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The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever – A WSJ Reporter's Exposé on How Elite Designers Lost to Mainstream Consumers
A solid, hard-hitting, and uncompromising journalistic look at the fashion industry. The time when "fashion" was defined by French designers whose clothes could be afforded only by elite has ended. Now designers take their cues from mainstream consumers and creativity is channeled more into mass-marketing clothes than into designing them. Indeed, one need look no further than the Gap to see proof of this. In The End of Fashion, Wall Street Journal , reporter Teri Agins astutely explores this seminal change, laying bare all aspects of the fashion industry from manufacturing, retailing, anmd licensing to image making and financing. Here as well are fascinating insider vignettes that show Donna Karan fighting with financiers,the rivalry between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and the commitment to haute conture that sent Isaac Mizrahi's business spiraling.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
September 11, 2014
I'm pretty sure I am the only person who would moderately enjoy "The End of Fashion" at this point, so if you have it on your to-read you should probably take it off. Writing in 1998 or so (the book was published in 1999), Agins argues that fashion is dead. Forever.
When you read the book you remember why this would be easy to believe: this was the height of Tommy Hilfiger Hegemony, as covered in a chapter of the book. Those ugly-ass oversized color-blocked sweatshirts were all over the damn place. Less facetiously, there was also the perpetual issue of couture being a huge money-loser, and fashion people making very bad business people (the chapter on Donna Karan is a great illustration of this principle).
However, the title has more to do with timing than absolute truth. This quote encapsulates the era Agins recounts: "Glamorous as they are, fashion shows are fairly low-voltage to the general public, who will probably never see a tape of an Armani runway show." Thank you for that prediction, Professor Trelawney.
Agins was writing in the dead zone between the end of American economic protectionism that allowed cheap clothes from Asia to flood the market and the rise of the fashion blogger. In those dead zone years, fashion was pretty grim. Think of those heinous jeans the 90210 crowd wore. But as fashion became democratized, couture became no longer the stuffy province of the ultra-rich old money and ordinary people could get excited about and participate in fashion in a way that has not been possible at any other time in history.
Now, what effect the new fashion hegemony will have, where fashion bloggers are sponsored, branded shills and all strive to be sponsored by (and feature) the same clothes, so there is less of a richness if fashion point-of-view is anyone's guess, but I doubt it's the end of fashion.
There is an expanded version of this review on my blog.
When you read the book you remember why this would be easy to believe: this was the height of Tommy Hilfiger Hegemony, as covered in a chapter of the book. Those ugly-ass oversized color-blocked sweatshirts were all over the damn place. Less facetiously, there was also the perpetual issue of couture being a huge money-loser, and fashion people making very bad business people (the chapter on Donna Karan is a great illustration of this principle).
However, the title has more to do with timing than absolute truth. This quote encapsulates the era Agins recounts: "Glamorous as they are, fashion shows are fairly low-voltage to the general public, who will probably never see a tape of an Armani runway show." Thank you for that prediction, Professor Trelawney.
Agins was writing in the dead zone between the end of American economic protectionism that allowed cheap clothes from Asia to flood the market and the rise of the fashion blogger. In those dead zone years, fashion was pretty grim. Think of those heinous jeans the 90210 crowd wore. But as fashion became democratized, couture became no longer the stuffy province of the ultra-rich old money and ordinary people could get excited about and participate in fashion in a way that has not been possible at any other time in history.
Now, what effect the new fashion hegemony will have, where fashion bloggers are sponsored, branded shills and all strive to be sponsored by (and feature) the same clothes, so there is less of a richness if fashion point-of-view is anyone's guess, but I doubt it's the end of fashion.
There is an expanded version of this review on my blog.
August 29, 2025
In The End of Fashion she says fashion’s height was post WWII until it began to break down in the second half of the 1980s. For one thing cheap garments began to be produced in Asia in the early 80s and glut the world. Also everyone stopped liking the same things, we don’t have that Mono-Culture anymore.
I think it has just been a constant move toward comfort since the 19th century. Obviously the way women had to dress then, horrible. But men too. In the late 20th century they stopped wearing business suits.
I think it has just been a constant move toward comfort since the 19th century. Obviously the way women had to dress then, horrible. But men too. In the late 20th century they stopped wearing business suits.
November 6, 2014
Required reading for anyone getting into the fashion industry. It’s not so much about the clothes but how they are marketed. The power is in the consumer to decide what’s in and what’s out. We all look for value. The rise of “cheap chic” has seriously injured the old school fashion system. Fashion is no longer exclusive to the upper crust. Fashion for the masses is the only profitable fashion.
These are some of the statements (paraphrased) in Agins’ book. This book is thoroughly researched and Agins’ writing style is engaging and her message is easy to grasp. I've read this book >5 times and always learn something new from it. Her ideas can be applied to other forms of consumerism as well.
These are some of the statements (paraphrased) in Agins’ book. This book is thoroughly researched and Agins’ writing style is engaging and her message is easy to grasp. I've read this book >5 times and always learn something new from it. Her ideas can be applied to other forms of consumerism as well.
September 28, 2014
I had to read this book for a project and I found it really interesting, despite the fact that I'm not really into high fashion.
As some say, the title may lead to wrong expectations, the book is not about the end of fashion but about the end of high fashion as known at its beginning.
The book has 7 chapters and each of them is about a different brand and really detailed. It gives insights on events and relates them with the historical context which I found very useful.
I skipped parts that were not of my interest but still is a really good book to use as reference or if you are interested in this world.
As some say, the title may lead to wrong expectations, the book is not about the end of fashion but about the end of high fashion as known at its beginning.
The book has 7 chapters and each of them is about a different brand and really detailed. It gives insights on events and relates them with the historical context which I found very useful.
I skipped parts that were not of my interest but still is a really good book to use as reference or if you are interested in this world.
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January 6, 2018[original blogpost here. I write book reviews every month on the blog :-)]
A few days ago I decided the "theme" for the next chunk of books I plan on reading is fashion, so I dutifully googled "good fashion books" and this was one on the top of a list, so I started with this one. I think this book ended up being a good place to start, and would be an interesting read for a range of people from fashion industry newbies like me to more serious fashion fans and aficionados.
The book, written by a fashion journalist Teri Agins, looks at fashion in the last couple of decades, and how mass marketing and changing consumer trends have changed the fashion industry. It is a really interesting story starting from the haute couture (a term I didn't know until I read the book) French fashion houses, and along the way examining Emanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren & Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, department stores, DKNY, and Zoran. I only knew about half the names on this list but apparently Ungaro and Zoran are pretty famous.
This book actually completely changed my views on fashion and updated my very naive and uneducated understanding of why brands are famous and how fashion has evolved over the last few decades. Initially, fashion was dictated from these fancy old French fashion houses, like Dior, or YSL, or Chanel, and fashion trends were birthed from the runway and from fancy seasonal collections. This is the kind of runway fashion that I typically think of if someone asks me where fashion comes from; thin Europeans wearing crazy clothes designed by trendsetting designers (like Zoolander and Mugatu).
Dispensing with the conception that fashion designers are crazy geniuses isolated from commerce and marketing, Agins explains how changing consumer tastes for cheaper and more comfortable clothes and lessened importance on fashion forced designers to focus on marketing their brand. Fashion houses were no longer able to dictate the trends of fashion from the runway, and to secure profits and retain customers in a world no longer enamored by haute couture, they had to resort to strategies like bridge brands, boutiques, licensing, and marketing through movie stars. Many brands now sell the same or similar clothes to a public with increasingly homogenized tastes, differentiated only by their marketing and brand name & reputation.
Miscellaneous parts that I liked:
- Armani making a fortune by marketing to movie stars, and Oscars being referred to as Armani's night. Previously fashion houses were too snobby to market to movie stars, thinking their more deserving clientele to be royalty and aristocrats
- The evolution of department stores from actual departments (menswear, sportswear, etc.) to the collection of boutiques that we see now
- The homogenization of department stores (into the same few collection of boutiques), because the products they sell are safer
- The volatility and fragility of these companies, and how 1 bad season or 1 bad clothing line can lose millions and drive away business
- The steak vs the sizzle in fashion and the disconnect between the runway and the consumer, especially in Isaac Mizrahi's case, where he was hyped up by the fashion press but his clothes never sold well on racks
- The catfight between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger
- Zoran and his success in the fashion industry by NOT changing his clothes too much, by changing colors rather than hemlines and shapes
- I wonder if innovation will be stifled because designers are not as free to explore, just as movie directors are not as free to explore with bigger and bigger budgets, and new designers will have a hard time breaking in because marketing is so expensive and so crucial to success
(as a side note, I kinda like the idea of "Miscellaneous parts that I liked," maybe I will do that for all the books in the future)
Instead of my original conception of fashion giants and entrenched emperors, the fashion industry seems more like one gigantic wild game of capture the flag, with all these companies running around frantically to keep their brand afloat amongst a sea of fickle consumers. It is an interesting story of a shifting balance of power, and how these fashion companies have either struggled to adapt or perished in the last few decades.
A few days ago I decided the "theme" for the next chunk of books I plan on reading is fashion, so I dutifully googled "good fashion books" and this was one on the top of a list, so I started with this one. I think this book ended up being a good place to start, and would be an interesting read for a range of people from fashion industry newbies like me to more serious fashion fans and aficionados.
The book, written by a fashion journalist Teri Agins, looks at fashion in the last couple of decades, and how mass marketing and changing consumer trends have changed the fashion industry. It is a really interesting story starting from the haute couture (a term I didn't know until I read the book) French fashion houses, and along the way examining Emanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren & Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, department stores, DKNY, and Zoran. I only knew about half the names on this list but apparently Ungaro and Zoran are pretty famous.
This book actually completely changed my views on fashion and updated my very naive and uneducated understanding of why brands are famous and how fashion has evolved over the last few decades. Initially, fashion was dictated from these fancy old French fashion houses, like Dior, or YSL, or Chanel, and fashion trends were birthed from the runway and from fancy seasonal collections. This is the kind of runway fashion that I typically think of if someone asks me where fashion comes from; thin Europeans wearing crazy clothes designed by trendsetting designers (like Zoolander and Mugatu).
Dispensing with the conception that fashion designers are crazy geniuses isolated from commerce and marketing, Agins explains how changing consumer tastes for cheaper and more comfortable clothes and lessened importance on fashion forced designers to focus on marketing their brand. Fashion houses were no longer able to dictate the trends of fashion from the runway, and to secure profits and retain customers in a world no longer enamored by haute couture, they had to resort to strategies like bridge brands, boutiques, licensing, and marketing through movie stars. Many brands now sell the same or similar clothes to a public with increasingly homogenized tastes, differentiated only by their marketing and brand name & reputation.
Miscellaneous parts that I liked:
- Armani making a fortune by marketing to movie stars, and Oscars being referred to as Armani's night. Previously fashion houses were too snobby to market to movie stars, thinking their more deserving clientele to be royalty and aristocrats
- The evolution of department stores from actual departments (menswear, sportswear, etc.) to the collection of boutiques that we see now
- The homogenization of department stores (into the same few collection of boutiques), because the products they sell are safer
- The volatility and fragility of these companies, and how 1 bad season or 1 bad clothing line can lose millions and drive away business
- The steak vs the sizzle in fashion and the disconnect between the runway and the consumer, especially in Isaac Mizrahi's case, where he was hyped up by the fashion press but his clothes never sold well on racks
- The catfight between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger
- Zoran and his success in the fashion industry by NOT changing his clothes too much, by changing colors rather than hemlines and shapes
- I wonder if innovation will be stifled because designers are not as free to explore, just as movie directors are not as free to explore with bigger and bigger budgets, and new designers will have a hard time breaking in because marketing is so expensive and so crucial to success
(as a side note, I kinda like the idea of "Miscellaneous parts that I liked," maybe I will do that for all the books in the future)
Instead of my original conception of fashion giants and entrenched emperors, the fashion industry seems more like one gigantic wild game of capture the flag, with all these companies running around frantically to keep their brand afloat amongst a sea of fickle consumers. It is an interesting story of a shifting balance of power, and how these fashion companies have either struggled to adapt or perished in the last few decades.
May 23, 2011
The title is wrong for this book, but the writing is great and Teri Agins offers a great analysis and interesting review of the relationship between commercialism, industry and fashion with a capital 'F'.
What suffers in this book is that it is dated only because it's assumption that the impact of the 80's and 90's were resolute in fashion and industry forever. The book is 12 years old and so much has changed to bring fashion at a different place due to a new focus on consumers instead of exclusive clients.
My only criticism is that being a WSJ reporter, certain events in fashion aren't written more in depth, such as Arnault's acquisition of LVMH. At the time, it was the first corporate take over of fashion and luxury brands that had not been seen before. At the time that it was happening it did seem like the end of fashion, but how did the players come out and what changes in society in the late 90's were positioning to expand fashion?
What suffers in this book is that it is dated only because it's assumption that the impact of the 80's and 90's were resolute in fashion and industry forever. The book is 12 years old and so much has changed to bring fashion at a different place due to a new focus on consumers instead of exclusive clients.
My only criticism is that being a WSJ reporter, certain events in fashion aren't written more in depth, such as Arnault's acquisition of LVMH. At the time, it was the first corporate take over of fashion and luxury brands that had not been seen before. At the time that it was happening it did seem like the end of fashion, but how did the players come out and what changes in society in the late 90's were positioning to expand fashion?
March 19, 2017
This book didn't live up to my expectations.
First of all it is really hard to follow. The author jumps in time and space. Usually starts a story in the middle, than goes back in time, then fast forward to the cotemporary time. (by contemporary I mean the end of 90's).Very confusing.
Another problem with the book, is that it was published 2000, and since then a lot has happened. The stories are interesting but the situation she depicts is not relevant any more.
I was looking for a book that explains a bit about the relationship between the consumer and fashion with a bit of an anthropology\sociology\psychology approach. What I got in this book is a bunch of stories about designers and department stores mostly form the US.
Maybe if the title better described the content, I wouldn't put my expectation so high. I gave 2 stars because beside the overall negative experience I found some interesting information in the book.
First of all it is really hard to follow. The author jumps in time and space. Usually starts a story in the middle, than goes back in time, then fast forward to the cotemporary time. (by contemporary I mean the end of 90's).Very confusing.
Another problem with the book, is that it was published 2000, and since then a lot has happened. The stories are interesting but the situation she depicts is not relevant any more.
I was looking for a book that explains a bit about the relationship between the consumer and fashion with a bit of an anthropology\sociology\psychology approach. What I got in this book is a bunch of stories about designers and department stores mostly form the US.
Maybe if the title better described the content, I wouldn't put my expectation so high. I gave 2 stars because beside the overall negative experience I found some interesting information in the book.
September 25, 2007
The fashion industry has changed so quickly and dramatically in the past few years that many of the ideas in this book (published in 1999) are already out of date. Reading about how Ralph Lauren and Armani began their empires and how they manage to keep them was intriguing, but I wasn't entirely sure of Ms. Agin's thesis -- mostly because she never gave us her definition of the word/concept "fashion" (this sounds ridiculous, but such an ephemeral concept like fashion, which means different things to different people, needs to be defined).
September 6, 2015
I thought that she was spot on, considering that she wrote it in tge 1990's. It is even more relevant nowadays, even though had she written it today she would have been more specific about the role of marketing and the fading role of the designer.
I thought it was a good thesis but I agree with other readers when they say that the vignettes were too long and centered too much around the individual couturiers. I would have liked it to be more to the point: I don't care what Pierre Cardin did every minute of his life, don't care about dialogues between Armani and his boyfriend.
I thought it was a good thesis but I agree with other readers when they say that the vignettes were too long and centered too much around the individual couturiers. I would have liked it to be more to the point: I don't care what Pierre Cardin did every minute of his life, don't care about dialogues between Armani and his boyfriend.
May 21, 2015
I don't know if I missed something regarding the central thesis of this book, except uh, was there one? The chapters in this book seemed wildly unconnected, and while some of them were super interesting (Lauren vs. Hilfiger), some were WILDLY boring (Marshall Field'szzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz). I don't really get what Agins was doing here, obviously, and I hope that doesn't bode badly for her most recent book, which I'm interested (still, weirdly) in reading.
September 16, 2018
This is an incredibly well researched and written account of European and American fashion in the second half of the 20th century. The book covers brands like Dior, LVMH, DKNY, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and others, including fashion retailers. The "plot" of the book goes to show how the business of fashion changed over 50 years going into the new millennium. I would say I understand retail and fashion a lot better now that I've read this.
July 2, 2022
This book is an incredibly interesting look at the changing trends throughout the latter half of the twentieth century and around the turn of the millennium. The author caught an astute picture of where fashion had been, where it was, and where it was going, and it’s fascinating to see how her predictions and analysis mesh with my experience of fashion growing up and what the apparel business looks like today. The primary argument of this book is that the commercialization of fashion is fundamentally at odds with the art form in which it’s rooted, but the causes and implications of that are many and varied and deserve the time and page space Agins devotes to them.
The writing style is fun above all else. It’s journalistic in a mildly sensational way; it dives deep but never quite sacrifices the gloss and glamor of the fashion industry. It’s highly engaging and readable, even with wordiness and way-too-compound sentences here and there. It’s certainly equal to the task of profiling players in an industry full of big personalities, and it always has enough detail without getting repetitive.
The chronology can be challenging to follow. The author seems to assume, perhaps correctly, that her readers already have some knowledge about fashion, and she tends to explain the history of any given house by jumping around to give reference points in terms of other designers. One paragraph might start off talking about the 90s and then end with a note about Calvin Klein in 1967. The result is a remarkably nuanced analysis of a very complicated social and business landscape across several decades, but it takes some time to get enough of it to see that. It’s a book where you have to pay attention to keep track of details, which was actually a pleasant surprise. The dates are scattered, but the message never is; the complexity is a result of the author trying to paint a full picture, not of sloppiness. Each chapter is neatly organized and conveys both a case study and a piece of the larger trend toward commercial marketing.
I enjoyed this book immensely. This is my favorite kind of fashion media: a behind the scenes look that doesn’t shy away from the ugly sides of the machine required to maintain the glamor. It’s packed full of fashion history and pop culture, and it’s impressively cohesive for a book that covers so many industry players in such detail. It’s highly informative. It’s fun to read. It’s good writing! An excellent piece of nonfiction.
The writing style is fun above all else. It’s journalistic in a mildly sensational way; it dives deep but never quite sacrifices the gloss and glamor of the fashion industry. It’s highly engaging and readable, even with wordiness and way-too-compound sentences here and there. It’s certainly equal to the task of profiling players in an industry full of big personalities, and it always has enough detail without getting repetitive.
The chronology can be challenging to follow. The author seems to assume, perhaps correctly, that her readers already have some knowledge about fashion, and she tends to explain the history of any given house by jumping around to give reference points in terms of other designers. One paragraph might start off talking about the 90s and then end with a note about Calvin Klein in 1967. The result is a remarkably nuanced analysis of a very complicated social and business landscape across several decades, but it takes some time to get enough of it to see that. It’s a book where you have to pay attention to keep track of details, which was actually a pleasant surprise. The dates are scattered, but the message never is; the complexity is a result of the author trying to paint a full picture, not of sloppiness. Each chapter is neatly organized and conveys both a case study and a piece of the larger trend toward commercial marketing.
I enjoyed this book immensely. This is my favorite kind of fashion media: a behind the scenes look that doesn’t shy away from the ugly sides of the machine required to maintain the glamor. It’s packed full of fashion history and pop culture, and it’s impressively cohesive for a book that covers so many industry players in such detail. It’s highly informative. It’s fun to read. It’s good writing! An excellent piece of nonfiction.
November 16, 2025
And to think that it was the rise of the middle class in 1970s America, and the phenomenon of affluent women entering the workforce that changed the world of fashion forever.
This is such an interesting look at near fashion history and how it’s informed the way the industry is run today. Each chapter was essentially a case study, which looked at how one designer, fashion house, or apparel business drove a new era of fashion forward.
The book paints the picture of the fashion industry as the Greek Hydra, and all the different designers and fashion houses serving as its many heads — when one is “cut off” (or losing revenue because it was too slow to react to the fast-paced changes of 1980-1990s fashion in the era of widespread consumer marketing), another one takes it place.
The book has one line that reads: “The end of fashion has led straight to Gap.” — but Gap is simply a placeholder name for whatever new, trendy venture is up-and-coming in fashion.
Part of me wishes we’d had more interviews with the ad, PR, and marketing professionals that were dominating this era of fashion. What trends were they following and why? How did they survey the consumer? Did they jump between fashion houses as often as the designers did?
Overall, super cool insight
This is such an interesting look at near fashion history and how it’s informed the way the industry is run today. Each chapter was essentially a case study, which looked at how one designer, fashion house, or apparel business drove a new era of fashion forward.
The book paints the picture of the fashion industry as the Greek Hydra, and all the different designers and fashion houses serving as its many heads — when one is “cut off” (or losing revenue because it was too slow to react to the fast-paced changes of 1980-1990s fashion in the era of widespread consumer marketing), another one takes it place.
The book has one line that reads: “The end of fashion has led straight to Gap.” — but Gap is simply a placeholder name for whatever new, trendy venture is up-and-coming in fashion.
Part of me wishes we’d had more interviews with the ad, PR, and marketing professionals that were dominating this era of fashion. What trends were they following and why? How did they survey the consumer? Did they jump between fashion houses as often as the designers did?
Overall, super cool insight
May 17, 2020
This book gives a tremendous account of the fashion industry and the vast history behind it. Teri Agins filled this book with ripe anecdotal examples and evidence of how Haute couture slowly died off, starting in the 90s. Failure of designers to adapt and honestly know their consumers, like Issac Mizrahi's fall of his eponymous label. The book gives insights into designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Donna Karen, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and so many others. This book has given me so much knowledge in the fashion industry, in which my interest grows larger by the day. This is an excellent read for anyone that is working on a degree in marketing, as it offers prime examples of why knowing the markets and consumers is VITAL.
October 11, 2020
It's really difficult to give an accurate rating to this book. I bought it because I have a small fashion business and I was eager to learn how marketing interacted with this kind of businesses.
And yes, the book does tell you how "Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever" but from a historical perspective, not from a business one. This is a journalisic book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in fashion lore.
I'm giving this book 3 stars because the investigation is extensive and profound but the writing becomes too formulaic and bland at times.
BTW, I loved Zoran.
And yes, the book does tell you how "Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever" but from a historical perspective, not from a business one. This is a journalisic book and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in fashion lore.
I'm giving this book 3 stars because the investigation is extensive and profound but the writing becomes too formulaic and bland at times.
BTW, I loved Zoran.
April 7, 2019
Really good book. A blend of practical technical expertise of the fashion industry and some creative philosophy about the evolution of culture, industry, economics and artistry. Only ranked as a 3 because is it life changingly profound? For me it wasn't. It's a bit long to get through. But still a great book and I do recommend it--especially to anyone who likes meta-critiques AND wants to work in the fashion industry whether for the purpose of creativity or just for money.
June 6, 2021
For a book on fashion published over 20 years ago, it was ok. The author’s take on “The End of Fashion” is really the end of getting all your clothes made by hand specifically for you. I’d be interested in seeing an updated version and the influence of the internet age with even swifter trade routes. I liked the historical aspect but felt the author sometimes jumped around way too much and I got bored with certain parts.
January 15, 2022
I quite enjoyed this, for someone who knows a base amount about fashion history and is interested in more. It’s not an adequately titled book, as the author makes a better case for how commercialization of fashion has changed it.
It seemed like she wanted to make an argument in the beginning. However, the rest of the book was more informational case studies of specific designers and rivalries - nothing too persuasive. Once you let go of that, it’s entertaining. It would have been even better with accompanying photos of shows or clothing to showcase the various styles referenced.
She makes a few comments, like how banks went totally casual, that makes me question how accurate her facts are. But for a baseline view of fashion, it was good enough.
It seemed like she wanted to make an argument in the beginning. However, the rest of the book was more informational case studies of specific designers and rivalries - nothing too persuasive. Once you let go of that, it’s entertaining. It would have been even better with accompanying photos of shows or clothing to showcase the various styles referenced.
She makes a few comments, like how banks went totally casual, that makes me question how accurate her facts are. But for a baseline view of fashion, it was good enough.
May 2, 2019
Interesting
Being a child/teen during the late 80s/ early 90s, I found how high fashion changed and disappeared very interesting. I would like to see what the author has learned about fashion in the new millennia.
Being a child/teen during the late 80s/ early 90s, I found how high fashion changed and disappeared very interesting. I would like to see what the author has learned about fashion in the new millennia.
May 30, 2019
Fashion is ALL about marketing and little about quality.
I always have been interested in the fashion industry for it might be the most legal way to „print money“ simply via a strong brand. Branding is everything here.
The single most important takeaway for me here.
I always have been interested in the fashion industry for it might be the most legal way to „print money“ simply via a strong brand. Branding is everything here.
The single most important takeaway for me here.
June 21, 2022
A surprisingly dense read that took time to get through. It Agins' research really helps connect the dots between other fashion business works read recently. I appreciate the snap shot of how quickly everything changed in the 80s and 90s concerning how Americans shopped and why.
December 19, 2025
An Interesting Read
I'm not a fan of fashion, but the title caught my eye and I was interested. It was an extremely interesting read to see how these big fashion houses rose to power and then their fall.
I'm not a fan of fashion, but the title caught my eye and I was interested. It was an extremely interesting read to see how these big fashion houses rose to power and then their fall.
August 28, 2017
Excellent overview on the developments in the fashion industry until the end of the 90s. I hope there will be an update to this masterpiece soon!
March 17, 2018
I find the business of fashion quite interesting, even though I'm not particularly interesting in fashion per se. But I hadn't realized quite how old this book, so it was an odd read.
December 1, 2021
Agins seems to really know fashion and it’s history. I enjoyed reading this book and the memories it brought back into perspective.
December 9, 2021
Good book, but bit oudated by now (2021)
January 31, 2022
I really loved the structure of the book, it made it easy to read and understand the numerous fashion houses and their owners.
February 24, 2022
A bit outdated but mostly still rings true. Does an amazing job of explaining the quickening of the trend cycle and the cheapening of clothes. Designers, buyers, and fashion marketers must read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews