Fashion has become a huge industry that not only affects our daily lives, but also has an impact on other non–fashion related industries. It is remarkable that so little has been written about the extraordinary people who turn fashion into a business. This book fills this void for students of fashion and the entrepreneurs that will shape the next generation of the fashion business.
"Neri Karra brings the history of global fashion as a business alive in her enlightening book, and delivers important lessons on how to succeed for aspiring fashion designers and managers in the industry."
- Geoffrey Jones, Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Harvard Business School
"I commend Neri’s effort to explore the origins of the fashion industry through the key figures who shaped its history. Her effort is comprehensive and covers a lot of ground."
- Luca Solca, Head of Luxury Research at Bernstein
"I found the book on Fashion Entrepreneurship beautifully structured, illustrated longitudinally through time to bring out the essence of the paradoxical nature of the fashion business. On one side it is niche, for the lucky few, while on the other hand it is a global business with companies having the largest market cap in Europe and the richest person of the world deriving wealth from an industry. Neri's analysis on this historical path dependency is very important to understand for fashion entrepreneurs as they desire for global dominance following in the footsteps of the stalwarts of the industry."
- Ashok Som, Professor of Global Strategy, ESSEC Business School
"Author Neri Karra provides an authoritative and comprehensive analysis of the emergence of global fashion entrepeneurship. The book incorporates essential information on how creative aesthetics are combined with brand strategy to produce commercial success in the context of fashion, art and culture'"
- Marnie Fogg, Author of Fashion: The Whole History
“Neri Karra brings the history of global fashion as a business alive in her enlightening book, and delivers important lessons on how to succeed for aspiring fashion designers and managers in the industry.”
Geoffrey Jones, Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Harvard Business School
“I commend Neri’s effort to explore the origins of the fashion industry through the key figures who shaped its history. Her effort is comprehensive and covers a lot of ground.”
Luca Solca, Head of Luxury Research at Bernstein
“I found the book on Fashion Entrepreneurship beautifully structured, illustrated longitudinally through time to bring out the essence of the paradoxical nature of the fashion business. On one side it is niche, for the lucky few, while on the other hand it is a global business with companies having the largest market cap in Europe and the richest person of the world deriving wealth from an industry. Neri’s analysis on this historical path dependency is very important to understand for fashion entrepreneurs as they desire for global dominance following in the footsteps of the stalwarts of the industry.”
Ashok Som, Professor of Global Strategy, ESSEC Business School
“Author Neri Karra provides an authoritative and comprehensive analysis of the emergence of global fashion entrepeneurship. The book incorporates essential information on how creative aesthetics are combined with brand strategy to produce commercial success in the context of fashion, art, and culture.”
Marnie Fogg, Author of Fashion: The Whole History
Dr. Neri Karra is a fashion business consultant, speaker, and author. As a Professor of Practice in Strategy and an Entrepreneurship Expert at the University of Oxford, she consults for both emerging and established fashion designers and entrepreneurs, including the British Fashion Council and its designers. She has been a keynote speaker for companies including Apple and Credit Suisse and has lectured at prominent institutions such as Imperial College London, London School of Economics, the Royal College of Art, the London College of Fashion, and the Conde Nast College of Fashion. A fashion entrepreneur herself, Dr. Karra is the founder of a global multimillion dollar luxury leather goods brand,which also manufactures products for leading Italian luxury labels. She holds a PhD in Management Science from the University of Cambridge and her latest book is Fashion Entrepreneurship: The Creation of the Global Fashion Business (Routledge, 2021).