Ethnography of the fast fashion community: Chinese entrepreneurs in prato

Abstract

The city of Prato is now a social microcosm, emblematic of Italy's main immigration problems and of market globalization. This chapter investigates the organization of the Chinese fast fashion sector, and the factors contributing to its growth. I also investigate whether the presence of Chinese entrepreneurs causes a disadvantage for the local textile entrepreneurs and workers. Alternatively, did the Chinese fast fashion sector grow as a parallel district that shares few relationships with textile production? I address these issues through ethnographic tools such as open interviews with key informants and field research in the Macrolotto 1 industrial district (an industrial area in Prato occupied chiefly by Chinese fast fashion firms). The first part of the chapter analyzes the local Chinese entrepreneurs involved in fast fashion. The second part focuses on the connections between the Chinese entrepreneurs and the local economic players. Finally, the third part of the chapter examines the reactions of the local population toward the presence of Chinese immigrants (and particularly their businesses).