Ethnicity in the Fashion Business: Design, Communication and Beyond

This book demonstrates the multi-disciplinary nature of the contemporary fashion industry. Edited and authored by leading scholars and industry experts, this comprehensive volume explores how ethnicity influences every facet of fashion--from design and production to marketing and consumption. Drawing on theoretical frameworks, with practical application, this book examines how designers incorporate ethnic motifs and traditions into their collections while navigating issues of cultural appropriation and authenticity. The role of ethnicity in shaping fashion communication and business strategies, including advertising campaigns, social media branding, and runway presentations is further examined. Moreover, it sheds light on the business dynamics of ethnic fashion markets, exploring the challenges, opportunities and future directions faced by entrepreneurs and enterprises within diverse consumer market.

Léo-Paul Dana is a Visiting Professor at Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne in France. He is also affiliated with LUT School of Business and Management at Lappeenranta University of Technology in Finland, and he holds a professorship at Dalhousie University in Canada. A graduate of McGill University, he has served as a Marie Curie Fellow at Princeton University and as a Visiting Professor at INSEAD and Kingston University.

Gianpaolo Vignali is a Professor of Sustainable Fashion Business and co-lead of The SAFE Futures (Sustainable Approaches in Fashion Entrepreneurship) Research Group at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. Gianpaolo’s notable contributions to academia encompass the publication of over 70 papers and books in the realm of Marketing and Management, including texts and papers published by Springer Nature and Palgrave, as well as those included in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour, The Social Enterprise Journal, and The Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. Additionally, he has established himself as a distinguished presenter at various international conferences.

Daniella Ryding is a Professor of Fashion Marketing and is both an editor and an author of several fashion business textbooks for the Palgrave Series in Luxury Fashion Retailing and Springer Nature. She is affiliated with Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. The author has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in leading business journals within the field of marketing, including, but not limited to, the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, the European Business Review, the International Journal of Consumer Studies, the Social Enterprise Journal, and the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. The author enjoys collaborating with a network of international academics to develop contemporary marketing thought. Daniella has a passion for researching consumers in their locations and environments within the areas of digital marketing and the circular economy.

Songyi Yan is a Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. Dr. Yan explores modular fashion’s definition and companies’ sustainable material communication. Her recent work includes ＂What is Modular Fashion: Towards A Common Definition＂ and ＂How do companies communicate their ’sustainable’ material innovations on company websites?＂. Dr. Yan also investigates circular business models and microfiber pollution’s consumer perspective, contributing significantly to understanding sustainability in the fashion industry.