Changes in market organisation due to exogenous shocks – the case of the transformation of the Swedish fashion industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to provide insights into the transformation of retail caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Swedish fashion industry as an example. In an institutional perspective, combined with Actor-network theory, both new actors and the changing role of existing ones were identified as influencing how the market was organised. An empirical field study of the Swedish fashion industry has illustrated the changes caused to retail by the outbreak of COVID-19, and the subsequent actions taken to limit its spread. Interviews with and observations of retailers' actions contributed to a more in-depth understanding of the changes caused to retail. The study finds that the market was subject to two exogenous shocks: Firstly, that a non-human actor, i.e. the COVID-19 virus, influenced the Swedish fashion market in combination with humans and secondly, that new actors entered the market and influenced its organisation. This has led to a situation where digitalisation has accelerated and experience design has stagnated, and there has also been a re-definition of sustainability. Using an institutional perspective, combined with thick descriptions of the empirical material, this study challenges the existing narrow understanding, i.e., that the actors in the field are barely tied together as supply chains or networks, by including non-human actors in its analysis. This allows us to gain a greater understanding of how a virus and its antagonists have had a major impact on the organisation of the field, in turn having consequences on the trends prominent in the fashion retail industry before the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Italian Fashion Industry Facing the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

The chapter looks at the major issues arising from the outbreak of the pandemic crisis in the Italian fashion industry. We consider how the emergence of the pandemic is affecting this industry in its various specialisations: textiles, clothing, footwear, leather goods and eyewear. The chapter switches track to think about the possible transformation involving the relationships between production and consumption of fashion goods using interviews with workers, employers and stakeholders. Following on from this we present and discuss measures and policies taken by the Italian government with social partners to tackle the damages produced by the pandemic for businesses and workers. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Chrysalis of crisis: Covid-19 as a catalyst for awakening power and justice in a luxury fashion supply chain

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how supply chain actors in an Italian cashmere supply chain reacted to dependence and power use during the Covid-19 crisis and how this affected their perceptions of justice. Design/methodology/approach: The research took a case study approach exploring issues of dependence, power and justice in a multi-tier luxury cashmere supply chain. Findings: The authors found two types of dependence: Craftmanship-induced buyer dependence and Market-position-induced supplier dependence. The authors also identified four key archetypes emerging from the dynamics of dependence, power and justice during Covid-19. In the repressive archetype, buying firms perceive their suppliers as dependent and use mediated power through coercive tactics, leading the suppliers to perceive interactional, procedural and distributive injustice and use reciprocal coercive tactics against the buying firms in the form of coopetition. In the restrictive archetype, buying firms that are aware of their dependence on their suppliers use mediated power through contracts, with suppliers perceiving distributive injustice and developing ways to circumvent the brands. In the relational archetype, the awareness of craftmanship-induced buyer dependence leads buying firms to use non-mediated power through collaboration, but suppliers still do not perceive distributive justice, as there is no business security or future orders. In the resilient archetype, buying firms are aware of their own craftmanship-induced dependence and combine mediated and non-mediated power by giving the suppliers sustainable orders, which leads suppliers to perceive each justice type positively. Originality/value: This paper shows how the actors in a specific supply chain react to and cope with one of the worst health crises in living memory, thereby providing advice for supply chain management in future crises. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Fashion in turmoil: impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Finland's textile and fashion industry

With continuing climate change, consumers are reconsidering their fashion-consumption habits and clothing and apparel businesses are critically examining their industrial practices. The coronavirus pandemic can be considered a turning point as it has significantly affected the textile and fashion industry. By applying path-dependence theory to analyze developments in the textile and fashion industry in Finland, this study investigates prior pivotal moments to better understand how crises can provide possibilities for transformation. We first provide a historical review that aims to identify external shocks as major transitional events and examines their implications for short- and long-term trends. The study then analyzes the changes triggered by COVID-19 in the textile and fashion industry using empirical data collected from Finnish companies. The study reveals that the pandemic forced some firms to introduce several changes into their practices as part of efforts to survive, including innovations at all levels of design and manufacturing as well as new ways of managing sales and marketing. In addition, the crisis has been an opportunity to take steps toward societal and environmental transformation through more open and responsible business models involving a shift to local or close-by production to reduce environmental impact, to secure decent factory-working conditions, and to engage customers to reduce their consumption. The article concludes by considering issues relevant to the future of this industry during the post-pandemic period. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Employer Branding in the Fashion Industry: CSR Actions by Fashion SMEs

Little is known about SMEs' perceptions of CSR, sustainability, and business ethics, particularly in the fashion industry. We have even less information on the relationship between SMEs' CSR actions and employer branding. This important knowledge gap is addressed in this study. We intend to focus on how small and medium-sized enterprises that are operating and considered sustainable in the fashion industry interpret the concept of sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and business ethics, which CSR elements appear in relation to employees, and how they contribute to employer branding. In the course of our qualitative research, we conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews with the owners and managers of 10 European businesses, bearing sustainability in mind. Our results show that the organisational culture and the reputation perceived by a wide range of stakeholders are the most essential elements of employer branding, which promotes employees' commitment to sustainable fashion enterprises.

Challenges and Opportunities in Deep Learning Driven Fashion Design and Textiles Patterns Development

Creative industries were thought to be the most difficult avenue for Computer Science to enter and to perform well at. Fashion is an integral part of day to day life, one necessary both for displaying style, feelings and conveying artistic emotions, and for simply serving the purely functional purpose of keeping our bodies warm and protected from external factors. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated several trends that had been forming in the clothing and textile industry. With the large-scale adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning technologies, the fashion industry is at a turning point. AI is now in charge of supervising the supply chain, manufacturing, delivery, marketing and targeted advertising for clothes and wearable and could soon replace designers too. Clothing design for purely digital environments such as the Metaverse, different games and other on-line specific activities is a niche with a huge potential for market growth. This article wishes to explain the way in which Big Data and Machine Learning are used to solve important issues in the fashion industry in the post-Covid context and to explore the future of clothing and apparel design via artificial generative design. We aim to explore the new opportunities offered to the development of the fashion industry and textile patterns by using of the generative models. The article focuses especially on Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) but also briefly analyzes other generative models, their advantages and shortcomings. To this regard, we undertook several experiments that highlighted some disadvantages of GANs. Finally, we suggest future research niches and possible hindrances that an end user might face when trying to generate their own fashion models using generative deep learning technologies. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

COVID-19 and sustainability in textile, apparel and fashion use: An assessment of trends

Apart from the many social and health problems it has caused, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on most sectors of the economy worldwide. One of the areas where such impact is noticeable is the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) industry. The lockdowns and limited access to retailer outlets resulted in a considerable drop in consumption, creating problems related to the excess of stock, the decrease of sales, and the disposal of non-used items. This paper outlines the implications of the COVID-19 on the TAF sectors and European retailers. It analyzes how the current supply chains exacerbated stock control problems, and it reports on the changes in consumption during the pandemic. The worldwide restrictive measures implemented to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for significant profit losses. Also, the decrease in consumption, caused by several geographically wide lockdowns, prompted a subsequent reduction in orders and sales, resulting in a significant number of constraints. The implementation of more environmentally friendly processes, including sustainable circularity as a competitiveness source to keep the TAF sectors in the loop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may help address the problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the sustainability context, as reported in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022.

How Italian Fashion Brands Beat COVID-19: Manufacturing, Sustainability, and Digitalization

COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on the fashion industry. Fashion brands had to restructure their value chains and refine their strategies to overcome the negative consequences of the lockdown. An analysis of the Italian fashion industry is used to examine how companies responded to the challenges of the pandemic and how they were able to find competitive solutions. Qualitative analysis is used to discuss the case of Italy, a country that was particularly affected by COVID-19. The research shows that companies invested in three different directions to overcome the obstacles posed by the COVID-19 emergency: refocusing on manufacturing, investing in sustainability (especially social), and relying on digital technologies (e.g., e-commerce and videoconferencing) to interact with remote customers. The theoretical and practical contributions of this study are discussed.

The operational performance of fashion companies in the context of the coronavirus pandemic: static and dynamic analyses

Purpose: This study clarifies the operational performance of fashion companies during the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, improvement strategies have been provided in the post-pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: The static and dynamic perspectives were combined to comprehensively analyze the operational performance of fashion companies before, during and after the COVID-19 outbreak. A comparative analysis among five representative countries was conducted to achieve global conclusions. Additionally, data envelopment analysis (DEA) theory and various DEA models were employed for the analysis. Findings: The fashion industry has not achieved overall effectiveness. American companies have the best operational performance, followed by European and Chinese companies. In contrast, the impact of the pandemic on American companies was severe, whereas Chinese and European companies showed operational resilience. In addition, the pandemic had a devastating influence on the global fashion industry. This resulted in a decline in total factor productivity, and the main reason was technological regress. Furthermore, labor redundancy is a critical issue for the fashion industry in the post-pandemic era, even if it shows a decrease because of the pandemic. Originality/value: The existing theory on the fashion industry during the pandemic was improved by expanding the time and geographical dimensions and integrating the advantages of various DEA models. Scientific improvement strategies were presented in the post-pandemic era with application value. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Changes in market organisation due to exogenous shocks - the case of the transformation of the Swedish fashion industry caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to provide insights into the transformation of retail caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Swedish fashion industry as an example. In an institutional perspective, combined with Actor-network theory, both new actors and the changing role of existing ones were identified as influencing how the market was organised. An empirical field study of the Swedish fashion industry has illustrated the changes caused to retail by the outbreak of COVID-19, and the subsequent actions taken to limit its spread. Interviews with and observations of retailers' actions contributed to a more in-depth understanding of the changes caused to retail. The study finds that the market was subject to two exogenous shocks: Firstly, that a non-human actor, i.e. the COVID-19 virus, influenced the Swedish fashion market in combination with humans and secondly, that new actors entered the market and influenced its organisation. This has led to a situation where digitalisation has accelerated and experience design has stagnated, and there has also been a re-definition of sustainability. Using an institutional perspective, combined with thick descriptions of the empirical material, this study challenges the existing narrow understanding, i.e., that the actors in the field are barely tied together as supply chains or networks, by including non-human actors in its analysis. This allows us to gain a greater understanding of how a virus and its antagonists have had a major impact on the organisation of the field, in turn having consequences on the trends prominent in the fashion retail industry before the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Virtual Fashion in the Global Apparel Industry in the Post-Epidemic Era

The global economy has experienced a downturn due to the COVID-19 epidemic, and the entire apparel industry has been hit hard. However, in the post-epidemic era, the digital trend of the world has become more pronounced. The virtual consumer market and virtual fashion took this opportunity to overgrow. More and more people are willing to spend money on virtual products. In a way, virtual fashion is the acceleration and continuation of future fashion trends. The most crucial difference between virtual and physical fashion is that the latter does not undergo physical production. Instead, virtual clothing can be purchased and “worn” immediately. More and more fashion brands have paused traditional fashion shows in favor of visuals such as video game collaborations, mobile apps, virtual icons, virtual showrooms, and virtual clothing brands. This paper compares and analyzes ten international brands associated with virtual fashion through data collection and case studies. It shows that with the help of modern cutting-edge technology, the traditional apparel industry has ushered in a new transformation point. New virtual fashion will gradually enter our daily life from the experimental field, driving the transformation of the apparel industry. Copyright © 2022 Textile Bioengineering and Informatics Society.

The reconstruction of China's fashion culture industry in the post-epidemic era

In the past two years, the global epidemic of COVID-19 has broken the original operation order of the society, the economic downward trend has been increasingly acute, the pressure on medical and health care has continued to increase, the realistic communication between cultures has been at a standstill, and the network way of life has become the mainstream. Therefore, many brand-new problems need to be reconsidered and solved in front of the public. The emergence and persistence of the epidemic has brought a tremendous impact on the fashion culture industry, and the direction of the industry with trend consumption as the core has been gradually curbed. How to re-develop the fashion culture industry has become an issue that experts and scholars in relevant professional fields need to focus on. With the new characteristics of social culture in the post-epidemic era as the research background and China’s fashion culture industry as the research object, this paper analyzes the corresponding phenomena and data according to the objective situation of China’s fashion industry in the post-epidemic era, and elucidates the crisis and opportunities faced by China’s fashion culture industry. This paper discusses the development core, development direction and development goal of China’s fashion culture industry in the future from the present situation and demand of the industry. With the help of the "problem-based” research paradigm and according to the new situation formed by the industry, this paper puts forward the logical development chain of "rethinking", "reset" and "reshaping". This paper further demonstrates the train of thought of the reform of China’s fashion culture industry and the core essence of its benign development in the future, in order to provide some theoretical reference for the transformation research of China’s fashion culture industry. The research shows that in response to the arrival of the post-epidemic era, China’s fashion culture industry needs to change its development focus from "consumerism" to "cultural economy", and attach importance to the great value that Chinese traditional excellent culture brings to the fashion culture industry, realize the common development of cultural communication and economic benefits, and reshape the image of Chinese fashion culture industry in the new era. The purpose of this article is to give a practical strategy and scheme response to the acute problems exposed by China’s fashion culture industry under the influence of the current COVID-19 epidemic. The interpretation of the problem and the analysis of the phenomenon are more inclined to demonstrate from the specific cases of China’s fashion culture industry, rather than empty concepts or policy statements. The countermeasures and suggestions for the reconstruction of China’s fashion culture industry are the ideas and methods put forward from the social, economic and cultural perspectives, in hope of providing a comprehensive and feasible reference scheme for the development of China’s fashion culture industry. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 and sustainability in textile, apparel and fashion use: an assessment of trends

Apart from the many social and health problems it has caused, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on most sectors of the economy worldwide. One of the areas where such impact is noticeable is the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) industry. The lockdowns and limited access to retailer outlets resulted in a considerable drop in consumption, creating problems related to the excess of stock, the decrease of sales, and the disposal of non-used items. This paper outlines the implications of the COVID-19 on the TAF sectors and European retailers. It analyzes how the current supply chains exacerbated stock control problems, and it reports on the changes in consumption during the pandemic. The worldwide restrictive measures implemented to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic were responsible for significant profit losses. Also, the decrease in consumption, caused by several geographically wide lockdowns, prompted a subsequent reduction in orders and sales, resulting in a significant number of constraints. The implementation of more environmentally friendly processes, including sustainable circularity as a competitiveness source to keep the TAF sectors in the loop and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, may help address the problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the sustainability context, as reported in this paper. © The Author(s) 2022.

Sustainable behaviour of B Corps fashion companies during Covid-19: A quantitative economic analysis

This paper investigates whether or not Italian Certified B Corps® in the fashion industry achieved levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance that are comparable to listed companies in the same industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. After a review of the literature concerning B Corps, CSR and the circular economy, as well as some coverage of pandemic impacts, a quantitative approach is used to analyze the data empirically. Based on the data available, the study incorporated the entire population of Italian listed companies and B Corps in the fashion industry. Moreover, this study confirms the relationship between CSR and financial performance. The availability of sustainability documents other than the required social responsibility report does not directly affect a company's profitability, but they are necessary for the long term. The results also confirm the positive relationship between sustainability certification and higher financial performance, as the most sustainable companies were also the most profitable. Certified B Corps® declare their willingness to adopt circular economic principles to the same extent as non-certified listed companies. Moreover, the results show that consumers mainly remember the information disclosed on a company's homepage;therefore, managers should publish more there. However, they should not underestimate the importance of their sustainability report because it is an effective social communication tool, especially in the long term. Finally, obtaining the B Corp certification will allow companies to inform stakeholders of their social responsibility and achieve higher financial results.

Perception of Innovative Usage of AI in Optimizing Customer Purchasing Experience within the Sustainable Fashion Industry

The research was designed to contribute to scientific efforts in exploring the attitude of fashion stakeholders towards AI and its use in attaining sustainability in fashion industry. Although the role of AI in Fashion has been studied before, the aim of this research is to challenge and analyze the attitudes towards sustainable fashion of both stakeholders and consumers. The research considers the views of consumers, industry professionals and company shareholders on the role AI plays in pursuing ideas of Sustainable Fashion. Contrary to expectations, the companies with significant turnover did not show any greater awareness of the new trends in the fashion business. Furthermore, previous familiarity with the usage of AI did not prove to promote openness towards the recommendation of apps which use AI to promote Sustainable Fashion. The value of this research lies in the findings, which help provide a framework which can be used to change the viewpoint of the key market players. The crucial finding is that the AI approach on sustainability will influence both users (changing their purchasing decisions toward more sustainable choices if provided with a set of information on ecological impact, production choices), and corporate businesses (changing the overall business strategy, planning, marketing communication and production designs). The paper offers milestones for further research on synergies between AI, fashion industry lined with UNS SDGs and purchasing behavior.

StyleTrendGAN: A Deep Learning Generative Framework for Fashion Bag Generation

Dealing with fashion multimedia big data with Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms has become an appealing challenge for computer scientists, since it can serve as inspiration for fashion designers and can also allow to predict the next trendy items in the fashion industry. Moreover, with the global spread of COVID-19 pandemic, social media contents have achieved an increasingly crucial factor in driving retail purchase decisions, thus it has become mandatory for fashion brand analysing social media pictures. In this light, this paper aims at presenting StyleTrendGAN, a novel custom deep learning framework that has the ability to generate fashion items. StyleTrendGAN combines a Dense Extreme Inception Network (DexiNed) for sketches extraction and Pix2Pix for the transformation of the input sketches into the new handbag models. StyleTrendGAN increases the efficiency and accuracy of the creation of new fashion models compared to previous ones and to the classic human approach;it aims to stimulate the creativity of designers and the visualization of the results of a production process without actually putting it into practice. The approach was applied and tested on a newly collected dataset, “MADAME” (iMage fAshion Dataset sociAl MEdia) of images collected from Instagram. The experiments yield high accuracy, demonstrating the effectiveness and suitability of the proposed approach. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

B Corps and listed companies: empirical analysis on corporate social responsibility and innovation activity

Purpose The purpose of this article is to investigate whether the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and innovation activity of Certified B Corps (R) is comparable to listed companies in the Italian fashion industry. Design/methodology/approach The study includes a systematic literature review performed on Scopus (R) and combining keywords related to CSR and the fashion industry. Moreover, the literature review involves empirical analyses performed using a mixed-methods approach. First, a text-based content analysis was carried out on the companies' sustainability reports using the keyword scoring approach. The innovation index was then calculated, and multiple ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions were performed. Findings Based on the data available, it has emerged that Certified B Corps (R) who pursue a more significant number of SDGs are more likely to implement circular economy principles. Moreover, Certified B Corps (R) that have higher transparency standards and assume social responsibility practices also have higher innovation activity;in contrast, companies who used CSR only as a marketing tool have lower activity. Research limitations/implications The analyses were influenced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing weaker relationships between the variables, as the analyses involved 2020 data. Furthermore, although the analysis considers the entire population of Certified B Corps (R) and listed companies in the Italian fashion industry, the size of the sample analyzed influenced the results and insights. Therefore, the analysis does not allow for generalizability. Finally, the study was conducted on a single country whose economic and social contexts have influenced some variables. Practical implications The paper highlights some managerial implications. Managers should consider CSR to be an investment and an opportunity to survive the post-COVID-19 pandemic by applying the triple bottom line (TBL) approach in formulating strategies and increasing investments to develop sustainable innovations. Originality/value The article explores B Corps, which has received minimal attention in the literature, to propose a deeper understanding of the topic.

CSR drivers of fashion SMEs and performance: the role of internationalization

Purpose: In recent years, consumers have been demanding for sustainable practices, even more so after COVID-19, so fashion companies need to intensify their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. However, although the sector is characterized by a strong brand–customer orientation and high online activity, little attention has been paid to the role of brand image and the management of social media (SM) strategies. The purpose of this study was to develop an integrative model that includes the drivers of CSR in fashion small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their relationship with business performance. The researchers also analyzed the country and level of internationalization effects of these companies. Design/methodology/approach: With a sample of 212 fashion SMEs from Spain and the UK, two of the biggest European fashion producers and consumers, a variance-based structural equation modeling (partial least squares structural equation modeling) technique was carried out to test the model proposed. Findings: This study demonstrated that branding and SM strategies are drivers of CSR practices in fashion SMEs. It also confirmed the positive CSR–performance relationship, the moderating country effect and the mediating role of internationalization in this relationship. Originality/value: The study contributes to the literature on CSR drivers in SMEs and their relationship with performance by combining different perspectives. The results can be used to encourage fashion SMEs' commitment to environmental sustainability practices and internationalization, as this can contribute to improving their performance. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Fast fashion: business models and strategies for adapting to the COVID-19 crisis

Purpose: This study aims to develop and test a methodical approach to assessing the effectiveness of business models in fast fashion. Design/methodology/approach: The approach allows one to identify the key features of companies' adaptation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper analyzes the economic profitability of the fast-fashion industry and establishes business opportunity trends. The author identifies a set of general characteristics of business related to supply and demand before and during the pandemic crisis. The study relies on descriptive statistics and statistical processing methods, including regression analysis, arithmetic mean and the indicator of market economy dynamics. Findings: The study found that the fast-fashion business model allows companies to adapt to the new market norms because of its dual strategy: demand-driven transparency and supply-driven sustainability, within the logic of consumption. The results indicate that focus on sustainability and transparent stakeholder engagement helps companies to remain relevant in the fashion industry. Originality/value: The results of the study can be used by general managers of companies, marketers and administrative managers to select strategies and make decisions under the current and future fashion industry demands in markets at different developmental stages. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Development and Validation of a Model for Estimation of the Effects of Ritual Design on Audiences’ Satisfaction with Fashion Show

The modern economic era is experience-oriented, with pleasure generated through perceptual experiences to create an enjoyable process and more sales. Under the influence of the coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, people have begun to pursue a sense of ritual and to focus on their emotion, which has enhanced the connection between brands and consumers. The new emphasis on enhancing consumer experiences illustrates how incorporation of ritual and cultural imagery have become a means through which fashion brands can distinguish themselves from global competitors. Although international fashion weeks are now being hosted through virtual catwalks, these shows lack face-to-face interactions and a sense of on-site ritual. Therefore, many have proposed that the COVID-19 era fashion industry should be redesigned to ensure shows maintain a strong sense of ritual that enables audiences to transform their perceptions through a cultivated atmosphere to experience pleasure and satisfaction. In the present study, we explored the incorporation of cultural experiences into fashion curation to identify modern design focuses for fashion curation. We also analyzed the shows of different brands participating in the fashion weeks and discussed whether incorporation of ritual in the design of the shows affected their experiential value and audience satisfaction. Our conclusions were as follows: 1. use of ritual in designing fashion shows was effective, 2. ritual in the design of fashion shows increased participants’ satisfaction with the show and its experiential value. Future studies should integrate design practice into our proposed research framework to provide a reference for fashion curation and instruction to develop curators that meet the needs of the fashion industry. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.