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This paper examines practices and narratives of hustling in the creative industries. We draw on two illustrative cases: independent female filmmakers in Nairobi, Kenya, and independent female fashion designers in Toronto, Canada, with a combined 69 interviews. Taking a comparative, intersectional approach, we explore both the practices and narratives that entrepreneurial creative workers construct. In doing so, we contribute to ongoing conceptual debates regarding the contemporary nature of work in creative industries. We define hustling in the creative industries as entrepreneurially navigating precarity to build and sustain creative businesses. We argue that hustling is not merely a “stage” of work and life to be moved past or overcome, but instead an ongoing, entrepreneurial creative practice. This fact has implications for how we think about success and creative work: hustling is not a deviation from the good life, but a way of making a good life in precarious circumstances.

Australian fashion is emblematic of Global North countries with high levels of consumption and waste, dominated by high street fast fashion brands. It also has some unique characteristics as it is located in the Asia-Pacific region – the central production hub of garments – and is a leading producer of quality natural fibres such as cotton and wool. Despite this, Australia has a hollowed-out manufacturing sector that can provide minimal value add to these fibres, and little reuse, remanufacturing or recycling infrastructure for post-consumption garment waste. Ambition for change in the Australian fashion sector is rapidly accelerating with product stewardship initiatives, a modern slavery act and textile waste being designated a priority by the Commonwealth government. Both the policy and industry landscape is evolving. This article reflects on the research landscape of Australian sustainable fashion. The authors of this article draw on multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to survey and consider the trajectory of fashion sustainability research in Australia over the past decade and to identify key strengths and gaps. This survey culminates in the development of a research agenda for the next decade to 2030.

By now, it is well established that the fashion industry faces several social and environmental sustainability issues, including the growing problem of clothing textile waste. In recent years, the concept of circular economy (CE) has been put forth as a solution to drive the industry towards a more sustainable future, including as a strategy to reduce clothing textile waste. However, currently there is a gap in our understanding of how circular approaches are enacted by different stakeholders and if/how stakeholders are working together, especially when it comes to post-consumer clothing textile waste. To remedy this gap, this conceptual article draws on a wide range of secondary resources to propose a conceptual framework based on stakeholder mapping. The framework aims to help understand who is responsible for post-consumer textile waste and how they interact and work together, driven by three key questions: where do responsibility(ies) lie in addressing the growing challenge of textile waste, what actions are currently being taken across supply chains and stakeholders to address textile waste and what are the opportunities and challenges in conceptualizing CE practices through a stakeholder mapping approach? In exploring actions across four key stakeholder groups (policy-makers, fashion industry, clothing textile recyclers and actors from the not-for-profit sector), the need for engagement and collaboration across stakeholders, investment in recycling technology and infrastructure, and policy leadership are identified as key challenges facing the industry as it seeks to redress social and environmental challenges.

From Airbnb to Uber, the sharing or platform economy has reshaped many aspects of our economy and society. In recent years, fashion rental platforms have gained in popularity, fuelling the introduction of the platform economy in fashion. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the impact on fashion rental platforms was abrupt, with demand disappearing seemingly overnight as events were cancelled and many people began working from home. Drawing on a case study of fashion rental platforms, we explore the immediate consequences of the pandemic on this segment of the platform economy, examining both the challenges these platforms face in the short term and the strategies platforms have adopted to try and weather the storm. We highlight how the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fashion rental platforms thus far intersects with issues pertaining to value creation, precarious work, gender, and sustainable consumption. In doing so, we reflect on how fashion rental platforms inform understanding of the platform economy more broadly and conclude by suggesting themes for future research.

In this commentary, we examine the fashion industry’s early responses to COVID-19. Looking across fashion’s global production networks, we argue the fashion industry’s response has been rapid, yet highly inequitable, reflecting—and further entrenching—existing inequalities in the industry.

In response to the 2008 global financial crisis, a range of disruptive business model innovations emerged. The fashion industry saw the introduction of fashion rental platforms, aimed at appealing to price-conscious consumers still hungry for the latest styles. While these new business models filled a gap in the market and saw, in some cases, profit in the millions, the phenomenon remained rather niche. The recent pandemic, alongside other isomorphic pressures, have put further constraints on these fashion rental businesses and their entrepreneurs, leaving them struggling in the current economic climate. This chapter explores the entrepreneurial motivations behind rental platforms, the different platform models in operation, and the challenges these businesses face in the 21st century, including increased technological developments, environmental sustainability, and external pressures, such as the most recent pandemic, which saw economies shutting down. Empirically, the authors draw upon a novel dataset comprising six international case studies.

Collaborative consumption in the fashion industry has been put forward as a way to overcome current challenges of the ‘take-make-use-dispose’ economic system that is currently dominating the market, and has gained interest from practitioners, academics, and policy-makers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of collaborative fashion consumption research across various disciplines by critically reviewing and synthesizing this fragmented body of work. To do so, this systematic literature review critically evaluates where, how, and what research has been conducted on collaborative consumption in the fashion context, by further outlining gaps and a future research agenda. The paper reviews publications between 2004 and 2020 within peer-reviewed journals written in English, focusing on product service systems, access-based consumption, and collaborative consumption as key words. The analysis demonstrates that scholarly work addresses issues of terminology, attitudes, and motivations, specific modalities of engagement and practices of use and disposal, as well as business models that can help facilitate collaborative fashion consumption. The review also highlights that various gaps remain that require further enquiries, arguing that a deeper and more critical research agenda is required in order to provide a coherent terminology, better understand motivations to uptake collaborative consumption practices, as well as more cross-country analysis.

The contemporary fashion industry is based on a set of ‘gendered skills and attributes.’ Women numerically dominate fashion schools and the labour force of fashion firms, and also start and run the majority of independent fashion brands. Angela McRobbie and others have highlighted the importance of considering the gendered dynamics of fashion-related work. Yet, as the industry continues to evolve in the wake of global integration, the digital transition and intensifying competition, there is an ongoing need for research. Using an intersectional approach, this paper provides a novel case study of young ‘Millennial’ female independent fashion designers who operate within the emerging and under-explored Canadian fashion industry. Drawing on 87 interviews and participant observation, the paper demonstrates how entrepreneurial motivations, pathways, practices and experiences are shaped by individual characteristics, such as gender, age, lifecycle and class. Particular attention is paid to the challenges and tensions associated with the D.I.Y. (do it yourself) model and how forms of work, including aesthetic labour, are performed and experienced in virtual spaces such as social media platforms. In so doing, the paper contributes to nascent research on Millennials and nuances our understanding of the gendered nature of creative labour. Crucially, the paper also moves beyond typical masculinist conceptualisations of entrepreneurship, which focus on high-growth and high-technology businesses, to highlight the legitimacy, prevalence and importance of alternative motivations, networks, identities and business practices within contemporary markets and creative industries.

In this chapter, drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of the field, we examine the system of actors that are involved in creating the aesthetics of fashion. We adopt a dynamic approach that considers the diversity of “fields” associated with different fashion centres and the constellation of sites within each field (including manufacturing, retailing, marketing and consumption). Drawing on case studies from both established and emerging international fashion centres, we investigate how digital technologies are transforming the field of fashion at different scales and in different geographic contexts, and consider implications for structures, power relations and spatialities in and of the industry.

COVID‐19 has impacted a range of industries, of which the fashion industry is no exception. Here, we examine the effects of COVID‐19 on the geographies of that industry in Australia. We use a path‐dependency framework to understand the evolution of the Australian fashion industry and to evaluate the impact of COVID‐19 as an external shock to this evolution. The Australian fashion industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Drawing upon a qualitative methodology and associated set of methods consisting of 24 semi‐structured interviews with key industry actors, we explore three key themes. First, we examine the impact of COVID‐19 on firm dynamics, investigating how fashion brands have navigated a period of significant uncertainty through a combination of highly nimble internal business practices and industry collaborations. Second, in light of unstable globalised supply chains, we consider the important role of local garment production in supporting industrial resilience. Third, we explore how changing consumption behaviours are altering the retail geographies of the Australian fashion industry in both physical and virtual spaces. Based on our analysis of preliminary results, we reflect on the suitability of an evolutionary approach in this context and outline a number of themes of future research.

The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful consumer industries in the world. Through the advent of fast fashion – trendy, low-cost clothing produced by global fashion brands – clothing has evolved from a durable good to a daily purchase. In recent years, the concept of the circular economy, a framework for a more efficient, closed-loop economy, has emerged as a key way forward in the transition to a more sustainable and less wasteful fashion industry. This paper investigates how the Swedish fashion industry has implemented circular economy principles. Drawing on interviews with the founders, CEOs, and/or brand sustainability managers of 19 Swedish fashion brands, this article maps circular economy strategies across key stages: take, make, and waste. Crucially, for the fashion industry to move towards circularity, this paper argues that brands must integrate these strategies across supply chains, rather than limiting them to the waste stage. The analysis explores the gaps between circular economy principles and practice, identifying challenges inherent in fashion brand approaches. It concludes with recommendations for further study of the circular economy and the fashion industry.

This paper considers the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept, which in recent years has gained interest from a variety of perspectives including entrepreneurship, management, and economic geography. Specifically, the paper identifies a gap in the literature regarding the concept's sectoral or industrial focus. Prior applications to real‐world case studies have focused on a fairly narrow range of industries and places. In this paper, we apply the concept to a case study of one creative and cultural industry, the fashion industry, to help us understand not only the performance and function of entrepreneurs and small businesses in this industries, but also potential policy supports. We map the institutions and spaces in Toronto's entrepreneurial ecosystem, drawing on extensive qualitative research to consider the dynamics and interactions therein. In parallel, we advance the concept theoretically, questioning its tenability and applicability in a wider range of economic systems by adding the perspective of cultural and creative industries. (Less)

Although creative industries and creative talent have traditionally clustered in established global centres such as London and New York, new forms of independent production, digital technologies an...

The rise of social media radically broadens the sources and platforms used for environmental communication. Especially personal green blogs are worthy of study as they are spaces of everyday cultur ...

The increasing pervasiveness of social media and digital technology has had a particular impact on the geographies and nature of work in the fashion industry. A new segment of entrepreneurs – fashion bloggers – are utilizing these digital technologies, such as blogs and social media, to transform their personal lives and style into online businesses. This article draws on an in-depth case study analysis of an American personal style fashion blog; tracing its nine-year evolution from an ‘outfit-of-the-day’ personal style blog, to one that encompasses her entire personal life, including diets, fitness, home décor and pregnancy. By focusing on one blog, we provide an in-depth exploration from its roots as a hobby for personal expression to a means of full-time employment in the fashion industry. Through this examination, emphasis is given to the process of becoming a blogger and the intensification of the ways in which the self is presented and commodified over time. We argue that personal style fashion bloggers provide an illustrative case study, not only for expanding our understanding of aesthetic labour in the digital age, but also highlighting the spaces and temporalities of work that these new formations and engagements of work give rise to. These processes highlight the changing configurations and spatialities of aesthetic labour online.

The fashion industry is a highly globalized industry increasingly dominated by international firms that favour flexible, efficient supply chains in order to produce trendy clothing at the lowest price. While much of the fashion industry follows the logics of global production networks, this paper presents a case where small, independent firms have chosen instead to engage with local production networks. Drawing on interviews with 87 independent fashion designers and key informants, this paper examines the following question: In the context of global production, why do independent fashion designers choose to work locally? In answering this question, three key findings are presented: the motivations of designers who emphasize timeless design and high-quality local manufacturing; the strategies employed by designers to cultivate exclusivity and loyalty through the distribution of their collections; and the ways in which unique consumption experiences are utilized to articulate the values of their brand to consumers. While operating outside of the traditional fashion system provides independent fashion designers with the space for creativity, innovation, and control over their brand, it will be argued it also creates challenges with respect to growth beyond their niche market.

In recent years, tier-two fashion countries have been making gains in the global fashion industry, with hip young brands, buzz-worthy fashion weeks and export-oriented designers. The Canadian fashi ...

In the increasingly global and competitive fashion industry, firms are adopting a variety of strategies to generate value and brand loyalty. While some emphasise the quality of material elements such as inputs, local production and design, others focus on immaterial aspects such symbolic value and exclusivity. In recent years, place- branding has become an important way to create connections between people, places, and products. Yet, the processes behind this type of branding remain poorly understood. In particular, limited attention has been paid to the ways in which landscapes – in all their forms – are being incorporated into place-branding practices. Drawing on 87 interviews, participant observation and an innovative analysis of Instagram accounts, this paper examines how a range of Canadian fashion firms leverage the landscape to create and communicate brand identities, distinction and values. It demonstrates how firms of different sizes and scales construct, harness, or reimagine landscapes and/or popular stereotypes to connect with Canadian identities and consumers. It also highlights how landscape-centric branding can be combined with broader value creation strategies such as local production. In so doing, this paper brings together the economic geography literature on place branding and the cultural geography literature on landscape and identity, and makes a methodological contribution to nascent examinations of social media and visual data sources in geography.

In the report The State of Fashion 2017, written by Business of Fashion and the McKinsey Institute (2016), industry executives used three words to describe the current state of the fashion industry: uncertain, changing and challenging. Indeed, the fashion industry is undergoing dramatic transformations, from digitization and the rise of ‘see now, buy now’ fashions, to brands redefining the function and timing of fashion weeks, and increasing levels of global integration and competition (Crewe 2017). As such, the fashion industry has been recognized as a valuable lens through which to explore significant and ongoing changes to the production, curation and consumption of goods, services, and experiences (Brydges et al. 2014; Brydges 2017; D’Ovidio 2015; Hracs et al. 2013; Lavanga 2018; McRobbie 2016; Pratt et al. 2012). Drawing inspiration from this stream of scholarship, we organized four sessions titled Trending Now: The Changing Geographies of Fashion in the Digital Age at the Royal Geographical Society and Institute of British Geographers (RGS-IBG) conference in London, 30 August – 1 September 2017. In these sessions, researchers and practitioners from a wide range of locations and disciplines – including fashion studies, media studies, cultural economics, business and geography – came together to share research related to the structures, labour dynamics, spaces, value propositions and practices of the contemporary fashion industry. While a range of issues were discussed, the sessions were connected by an overarching theme. Namely, the extent to which power in the fashion industry is expanding or consolidating. While there is a prominent discourse that states that structures, systems and spaces within the global fashion industry have been (and will continue to be) disrupted by new actors, technologies, practices and cities, we collectively questioned whether the fashion industry has really entered an era of democratization, or if established power structures remain entrenched. Through empirical case studies from a variety of geographic contexts – from India to Italy – about different actors and activities within the industry, each presentation contributed new evidence and perspectives to this debate. The discussion below distils some of the key themes that emerged.