Ownership Structure of The Fashion Design Industry (UK)

These following graphs show how the ownership of the fashion design industry is structured in the United Kingdom. What companies, organizations and institutions are associated with the fashion design industry... 

The structure of the Fashion Design industry’s ownership is centered on the Designers as they are the main creators of this industry. Then the ownership extends to include companies and institutions. It starts with the training institutions which train people who are interested in the fashion field and improve their creative skills. Also, the suppliers are a vital part of this industry as they provide materials that the Designers need to make their fashion collections. The modeling agencies become important once the collections are ready as the clothes, bags and shoes need to be worn and displayed by models, and here comes the role of the press which includes photographers who make photo shoots that are published in different media. Moreover, designers need marketing companies which include advertisement and public relations, this helps to make a good image for their brands, designs and to increase their sales. Also, Fashion events companies which organize and arrange fashion events like catwalks and parties. In addition, distributors make a major part of the business side of fashion design as they provide the clothes for the shops and private clients and this is how the fashion collections are exposed to the public. On top of all that, the most important part of this industry are the financiers as they sponsor the designers and provide them with money to keep going. Besides the ownership of the fashion design industry there are organizations that are involved in setting the rules like regulatory bodies and associations.

Resources and References About Fashion Design

This is a list of some of the websites that I found useful and cover a lot about the fashion industry in the United Kingdom... 

·      http://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/

This website provides information about the fashion industry in the UK, the fashion activities and events and services for the people who are in the fashion industry or who are interested in it. It is a very useful website since it contains a big amount of information about the fashion industry. 

·      http://www.apparelsearch.com/fashion.htm

      http://www.apparelsearch.com/Fashion/Stylist/Stylist_Agencies_fashion.htm

This website is like a fashion directory, it provides all the connection to all sorts of fashion media like magazines, websites and newspapers. Also, it provide reviews, jobs, networks, calender and guides.

·      http://www.wix.com/innasa/Innas-Alatawi

As for this website which I created myself for one of my communications classes to describe a career. I chose fashion styling, so this website involves all information about how to be a fashion stylist. 

·      http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2009/futureskillsfinalreport.aspx

This link basically explains what skills future fashion designer will need in order to get a good career and to succeed in this huge, competitive industry. 

·      http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/creative-arts-and-design 

http://jobs.trovit.co.uk/jobs/fashion-design-opportunities-london-manager

These website is like a search engine for jobs, by putting specific requirements in specific fields or parts of the fashion industry. It helps both companies and employees to find what they're looking for exactly. In addition, it shows the opportunities offered in this field so aspiring fashion designers can decide whether they will have chances or not. 

·      http://ezinearticles.com/?Changing-Fashions:-A-Look-at-the-UK-Fashion-Industry&id=274334

This link explains all about the UK high street fashion industry, as it gives us a glimpse about its history that gave the UK its fashionable importance.

·      http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/

·      http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/londonfashionweek

These websites provide information and updates about the London fashion week, when does take place, what activities are going on, which designers are attending, and so much more information. 

·      http://www.events366.com/Events-Group/Fashion-Events-in-London.aspx

This link is like a calender and an organizer to all fashion events that take place in London. 

·      http://www.ftmlondon.org/

This website is for the Fashion and Textile Museum which has a great importance as is displays all the new trends and it offers fashion related courses for people who are interested in this creative industry. This museum is only an example of the fashion institutions in the UK, as there are lots and lots more. 

These websites helped me in exploring the  fashion  design industry in the United Kingdom especially in London. I found a lot of useful information about the education requirements, jobs opportunities, range of salaries and events that take place in London. Moreover, London is one of the most fashionable cities and the Fashion Design is one of the major industries that make it famous. Also, it is the destination of most of the fashion designers for launching their new collections', thus it has a lot of department stores which display the latest trends and fashions in the market. The fashion industry in London is growing day by day since more people are getting their education in this field, and other people are waiting to see more of these fashionable trends. I think these websites are very helpful towards my research about this creative industry. 

The Convergence of Media and Cultural Industries

A debate took a place in our class about the convergence of media and cultural industries, it was interesting to hear different opinions, interpretations and thoughts. The following are my answers to the debate questions...


1. Which traditional media are bound to disappear or transform due to convergence? Why?

As technology is getting more and more advanced many traditional media forms are in the danger of extinction. Companies are creating machines which contain different types of media in practical sizes which can be carried around, for example: iPod, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry mobiles, and many more. These machines offered people a new way of life as they make their daily tasks so much easier to be done. Moreover, these machines contain everything from calling, texting emailing going to more advanced things like the memory capacity of these machines. Also, they have good internet connection everywhere so people can check their emails, facebooks and update their twitter no matter where they are. Furthermore, songs can be uploaded to these machines, videos can be watched, news can be received, weather changes are updated, alarm clocks can be set, etc. Things have become so much easier with the existence of these new hi-tech machines since all we need is in one machine which is sufficient. These new technologies and the world wide web are slowly encouraging the disappearance of the old traditional media since they keep on evolving and being more practical and their prices are even getting more reasonable. Radios and CDs will not be needed when the trendy Mac machines are smaller, cooler and easier to carry around. Also, magazines and news papers will slowly decrease in the printed versions since people will prefer to read them online or on the electronic versions which is environmentally. TV's might not get affected much since people still like to sit on a couch and watch their favorite shows with their families and friends but still these shows can be watched online whenever and people can share their comments and thoughts with others from all around the world. Yet some people from the old generations still prefer the old traditional media forms as they grew up using them and they just don't accept the idea of the new technologies and find them useless. However, technology have made the world so advanced and it truly made it feel like a small village once you go into the internet its a totally different world and everything is accessible through it.

2. Will convergence make London an even more multicultural and creative city?

London is a city that is very well known for it's multiculturalism, shown by the different races and nationalities of people who live in it. Many people like to visit or move to London due to its great history with immigrants and the opportunities offered for people's careers and education. The development of Technology might make London an even more multicultural and creative city. TV shows, websites, online videos could be made about London so people can find out more about it and can actually see it, and that might make them want to visit and get the actual physical experience. Thus, more people will migrate which will increase the multiculturalism and diversity of people. Moreover, when different people from different countries come together, many creative ideas are generated in order to bring the comforts of different cultures to London. In addition, these different cultures celebrate different festivals and occasions which will definitely add a sense of creativity to the streets of London and with the help of technology this can be spread and viewed by a lot of people even if they are sitting watching their TV's or laptops screens. In addition, convergence and the evolution of technology may help in getting people to engage themselves in outdoors and community activities just to get themselves out of the technology bubble for a while.

3. Will convergence make the Creative and Cultural Industries more diverse or will it encourage segregation?

The convergence of the creative and cultural industries makes it more diverse and interesting. Technology has taken over on all aspects of life its in schools, hospitals, houses and even streets. It certainly made a difference in our cultural knowledge since we cannot separate technology from culture. Moreover, technology facilitated convergence and it became an essential part of the creative and cultural industries, since their uses of technology have increased. It made media forms more evolved and thus it became more interesting for people and it increased the value of these industries. Convergence didn't encourage segregation, but oppositely it combined there industries into forms of media. It might have created a competitive atmosphere but this is what makes the people who work in these industries more innovative and work harder on attracting people's attention. Convergence definitely makes the creative and cultural industries more and diverse and it enhances creativity and innovation.

Recyclable Fashion!

A creation of a unique business idea based on a little exercise, which is basically writing three words and elaborating from them ...


One of the most interesting and creative assignments I had this semester was to Write three words which are related to my creative industry choice, which is Fashion Design, and from these words I have to create a business idea.
The words I wrote were: Fashion, Passion, Creativity.
After brainstorming and writing a bunch of related words, I came up with a business idea which I think is really cool..
Inspired by the recent Green Movement, I thought of creating a recyclable fashion line, in which recyclable materials and old fashion pieces are used to create new fashionable clothes, bags, shoes and accessories. Its going to be a revolution in the fashion world! ( I wish)
I thought that Lady Gaga can be a model for this new fashion line as she likes creative and weird outfits and she will be the best to model in these recyclable fashionable outfits.
This business aims to save money and support the green movement. I will call this new brand "I ♥ Green", and it's dedicated to Alexander McQueen who's a legend in the fashion world!

The City of Fashion

A research showing the most important facts, figures and statistics of the fashion industry in the United Kingdom...


Starting my research about the Fashion Design industry in the United Kingdom, London, I found lots of information about how London has become a leading city in the fashion industry. By typing "Fashion industry in London" in any search engine, tons of websites, blogs, etc. will pop up. London has recently become a Fashion city, a destination for many fashion designer,  and many fashion events take place on the ground of London city. Also, many investors and business people became interested in this industry so the started funding and sponsoring fashion designers and events. According to statistics, a lot of students are going towards studying fashion related majors because they will probably have a great future in this industry. Although there are many existing fashion designers and many will get into this industry, its still going and they're becoming famous. People always look for new styles and fashion and the designers compete to bring out the best of the creative fashion world. 

Fashion Design is very important as fashion makes people feel good and confident by wearing nice, elegant, funky, stylish clothes that suits them and their personalities. Thus, the job of the fashion designers is to create outfits for variety of different people and different tastes. "Clothing can be an artistic expression - a projection of the image people want the world to see". (http://www.allartschools.com/faqs/fashion-design-job). 

There are lots of education institutions in the United Kingdom and especially in London that offer courses and degrees for Fashion Design, so London is a destination for fashion students as well. These courses prepare the students very well to get into the Fashion world by improving their skills and widening their vision of the fashion world and how to survive and succeed in it. 

Most fashion designers are self-employed as they start their businesses and try to grow, some others start working in big fashion companies and brands in order to obtain experience and be solid to enter the fashion world by themselves and create their own brands. Also, some fashion designers open their own boutiques to display their designs and make outfits for people upon request. Fashion designers earnings and profit depends on their reputation, the load of work, and how famous they are. It can range from £ 4000 to £ 50,000 and more, annually (http://jobs.trovit.co.uk/jobs/fashion-designer-salary). 

I believe that the Fashion Industry in London will keep on growing, and London will be the centre of the Fashion World. It always impresses me how people in London are aware of Fashion and how each individual have their own style and they are not shy or afraid of wearing what they want. The London-ers respect Fashion and are always motivated to change their styles and try new outfits and brands. Also, I think London holds a great future for all aspiring fashion designers and stylists. Personally, I am planning to work towards getting the skills and social network to help me to get my dream job as a fashion stylist. I think London will definitely offer me the opportunity to fulfill my dream.