from the rest of the world in terms of its family business orientation, the major-
ity of Italian brands have shown apt flexibility in adopting modern business
practices in fashion management. Italy has always had the typecast of fashion
manufacturing, while France was known for fashion branding and Britain for
fashion retailing. However, in the current fashion environment, these stereo-
types are no longer applicable as each of these countries, especially Italy, has
shown the ability for appropriate adaptation to the fashion market’s needs.
America, fashion and commerce
The mention of Italian, English or French fashion immediately conjures up an
image of a particular style in the mind. When ‘American fashion’ is referred to,
however, people usually become confused. This is because unlike European
fashion, which had an early evolution and definition, the American fashion
style was unclear and difficult to describe during its evolution between the
twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The perception of American fashion has
ranged from the casual look comprising of t-shirt, denim and sneakers, to the
hip-hop style that adds bold and flashy jewellery to casual wear, and to the
California-style shirt and beach shorts. A lot of people in other parts of the
world would use the term ‘sportswear’ to describe American fashion. Others
will make references to the collared t-shirt made popular by Ralph Lauren as
the American fashion style while yet others will just assume that American
fashion comprises of cheaper spin-offs of the fashion styles produced in
Europe. The reality is that Americans have known and shown good fashion
taste and creativity through a consistent fashion progression spanning centuries.
In the early part of the twentieth century, America depended on Europe,
particularly on Paris, for its fashion products and style guidelines. Wealthy
Americans made several annual trips across the Atlantic to Paris for dress
fittings at notable couturiers such as La Maison Worth. This fashionable elite
also purchased their accessories in Italy, especially in Florence. Back home,
those that could not travel to Europe copied the styles of the wealthy. This
trend continued until the Second World War and the result was a great
European influence on the outlook and interpretation of American fashion.
This reality also created a mistaken portrayal of the American fashion style as
lacking in taste and originality.
The Second World War brought several changes to the American fashion
scene. The most prominent of these was the blockage of the flow of fashion
goods from Paris to America, as a result of the occupation of Paris by German
troops. Americans were forced to seek alternatives in local fashion designers.
This period marked the emergence of the modern American style through
several talented designers like Harvey Berin and Tom Brigance. American fash-
ion magazines such as Vogueand Harper’s Bazaarpromoted these local design-
ers, which encouraged the fashion public to patronize them. The period also
chapter 2 41the history of luxury fashion branding