Fashion Design Entrepreneurship: Skills and Solutions to Create a Fashion Business

Abstract

The following study proposes a view of entrepreneurship in fashion Design, where various alterations have appeared in the last few years regarding education, as fashion design courses have evolved and moved to a more entrepreneurial vision. This new paradigm is due to the changes in the industry itself, as a generation of fashion designers has transformed past experiences and professional vision to become entrepreneurs. As authors and reports linked to entrepreneurship observe more than ever the importance and necessity to bring entrepreneurship very early to classrooms, some studies are more divided on that opinion and tend to show that the introduction of such concepts in early stages of education can be prejudicial for the future of entrepreneurship if those concepts are poorly given to students. In Portugal, it can be observed that there are still many flaws in the use of entrepreneurship methods and thinking regarding fashion design courses. However, this field of education case has evolved in other countries, where entrepreneurship thinking is now part of the curricula of such courses. This study inserts itself in a multidisciplinary logic, in which very few information is available, as a lack of research works on this particular subject is blatant and where young fashion designers must overcome the difficulties of the textile and clothing industry by creating valuable and innovative products, differencing themselves from high-cost luxury goods and fastfashion, low-quality items produced in third-world countries. Throughout the literature review, used to learn more about entrepreneurship, the fashion industry and educational programs that lead each year more and more students in fashion design courses, this study pretends to answer several questions in the current situation of fashion design entrepreneurship, its implications in the industry, the main difficulties encountered, and how can these issues be overcome. Is entrepreneurship the perfect answer to the lack of job offers for young fashion designers, or is the introduction of entrepreneurship thinking, the first step into inception for young people to think differently to create new educational dynamics and moreover? Furthermore, it is important to answer if whether the creation of fashion businesses is a solution for a sector which appears to be always in crisis. Based on a mixed-methods approach, the study explores qualitative and quantitative data obtained with two primary tools: surveys and interviews. Using surveys directed to almost-graduated fashion design student, ready to enter the professional world, as well as recently graduated fashion students who are already making their way into the fashion industry, the idea is to understand these future professionals of the industry and their views on entrepreneurship thinking, and the possibility to become entrepreneurs in a competitive and challenging market. On the other side, interviews were held with three groups of professionals of the fashion Industry to comprehend who these fashion design entrepreneurs are, what are their motivations and expectations in the industry, as well as their personal views on the current fashion industry. Interviews were also directed to creators of solutions for fashion design entrepreneurs, such as incubators or online platforms; the third group interviewed corresponds to fashion industry professionals, considered experts of the field, such as Paulo Vaz, director of the Portuguese Fashion and Textile Industry Association (ATP). Both surveys and interviews explored cases in Portugal and international profiles, to comprehend opinions of fashion designers before and after graduation, in Portugal and abroad, as the curricula of fashion design courses are explored and compared in several countries. The following work seeks to examine the question of the relation between entrepreneurship and fashion Design as a possible solution for the future of this ever-changing industry, uncovering the reality faced by fashion design entrepreneurs. Results and implications obtained in this study show a lack of support from entities for fashion-related ventures, as well as an evident lack of entrepreneurship thinking in fashion design courses, translated by enormous difficulties for young fashion designers willing to take the entrepreneurial way, therefore, the need for a solution helping fashion design entrepreneurs was also clearly highlighted by the results obtained. Considering the results obtained through this study, a model for the creation of an entrepreneurship platform will be proposed to create value in the fashion industry.