format size, single brand emphasis and economies of format replication. These factors contain the costs, and risks, of foreign market expansion. Evidence from the British fashion market attests to the aggressive expansion policies of foreign fashion retailers who, in the past decade, have disrupted the competitive equilibrium of the UK market. This study examines the motives, methods and management challenges that foreign fashion retailers face, and adopt, as they establish operations within the UK. Drawing from the wider international business and international retailing literature, seven research propositions direct the first, positivist research stage. Via a mail survey, sent to all foreign fashion retailers with stores in the UK, the study identifies that these are proactive internationalists, drawn to the UK to exploit the opportunities afforded from niche markets and brands with significant consumer appeal. The research also notes specific differences between designer, specialist and general fashion retailers in terms of motivations, entry methods, operating strategies, critical success factors and the problems they encounter. The second phase of the research is interpretivist in nature and examines the actual process of internationalising fashion retail operations within the UK from the perspective of seven case companies. The study concludes that the foreign entrants remain within the British market for reasons of exceptional profitability, reputation and consumer and competitor intelligence. The central contribution of the study resides in the identification and analysis of the facets integral to the actual process of successfully internationalising fashion retail operations; notably the incremental development of effective central and local management structures, the clear demarcation of management decision-making responsibility, and the staged development of product ranging and development, brand positioning and distribution planning policies.

This practice-led PhD research explores the nature of embodied knowledge acquired and practised through the rhythms and patterns of hand-stitching processes, such as embroidery, plain sewing and patchwork quilting, undertaken by individuals alone and in dedicated groups as recreational craft, artistic expression and social life. The scale and pace of hand-stitching match those of the body, grounding cognitive and emotional experience in a tangible process. The hand-eye-mind coordination required cultivates a distinctive form of attention to the self, which has renewed importance in the context of the anti- haptic experiences of screen technologies that infiltrate our daily routines in the home and the workplace. Working with the premise that skilled hand-stitching concerns more than technical ability, I examine how these activities articulate dimensions of subjective experience. In turn, I explore ways in which the relationship between an individual and a group is constructed through their crafting skills. My previous experiences of textile crafting as a social activity drew me to this question, and my interest as a practitioner and teacher in the contemporary and future relevance of skilful work motivates me to better understand what it is that I, and many other stitch practitioners, do. With the tacit knowledge of a practitioner I know how to stitch, and from my investigations into the history and theory of textile art, craft and material culture I know about stitch. However, my view is that when absorbed in the process of making other more immediate and personal sensations take over. An exploration of haptic sensations relative to these processes underpins the investigation, and I focus instead on the dynamic relationship between practical skill, the body and its proximity to tools, materials and other people during actual experiences of making – the repeated gestures, coordinated hand movements and the skilled precision of tool use and fingertip manipulation – to provide a new context for the study of embodied knowledge known in and through hand-stitching. In order to explore this I have used a combination of ethnographic, auto-ethnographic and creative research methods including interviews, observation, video recording of a patchwork quilting group, participation in practical stitching sessions with a village embroidery group, undertaking workshops with students, and my own reflective stitching practice. It has emerged from the research that patterns of hand-stitching processes share characteristics with certain modes of social interaction sought by participants in order to experience sensations of participation, belonging or interdependence. Similarly to other oral traditions, an embodied knowledge of the practice includes patterns of interaction and particular attitudes and behaviours that are inseparable from the practical skills. However, people also stitch on their own; as a private, contemplative activity, hand-stitching allows a person to carve out time and space for introspective reflection. Whilst this could be thought of as a different kind of experience altogether, I suggest that mastery of these skills enables control over when and how to use them, which, I have found, allows a practitioner to adjust the type of experience sought: participation in a shared conversation or activity can be exchanged for isolated contemplation and a sense of self-reliance. I conclude that hand-stitching surpasses its technical or artistic attributes when considered as a material practice that offers particular metaphors for other processes of joining, collaboration, integrity – or even separation and isolation. Practising these skills is possibly the only way to acquire this embodied knowledge, which needs to be understood as a mode of interaction if it is not merely trivialised as quaint, as domestic labour or archived as ethnographic curiosity or as art object.

The purposes of this study were to investigate attitudes toward apparel shopping and apparel shopping behavior of a selected group of working women in the Dallas, Texas, area. The study also examined relationships of occupation, education, age and marital status to apparel shopping attitudes and behavior. The study concluded that working women enjoy shopping for apparel but do encounter certain frustrations. Working women shop for apparel every few weeks or more and most often purchase apparel in department stores. The majority use charge accounts and often purchase apparel at reduced prices. Chi square analysis revealed few significant relationships between attitudes toward apparel shopping and apparel shopping behavior and the demographic variables of occupation, education, age and marital status.

Outcomes of experimental analyses during which protective equipment (PE) was placed on three participants were compared to those during which PE was not provided to them. Experimental analysis conditions were presented using a multielement format, and the effects of PE were evaluated using a withdrawal design. Results of experimental analysis without PE suggested that self-injurious behavior (SIB) was maintained by negative reinforcement for two participants and nonsocial mechanisms for the third participant. However, SIB was eliminated either immediately or eventually for all participants when PE was provided during experimental analysis. Thus, outcomes of assessments with PE did not match those without PE, and no conclusion about variables associated with SIB could be drawn from experimental analyses with PE alone. Therefore, the present findings do not support the use of PE as an alternative to standard methods for conducting experimental analysis (i.e., without PE).

This practice-led research explores the significance of Qi energy for fashion by materialising the East Asian culturally-specific concept of Qi. Qi features prominently in the traditional philosophy of everyday life in East Asia and my research aims to show how this philosophy can also provide an understanding of the relationship between body, garment and making, which is new to more Western concepts of fashion culture. This reflective journey unravels fashion practice in this context, focusing on the making process and the methods that were developed during that process. I engaged in significant handwork in the field of contemporary womenswear, integrating concepts of the body and garment as a circulatory system for Qi energy. It is the objective of this research to realise garments which help the understanding of Qi as a communication tool in relationships that arise in fashion, namely those that exist between the material and the maker during the making process, the body and the garment, and the wearer and the viewer. My research question originates from a desire to find a way to materialise Qi in garments through the making process. To pursue this, I explore a range of fields including anthropology, material culture, psychoanalysis, literature, cultural theory, and language. Apart from contextual studies, I adopted conversations and filming as methods to develop my research further. In practice, I investigate the meridians (as seaming which constructs garments), the finishing and the openings of the garment, all of which amount to a transitional interface. I view this as a concrete way of injecting Qi energy into the garment on a material level. I have reflected deeply on my making experience; this reflection has led the entire process and also given me a much better understanding of body and garment. Through my making process, aimed at materialising Qi in the garment, I essentially tried to establish a better connection between body and garment. This thesis oscillates between practice and theory. My research suggests Qi energy as a new perspective on fashion making; it offers a new understanding of the body in fashion and tries to fill the gap between practice and theory through embodied knowledge.

This thesis deals with the clothing culture of the Renaissance in Europe - particularly the clothing style of Italy, England and Spain at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries and its influence on the costumes of contemporary groups that are engaged in leisure-time amateur fencing or historical period's dance and similar activities. Framework provides a description of both female and male way of clothing. This paper seeks to analyze the generation, rules and features a stylized contemporary costume, and the final chapter also compares the two versions of period costumes, based on long-term participant observation and qualitative field research.

M.Tech. (Fashion Design) / In January 2014, the Mail & Guardian published an article, ‘Going out of business is coming into fashion’, which claims that “South African fashion is in a state” (Witepski 2014:5). The journalist based her statement on the number of fashion designers that went out of business in the previous year (2013). Local designers, such as Tiaan Nagel, Marion and Lindie, Hip Hop, to name but a few, were all popular with both the public and the media, but just did not manage to stay afloat. Witepski (2014:5) writes that the problem with these businesses does not seem to be a lack of talent but rather a lack of business skills. Although the South African fashion sector has increased its economic profile in the last decade, the Gauteng Creative Mapping Project (GCMP) claims that a number of factors restrict its growth (Ameru & Caj 2008:190). One such issue is the sustainability of small businesses and, according to GCMP, this is an area where the government needs to lend its support

M.A.

En el contexto actual del país, donde entorno tecnológico crece de manera importante, especialmente para el comercio electrónico, surge la pregunta si las PYMEs del subsector moda están listos para integrarse de manera efectiva y rentable. El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo evaluar la viabilidad de la implementación de un marketplace que, potenciada con tecnología de machine learning, ofrezca tanto a PYMEs como clientes una propuesta de valor única que resuelva las barreras de entrada a este canal, ofreciendo ventajas sobre el canal físico. Además, la propuesta se basa en desarrollar una plataforma web y móvil, bajo el concepto de customer centricity, que brinde una experiencia de compra superior y atractiva tanto para las pequeñas marcas de moda y para los compradores de los segmentos socioeconómicos A, B y C entre los 18 y 55 años, especialmente la generación llamadas “Millennials”. De acuerdo con los supuestos planteados para el modelo de negocios, el resultado de la evaluación financiera a 5 años arroja que el proyecto es viable, el análisis de sensibilidad para diversos escenarios demuestra que existe un grado de importante de riesgo que no justificarían la inversión, especialmente por la falta de capacidad técnica para la gestión de los pequeños empresarios y la informalidad del rubro. Finalmente, se recomienda enfocar los emprendimientos tecnológicos para las PYMEs desde un punto de vista social y con participación estatal. / For current context of country, where technological environment grows significantly, especially for e-commerce, question arises whether SMEs in the fashion subsector are ready to integrate effectively and profitably. The purpose of this research work is to evaluate viability for implementation of a marketplace that, powered by machine learning technology, offers both SMEs and customers a unique value proposition that resolves barriers to entry to this channel, offering advantages over the physical channel. In addition, the proposal is based on developing a web and mobile platform, under concept of customer centricity, which provides a superior shopping experience and attractive to both small fashion brands and customers of socioeconomic segments A, B and C between 18 and 55 years, especially the generation called "Millennials". According to the assumptions made for business model, the result of 5-year financial evaluation shows that project is viable, sensitivity analyzes for several scenarios demonstrates that there is a significant degree of risk that would not justify the investment, especially due to lack of technical capacity for the management of small entrepreneurs and informality. Finally, it is recommended to focus on technological enterprises for SMEs from a social point of view and with state participation. / Trabajo de investigación

O objetivo deste trabalho é contextualizar os profissionais de criação de moda em relação ao seu processo de criação e ao ambiente de trabalho no qual estão inseridos. Para muitos designers de moda, o processo criativo sofre influências de variáveis que dificultam o desenvolvimento de produtos. Tratando de criação de produtos de moda, a poluição sonora, visual, falta de sintonia entre a equipe criativa, prazos incabíveis e despreparo dos líderes constituem alguns dos itens que podem interferir negativamente no processo criativo em um ambiente de trabalho. O mercado da moda que não compete apenas pelos preços mais baixos e nem se rende à cópia, exige inovação nos produtos e muita criatividade no desenvolvimento dos mesmos. Foram realizadas entrevistas com estilistas de empresas de grande porte e estilistas proprietários da própria marca que desenvolviam seus produtos em ateliê. Os contrastes e semelhanças dos profissionais que elaboravam peças para produção em larga escala e produções exclusivas foram discutidos na análise dos dados coletados. Desta forma, esta pesquisa apresenta a relação da moda com a criatividade e os profissionais que desenvolvem produtos de moda exclusivos e em quantidade limitada ou em um sistema exigente de produção em massa / For many fashion designers, the creative process is influenced by variables that hinder the development of products. Trying to create a factory of fashion products, noise pollution, visual pollution, lack of syntony between the creative team, difficult deadlines and unpreparedness of the leaders are some of the items that can discourage the creative process in a work environment that often, is not propitious. The fashion market that does not compete just for lowest prices and not surrender to copy, requires product innovation and creativity in the development thereof. The objective of this study is to contextualize the professionals of fashion creation in relation to the process of creation and the work environment in which they ate inserted. A field research with designers of large companies and own brand owners designers who develop their products in studio was held. The contrasts and similarities of professionals that develop clothes for large-scale production and exclusive productions are discussed in the analysis of the collected data. Thus, this research traces a broadcast fashion with creativity and professionals who develop unique fashion products and in limited quantities or in a demanding system of mass production.