My Year Out

Diploma in Professional Studies

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 made by themselves 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 production in factories, and the increase 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, today it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold world-wide. For example, a British company might source fabric in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the England for distribution to retail outlets internationally.

An important part of fashion is fashion journalism. Editorial critique, guidelines and commentary can be found in magazines, newspapers, on television, fashion websites, social networks and in blogs. At the beginning of the 20th century, fashion magazines began to include photographs of various fashion designs and became even more influential on people than in the past. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after and had a profound effect on public clothing taste. People today have a wide choice available in the selection of their clothes. What a person chooses to wear can reflect that person's personality or likes. When people who have cultural status start to wear new or different clothes a fashion trend may start. People who like or respect them may start to wear clothes of a similar style. Fashions may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation, and geography as well as over...