The fashion industry is a product of the modern age. Prior to the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom-made.
It was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order
from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century—with
the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine,
the rise of global capitalism and the development of the factory system
of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as
department stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in standard sizes and sold at fixed prices.
Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, as of 2015
it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing
often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold
world-wide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric
in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy,
and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to
retail outlets internationally. The fashion industry has long been one
of the largest employers in the United States,
and it remains so in the 21st century. However, U.S. employment
declined considerably as production increasingly moved overseas,
especially to China. Because data on the fashion industry typically are
reported for national economies and expressed in terms of the industry's
many separate sectors, aggregate figures for world production of
textiles and clothing are difficult to obtain. However, by any measure,
the clothing industry accounts for a significant share of world economic
output. The fashion industry consists of four levels:
- the production of raw materials, principally fibers and textiles but also leather and fur
- the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others
- retail sales
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