All students of clothing and fashion need to understand the structure of the business in which they will make their living. Although the market is worth many billions of pounds the industry is highly competitive, fast moving and complex and demands in-depth knowledge, flair and flexibility. In such a dynamic, high speed market success can turn to failure very quickly.


This textbook describes the structure of the industry in the UK and globally, and explains the current problems and strategic responses to global shifts in production. Issues of trade barriers and changes of exchange rates are addressed and the book ends with a number of potential survival strategies for businesses. The new edition has been updated throughout to include the lastest available data, and takes account of the acceleration of the decline of manufacturing in the UK since 2002, the rapid expansion of production in China, and the final demise of the system of quota control.