THE CULTURAL ECONOMY OF INDEPENDENT FASHION

Alexandra Tuite Bachelor of Arts (UQ) Master of Arts (UQ)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Creative Industries Faculty School of Design Queensland University of Technology 2019

Keywords

Independent fashion, Australian fashion, Brisbane, Queensland, independent cultural production, indie, creative networks, cultural networks, cultural production, cultural intermediation, globalisation, e-commerce, aesthetic labour, consumer networks, Instagram, social media, materiality, plus size, DIY, craft.

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Abstract

“Independent fashion” is a widely-used term, but as a concept it has not been defined with any clarity or consistency. The term is applied to many types of businesses operating at different market levels and with varying degrees of emphasis on business structure, aesthetic qualities and broader cultural and social engagement.

There are many scholarly studies considering the processes and practices of independent fashion businesses. However, these studies take for granted the notion of

“independence” in fashion, looking past it in order to consider other aspects and issues. This risks under-examining the nuanced attitudes informing the production of fashion as a cultural object, and causes confusion regarding the way in which participants in the sector understand their relationship to the products they produce, sell and consume. This project seeks to address this problem by describing and analysing the way in which independent fashion as a concept is understood, demonstrated and judged by those who identify as participants in the independent fashion sector.

This study is not about the economic aspects of operating an independent fashion business, but rather the ways in which practitioners in the sector understand themselves to be cultural entrepreneurs, with independence as a central, unifying cultural value. In order to consider these attitudes towards and understandings of independent fashion as a concept, places and spaces are examined through which the concept of independent fashion is enacted both through personal practice and social interaction. Contemporary studies are contextualised with historical examples to consider changes to the concept of independent fashion may change over time and

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how historical examples inform emerging and contemporary understandings of the concept.

This is a qualitative research project that uses methods including in-depth case studies, semi-structured interviews with independent fashion sector participants, online observation of social media accounts over a 12 month period, archival research and content analysis of written and online materials including business websites, social media posts and exhibition catalogues. As the study is intended to understand independent fashion within the context of research on contemporary creative industries and entrepreneurial labour, all case studies are small businesses.

The format of this thesis is “PhD by published papers” and the project is comprised of six articles grouped into three chapters. Through these six articles a contribution to knowledge is made that the concept of independent fashion is consistently understood to exist in opposition to a perceived mainstream, but that its characteristics are fluid and change over time to reflect broader social, cultural and economic shifts. The processes and practices through which independent fashion sector participants demonstrate and judge independence are remarkably similar across time and in varying places and spaces (including in physical and digital environments), however the attitudes underpinning them vary. Additionally, it is found that the sector’s alignment with the creative industries and with labour practices associated with cultural work positions it at the forefront of contemporary social and political discourse about the future of work, including a gendered perspective on creative industries employment and entrepreneurial labour.

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Table of contents

Keywords ...... i Abstract ...... ii Table of contents ...... iv List of published and submitted papers ...... vi List of figures ...... vii List of tables ...... viii List of abbreviations ...... ix Statement of original authorship ...... x Acknowledgements ...... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Independent fashion: a problematic concept ...... 1 1.2 Research problem ...... 4 1.3 Research question ...... 5 1.4 Background to the study ...... 5 1.5 Structure of this research project ...... 19 Chapter 2: Literature review ...... 20 Chapter 3: Methodology ...... 48 3.1 Theoretical framework ...... 48 3.2 Methodology ...... 54 Chapter 4: Negotiating the creative and the commercial ...... 65 4.1 Preamble ...... 65 4.2 What is independent fashion? An Australian perspective ...... 67 4.3 Crafting symbolic value: art, craft and independent fashion ...... 94 Chapter 5: Speaking locally and communicating globally ...... 125 5.1 Preamble ...... 125 5.2 Reconciling the local and the global in the Brisbane independent fashion sector ...... 127 5.3 Communicating material characteristics in a digital age: three case studies in independent fashion ...... 154 Chapter 6: Amplifying personal meaning through networked communities 176 6.1 Preamble ...... 176 6.2 Jenny Kee and Flamingo Park: Independent fashion retailers as creative practitioners 178 6.3 Gendered entrepreneurialism and the labour of online consumption in the independent fashion sector ...... 200

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Chapter 7: Conclusion ...... 223 7.1 Research findings ...... 223 7.2 Application of findings to theory ...... 229 7.3 Summary of contributions of this project ...... 231 7.4 Limitations of this project ...... 232 7.5 Areas for future research ...... 233 7.6 Concluding remarks ...... 236 References ...... 239

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List of published and submitted papers

Published

Tuite, A. (2018) “Jenny Kee and Flamingo Park: Independent fashion retailers

as creative practitioners.” Fashion, Style & Popular Culture. 5 (2):167-

81.

Accepted, in press

Tuite, A. (forthcoming 2019) “What is independent fashion?” Fashion Practice.

Tuite, A. (forthcoming 2019) “Communicating material characteristics in a

digital age: three case studies in independent fashion.” Studies in

Communication Sciences.

Submitted, under review

Tuite, A. “Reconciling the local and the global in Brisbane’s independent fashion

sector”. Submitted. Australasian Journal of Popular Culture.

Tuite, A and Kathleen Horton. “Crafting symbolic value: Art, craft and

independent fashion.” Creative Industries Journal

Tuite, A. “The aesthetic labour of online consumption: a case study from the

independent fashion sector.” Fashion Theory

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List of figures

Figure 1: Jenny Kee knit and Linda Jackson outfit, modelled at Bondi Beach in Sydney, 1978...... 102

Figure 2: Jenny Kee wearing a Linda Jackson dress painted by friend and collaborator David McDiarmid, 1977...... 105

Figure 3: Easton Pearson at Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2009...... 109

Figure 4: Easton Pearson at Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, 2009...... 111

Figure 5: Gail Sorronda designs displayed in the Expanded Discrete States: Craft + Design exhibition at Artisan, Brisbane, 2018...... 117

Figure 6: 1950s cocktail dress by Gwen Gillam...... 137

Figure 7: Corner of Winn Lane and Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, 2018...... 144

Figure 8: TLC pop-up, Brisbane, 2017...... 150

Figure 9: Japanese objects on display in the TLC pop-up, Brisbane, 2017...... 151

vii

List of tables

Table 1: Research methods used in this research project...... 57

Table 2: Case studies selected for this research project……………………………………………….59

viii

List of abbreviations

AGNSW: Art Gallery of New South Wales

DIY: Do-it-yourself

GOMA: Gallery of Modern Art

NGV: National Gallery of Victoria

ix Statement of original authorship

The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made.

QUT Verified Signature

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my supervisory team for their guidance and support throughout the process of completing this degree. To Alice Payne, Kathleen Horton and Jennifer

Craik: thank you for your advice and encouragement and for providing a supportive and welcoming environment in which I could learn, experiment, question and grow as I progressed through the various stages of my degree. I would also like to thank

Kathleen Horton for her consistent and much-valued mentorship.

I am also grateful to the QUT fashion staff who facilitated or provided me with professional development opportunities during my degree, including Kathleen

Horton, Tiziana Ferrero-Regis, Lauren Solomon and Alice Payne. Thank you also to the members of my confirmation and final seminar panels for their helpful feedback.

I would also like to thank my colleagues and HDR peers for their friendship and encouragement, and everyone who participated in my research.

I would like to thank my family for their support. Completing a PhD is exciting, challenging and rewarding, but also sometimes very daunting. To my parents Michele and Graham: thank you for the many hours of babysitting, for your unwavering confidence in me and for always encouraging me in any venture I pursue. To Ben, James and Anna: thank you for supporting me and being alongside me each step of the way (and thank you James for those very long naps during my first year that allowed me to get some work done!).

My work on this thesis was partially funded by an Australian Postgraduate

Award. Professional editor Karin Hosking provided copyediting and proofreading services, according to the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed national

“Guidelines for editing research theses”.

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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 INDEPENDENT FASHION: A PROBLEMATIC CONCEPT

What does it mean to describe a fashion business – a designer, a label, a store – as independent? And how does one recognise it as such? Does the term relate to a business model, signifying a level of authentic creative freedom that can only be achieved without the financial involvement of other parties? Or does it refer to an ethos, perhaps emphasising highly creative designs, sustainable production or a strong engagement with broader cultural themes and issues?

Many fashion businesses are identified as independent, but the term is undefined and applied inconsistently in academic research and mainstream media discourse. A 2018 Vogue article described luxury labels Simone Rocha and Rodarte as “fiercely independent” and “women-led”, highlighting independence as both a virtue to be defended and as something relevant to consider within the context of broader social debates about gender equality (Hahn 2018). Luxury label Stella

McCartney was similarly described as “a rare independent in a rapidly consolidating market” when she purchased back from luxury conglomerate Kering the fifty per cent share of her label they had previously owned; independence in this instance is understood as a business structure that acts as a bold statement in defiance of the fashion industry’s dominant economic and industrial trends (Paton 2018a). However, other types of fashion businesses are described as independent too. An Australian

Harper’s Bazaar article described the controversial moment at an Australian fashion week event in 2017 when an “independent” designer crashed the show of Australian label Dion Lee to showcase his designs (Harding 2017); independence here is linked to rebelliousness as well as an early career stage.

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

In academic research, there is also a diversity of interpretations of

“independent fashion”. Aspers writes that independent fashion businesses are those that are privately owned (Aspers 2010). The term is often attached to small-scale businesses rather than medium to large enterprises (and indeed small-scale businesses are the focus of this research project) and the term is sometimes also used to describe emerging practitioners in the early stages of their careers (see for example

McRobbie 2016b). In terms of their characteristics, Leslie et al studied Toronto’s independent fashion sector and identified an emphasis by practitioners on quality, timeless designs, sustainability and ethical production (Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014).

However, an Australian fashion curator and historian writes that independent fashion operates at the intersection of “art, craft and fashion”, and provides an example of highly creative and experimental designers including Katie Pye and

MaterialByProduct (Whitfield 2010). Others have aligned independent fashion businesses with local cultural sectors and with local or national identities. This includes research in cultural geography highlighting the close and mutually beneficial relationships that form between local businesses (Crewe and Forster 1993) and an analysis of independent fashion businesses in Peru, which suggested (like

Whitfield’s observation of Australian designers in the 1970s) that their work was related to a desire to express local style identities (Cuba 2015). McRobbie also suggests that independent fashion businesses may take an oppositional stance against dominant mainstream businesses in efforts to either “circumvent” or “subvert” them

(McRobbie 2016b).

However, there is a lack of a definitive understanding of fashion’s mainstream that causes further confusion as to the meaning of independent fashion.

In popular discourse and news media, the mainstream usually describes the majority:

2 Chapter 1: Introduction

brands that are commonly visible in shopping centres and high streets; items that are mass produced; and styles that are widely worn by or readily accessible to a majority of the population (see for example Butler 2018b; Sender 2015). In academic discourse, mainstream usually describes the dominant model of commercially-driven fashion production, including rapid turnover of styles, globalised supply chains and high levels of consumption (Fletcher 2015; Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014; Whitfield

2010). However, several scholars suggest that the very idea of a mainstream with relation to cultural products – and hence independence from it – is misleading or inaccurate. Newman, writing about film, describes mainstream culture as mutable and argues that “mainstream” is as much a symbolically-driven construct as independent is (Newman 2011). Anderson argues that the perception of a mainstream is actually driven by the requirement for cultural products in the pre-digital era to occupy physical space: only the bestsellers would be stocked or shown as there was no room for books, CDs or films that didn’t generate significant income (Anderson

2008). Crewe et al argue that participants in alternative or independent cultures may overemphasise points of difference when talking about their work, leading researchers to misjudge the strength of symbolic boundaries between independent and mainstream (Crewe, Gregson, and Brooks 2003).

Nonetheless, when the term independent is applied to fashion, it is done so in a way that carries weight and implies meaning and purpose beyond a business structure. This implied meaning is the focus of this research project. A discussion of the concept is timely: independent cultures and the entrepreneurial practices that are embedded within them are increasingly visible and prominent in contemporary economic, political and social discourse (see for example Luckman 2015; Anderson

2012). This study is not about the economic aspects of operating an independent

Chapter 1: Introduction 3

fashion business, but rather the ways in which practitioners in the sector understand themselves to be cultural entrepreneurs, with independence as a central, unifying cultural value. As the concept of independence is most often applied to small-scale fashion businesses, they are the focus of this research project. This research project contributes a comprehensive examination of the concept of independent fashion as it is understood, demonstrated and judged by those who participate in the independent fashion sector.

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

Independent fashion is a widely-used, but undefined term. It is applied to many types of businesses operating at different market levels and with varying degrees of emphasis on business structure, aesthetic qualities and broader cultural and social engagement. There are many scholarly studies considering the processes and practices of small-scale independent fashion businesses. However, these studies take for granted the notion of “independence” in fashion. This risks under-examining the nuanced attitudes informing the production of fashion as a cultural object, and causes confusion regarding the way in which participants in the sector understand their relationship to the products they produce, sell and consume. This study therefore takes its cue from these studies (see for example Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014;

McRobbie 2013), but focuses specifically on analysing independent fashion as a concept and examining independent fashion as a cultural economy. McRobbie argues that independent fashion businesses – especially those that are closely tied to local communities, engage with social and cultural issues or emphasise craft as well as design – “have an important place in the fashion system” (McRobbie 2013). Calling attention to the way in which the individuals engaged in these types of businesses understand their independence, and how this is demonstrated and judged within the

4 Chapter 1: Introduction

sector, provides an opportunity to enrich current and future academic research on the nature of small-scale practice in the fashion industry.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

To address the problem of a lack of clarity around the term “independent fashion”, this research project asks: How is the concept of independent fashion understood, demonstrated and judged by those who identify as participants in the independent fashion sector?

1.4 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.4.1 Virtuous, virtual independence

The origins of this research project lie within posts shared by independent fashion businesses on the social media platform Instagram. I noticed that many of the businesses seemed to support each other and formed close-knit communities in which retailers, designers and consumers interconnected and intermingled as equals.

They linked to each other’s work, celebrated each other’s victories and wore each other’s designs. Many of the same names were popping up on posts by independent fashion businesses from around the world, and these communities did not appear to have geographic limitations (though some bonded over their geographic proximity).

These independent fashion businesses were also highly politically, socially and culturally engaged. They often shared the work of artists, designers, craftspeople, filmmakers and musicians and appeared to closely align themselves with these creative fields. They were confident in their assertions about social issues such as gender equality and were vocal in their responses to shifts in the political landscape.

The idea of independence was strong among these communities. Sometimes it was stated explicitly, but often it was implied through the written and visual content of their posts. For example, for some businesses it was important to highlight

Chapter 1: Introduction 5

the small scale of their businesses. They did this by featuring staff members in their posts, by noting that friends and family members worked with them or by using hashtags such as “#shopsmall”. Others highlighted their alignment with cultural movements including maker culture and craft culture, by using words such as

“makers”, “handmade” or “hand-sourced”. Sometimes, independence was expressed through references to issues occurring elsewhere in the fashion industry. For instance, one American designer shared an image of a staff member sitting in the label’s California studio and wrote: “the finest sweatshop in the West. Bangladesh what!? We make it in California baby!” (Jesse Kamm 2015). This reference to the mass production of garments in developing nations and particularly Bangladesh, where the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 had highlighted issues related to garment production, makes it clear that the label stands in opposition to those practices. In all, the tone in posts shared within these networked communities was celebratory – triumphant, even – and joyously defiant. There was a strong sense that the individuals involved in these businesses (including their consumers) had a close personal attachment to them and that they felt these businesses performed some higher purpose than simply the provision of goods. The communities were vibrant, active, engaged and dynamic and appeared to embody the possibilities of technology-driven contemporary creative industries labour.

1.4.2 Optimistic voices versus economic realities However, the rhetoric generated within these communities stands in sharp contrast to the turmoil occurring in the broader fashion industry. The Australian fashion industry, for example, has been described as tumultuous and trending down (Craik

2015). Many international retailers, including fast fashion brands such as H&M and

Zara, have opened stores in Australia in the last decade and it has become

6 Chapter 1: Introduction

increasingly important for even high-profile “veteran” designers to use innovative commercial tactics to make their businesses financially viable (Stilinovic 2018). In

Australia, many high-profile businesses have closed or been placed in administration in the last ten years, including iconic Brisbane-based label Easton Pearson (in 2016), well-known mass-market labels David Lawrence and Marcs (in 2017) and accessories label Sambag (in 2018). A number of large, international brands have also been forced to close stores, including Esprit, Forever 21 and Topshop.

Commentators have observed similar issues in international markets, including the

United States (see for example Sherman 2018a) and the United Kingdom, where it was observed that retail outlets were closing on British high streets at a rate of 16 stores a day (Butler 2018a).

In the last twenty years, widespread changes have occurred in the fashion media landscape, too. In the 1990s, a new breed of “niche” fashion magazines emerged that threatened the authority of traditional fashion media publications such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar (Lynge-Jorlén 2012). Later, as digital technology continued to grow in influence, fashion bloggers – liberated from the pressures of traditional editorial practices and offering free content – continued to place pressure on these publications. Print magazine circulation has declined and it has been argued that social media sites such as Instagram have “killed” print fashion magazines, reducing their authority and drawing advertising dollars away (Sherman 2018b).

Public disagreements such as that sparked by an article by several US Vogue editors

(Singer et al. 2016) criticising the practices of fashion bloggers at Milan fashion week have highlighted the ongoing tensions related to the significant shifts occurring in this field.

Chapter 1: Introduction 7

1.4.3 Consistently small scale, but newly high profile?

The optimistic and defiant discourse amongst independent fashion practitioners struck me as particularly interesting when set against the backdrop of this tumult.

They didn’t seem to be unaware of issues in the broader industry, nor immune to them – many businesses announced their closure as I monitored independent fashion business accounts in the course of this research – but continued their work with passion nonetheless. They were driven not by commercial priorities, but by cultural ones: they wanted to produce, promote and consume fashion that they believed in and had a personal attachment to, and they wanted to build and participate in businesses that were socially, politically and culturally engaged.

Notably, that they were doing this on Instagram amplified their voices to an extent that it may have been misleading. It has been argued that it is essential for fashion brands to have an online presence, and consumers have come to expect high levels of brand visibility online (Craik 2015). In the contemporary fashion industry, businesses such as luxury online retailer Farfetch are highly visible and influential.

Farfetch is an online shopping platform that aggregates content from multiple brands and boutiques around the world (and has partnerships with luxury firms including

Chanel). The business was recently valued at over $5 billion following its initial public offering (White and Fares 2018). Online retail platform Garmentory offers a similar model (though on a different scale) for independent brands and boutiques.

Garmentory’s website describes the business as “a curated marketplace of indie boutiques”, noting: “sometimes the packages you get are wrapped and packed by the person who made it. Sometimes they've been packaged by the person who flew to

Paris to find it” ("Our story" n.d.). The website sources its product listings from over

500 stores in the United States and Canada, and products are shipped globally. There

8 Chapter 1: Introduction

seemed to be real economic impact and value attributed to independent fashion when channelled through these large businesses: but what did that mean for small businesses and their entrepreneurial practices?

Some of the independent fashion business I was observing on Instagram had tens of thousands of followers, but most of them were microbusinesses, often employing only one or two people. Some were in large cities such as Melbourne or

Los Angeles or New York City, but others were located in regional areas such as

Byron Bay. Their online presence was strong, often competing with mass-market labels in terms of reach and audience numbers, but in practical terms they were operating on a vastly different scale. Furthermore, it would be tempting to assume, given the strength with which their voices are heard online, that independent fashion businesses are increasingly popular and gaining traction in a challenging and competitive market. However, as I observed exchanges within their communities, I wondered if this truly was a new phenomenon, driven by social media and technology, or if it was instead a newly amplified version of what had gone before.

Though the term “independent” is infused presently with counter-cultural or non-mainstream meaning, it is not a new invention. Many small fashion businesses in the past have been independent, but would not necessarily have described themselves as such. I wondered if these historical businesses shared similar attitudes towards mainstream fashion products and systems, or if an emphasis on these factors reflected a contemporary evolution of what it meant to be an independent fashion business, and perhaps was a response to issues related to the contemporary fashion industry. There are many small businesses in the fashion industry, but not all share a preoccupation with independence as one of their primary cultural values as the businesses I had observed did.

Chapter 1: Introduction 9

The concept of a mainstream itself is a slippery one, which further complicates any understanding of businesses that may position themselves in opposition to it. Historical examples of small-scale fashion businesses include small boutiques that emphasised superior customer service or newer styles, businesses such as Biba that introduced innovative business models and exciting new aesthetics, and

Australian designers such as Linda Jackson and Jenny Kee, who wanted to move away from what they saw as the homogenised style of mainstream fashion.

Additionally, as independent fashion businesses work to distance themselves from any perceived mainstream by introducing new designs, trends, business models or production practices, the mainstream moves closer, adopting trends set within the independent fashion sector and marketing them for a wider audience. This begs the question: how is independent fashion recognised as such? For example, in the

Instagram communities I observed, how did a new entrant gain credibility for their

“independence”? Was it through recognition of the products they sold? Through the content of their posts? Or was it because others within the community, who were already trusted sources of information, had acknowledged them? In short, what marked one business as independent and another as mainstream?

1.4.4 Independent cultural production This question of what it means to be independent has not been widely considered in fashion studies, but a substantial body of research exists in music and film that explores the nuanced meaning of independence in the creation of cultural products in those fields, including shifting relationships between independent cultures and the

“mainstream”.

Bourdieu’s work on cultural fields has provided a foundation for many scholars in this area. He suggests that cultural fields can fall into two broad

10 Chapter 1: Introduction

categories depending on whether they prioritise the symbolic or economic properties of goods more highly: the field of large-scale production emphasises the economic over the symbolic; and the field of restricted production emphasises the symbolic over the economic (Bourdieu 1985). He notes that an individual wishing to establish themselves within a field of restricted production “should keep clear of the suspicion that they submit to external demands”, lest they appear inauthentic and as though economic priorities have overtaken symbolic ones (Bourdieu 1985, 13). Bourdieu suggests that in these fields products are developed for a narrow audience of consumers who are also most likely peers and fellow cultural producers, rather than for what might be termed the general public; by contrast, the field of large-scale production produces goods more commonly for those who are not producers in the field and therefore also unlikely to be peers.

Boundaries between independent and mainstream cultural production could be described as symbolic. Symbolic boundaries are defined as divisions separating groups or objects from others; the term may be applied to a variety of situations including gender divisions in the workplace or the classification of cultural products

(for example, “rock” music as compared with “pop” music) (Lamont, Pendergrass, and Pachuki 2015). These divisions may be determined or understood through what

Becker might term “conventions” (Becker 2008), or established, typical ways of doing things in a particular field. DiMaggio has argued that these systems of classification involve consumers as well as producers of culture and are the result of a complex network of social interactions that relate to ways in which individuals and institutions wish to position themselves in relation to others (DiMaggio 1987). These classifications may be described as genres, as is common in fields such as music, film and art; DiMaggio defines a genre as a cluster of cultural products (he is writing

Chapter 1: Introduction 11

specifically about art) grouped together based on their perceived similarities

(DiMaggio 1987, 441). Van Venrooij and Schmutz suggest that in independent cultural fields (which they refer to by use of Bourdieu’s term “fields of restricted production” (Bourdieu 1985)), classification systems are less strongly defined and they propose that this may be because these fields encourage innovation and creativity and are less influenced by the classification systems of corporate institutions (Van Venrooij and Schmutz 2015). They further suggest that in independent cultural fields, consumers are more likely be educated in the various

“codes” of the field and are therefore better able to negotiate and even encourage artistic innovation across genres (Van Venrooij and Schmutz 2015).

Some scholars have highlighted industrial aspects of independent cultural production and have noted the way in which this type of cultural production developed as a protest against hegemonic systems of production, distribution and access. For instance, Hesmondhalgh writes that independent music developed from the post-punk era of 1980s, when entrepreneurs – identified as often being musicians or record store owners – developed their own record labels in order to assure the creative autonomy of artists while also providing a necessary distribution network for them (Hesmondhalgh 1999). This politicised version of independent music actively opposed the dominance of the mainstream industry and worked to correct its perceived ills, including a lack of access for artists to production and distribution facilities. Research in film has similarly suggested that (although independent film production had existed since the early 20th century (King 2005)) independent film culture emerged most prominently in the 1980s when independent production companies and studios (and supporting institutions such as the Sundance Film

Festival) emerged to provide an increasingly visible and industrially viable

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alternative to the dominant studios. When films such as Steven Soderbergh’s sex, lies and videotape (1989) achieved mainstream success, it attracted important infrastructure that supported independent filmmaking in a more stable form than had previously been possible in the industry (Newman 2011; King 2005).

Research on independent cultural production has further drawn attention to connections between creative autonomy and commerce, and has considered a correlation between the two. In general, it is suggested that independent cultures produce work that is more creative than mainstream cultural products. Hibbett, writing about rock music, notes that some have suggested that an artist’s best work is produced during their “indie” period, suggesting a decline in the quality and creativity of work produced once mainstream success is achieved or once signed to a major label (Hibbett 2005). In her study of independent film, Ortner suggests that the content of films in this category is often edgier and darker and offers a cultural critique of both Hollywood and broader social and cultural issues (Ortner 2012,

2013). In independent cultural fields, challenging and highly creative content is celebrated and achieving mainstream success can be perceived as “selling out”; it jars with the prioritisation in these fields of the symbolic over the economic.

However, it can be challenging to judge the “independence” or social and cultural engagement of a product and its producers based on commercial visibility.

Tzioumakis, for instance, points out the wild variations in budgets that can exist in filmmaking and highlights the presence today of what he terms “indiewood” films

(such as those by American filmmaker Wes Anderson) that are produced by independent studios or artists associated with independent film culture, but have high budgets and reach large, global audiences (Tzioumakis 2016).

Chapter 1: Introduction 13

Research on independent cultural production emphasises another prominent aspect, which is the presence of an engaged and knowledgeable audience of consumers. Bourdieu suggests that fields of restricted production require “institutions which ensure the production of competent consumers” who can interpret and identify the symbolic values attached to cultural products (Bourdieu 1985, 23). Hibbett argues similarly that indie rock, the genre on which his study focuses, is “a malleable space filled by discourse and power, whose meaning is always under construction by various agents (bands, listeners, labels, critics, etc.)” (Hibbett 2005, 58). Consumers are active and vocal contributors in fields of independent cultural production.

Fonarow argues that there is a strong participatory aspect to independent music cultures, where participants – both producers and consumers – demonstrate their belonging through embodied attributes such as dress as well as through their knowledge of the genre, its history, its members and its codes (Fonarow 2006).

Newman has argued that consumers are an essential part of the system that supports independent filmmaking and that the ways in which viewers engage with independent films are what makes the culture cohesive (Newman 2011). However,

Ortner notes that “the audience” is sometimes referred to with disdain by filmmakers, standing as a metaphor for mainstream culture in general (Ortner 2012). This recalls

Newman’s observation that independent film culture separates the audience into those who “get it” and those who do not, reinforcing a hierarchical “taste culture” that exists in contrast to the perceived role of independent cultures in democratising access to the production and consumption of cultural products (Newman 2011).

1.4.5 The mainstreaming of cultural entrepreneurship

Independent cultures and the products they produce are experiencing newfound prominence in post-industrial economies. It was noted above that although these

14 Chapter 1: Introduction

kinds of businesses may be newly prominent, or may be experiencing more widespread attention, it cannot be assumed that they are vastly different to those that went before them in terms of their practices and priorities. However, it is nonetheless true that topics such as entrepreneurialism, self-employment and creativity are prominent in mainstream media, social and political discourse and are giving a sense of currency and urgency to businesses operating within independent cultures of production (see for example Naudin 2017; Henry 2007). Additionally, it has been suggested that business models increasingly need to be geared towards personalisation and customisation as the marketplace moves away from the concept of a “mass market” and towards many smaller markets centred on personal interests; from a Fordist model (mass production typified by the quote often attributed to automobile manufacturer Henry Ford that customers could have any colour they liked as long as it was black) to a post-Fordist model emphasising flexible, smaller- scale manufacturing (see for example Luckman 2015; Anderson 2012). This type of economic model is often linked with neoliberalism, in which labour is characterised by independently-driven employment, reflexivity and “an extension of market principles into all areas of life” (Elias, Gill, and Scharff 2017)

McRobbie has written extensively about the risks associated with this type of employment model, especially for women. In the late 1990s she highlighted the unsustainable business practices of young fashion designers, criticising both educational foundations in art schools that deemphasise practical skill, and cultural industry norms that establish financial instability as commensurate with working in that field (1998). She has also noted that this kind of work, with its irregular hours, infrequent income and multiple contract-based or short-term jobs, alienates participants based on age, gender and family status (for example, if they are the

Chapter 1: Introduction 15

carers of young children) (McRobbie 2016a). In New Zealand though, Molloy and

Larner actually found benefits in the kind of business model McRobbie criticises.

They view the flexibility of cultural industries in a positive light, writing that this kind of model offers women in particular an opportunity to develop work that suits the needs of their lifestyles (Molloy and Larner 2013). Neff et al also found that positive aspects existed for cultural industry workers, but noted that employees are faced with a compromise between the benefits they offer and the economic instability they assume upon entering creative fields (Neff, Wissinger, and Zukin

2005). They found that workers traded employment benefits such as stability and health care for roles that provided higher levels of creativity and flexibility in spite of less desirable traits such as high levels of unpaid work, fluctuating employment and start-up costs for contractors (Neff, Wissinger, and Zukin 2005). Notably, McRobbie argues that fashion retailers and associated staff (and not only designers) can be considered cultural workers, and expresses a hope that fashion retail employees may

“recognise themselves to have more in common with other workers in the fashion industry than with those employed in selling food or furniture or whatever” (1997,

87).

Neff et al make reference to the importance of geography and networks in their study of cultural industry workers in new media and fashion modelling; for both occupations, operating within a hub such as New York City was found to be essential

(Neff, Wissinger, and Zukin 2005). Bovone affirms this perspective in her research, and found that some independent retailers actively pursue and nurture cultural networks (2005, 372). She identified a group of entrepreneurs pursuing culturally- oriented enterprises that created a network of symbolically meaningful places within

Milan; these included “articulator-entrepreneurs” who are “usually particularly aware

16 Chapter 1: Introduction

of being an essential link between elite/niche culture and mass culture” (2006).

Bovone’s research into fashion consumption in Milanese subcultures also found that consumers not only seek out these values in the businesses of independent fashion retailers, but also engage in a form of “identity transfer” with them (2006, 377). This is potentially an area in which independent fashion retailers offer a markedly different facilitation of consumption than their peers (for example, department stores or fast fashion retailers).

Networks were also identified as being important for small independent retailers by Crewe and Forster in their study of the Nottingham Lace Market (1993).

In this location they found what they described as "the recentring of place in retail provision", noting the importance of alliances between like-minded businesses for these retailers in order to achieve mutual ongoing success (Crewe and Forster 1993,

227). Interestingly, these scholars draw mostly on physical and geographic networks in their research and Florida in particular has worked to remind us that modern technological advances have not negated the power and influence of geography

(Florida 2003). However, technology – the kind that united the independent fashion businesses I had observed interacting and posting on Instagram – appears to be facilitating a different kind of network unfettered by spatial considerations.

1.4.6 Gendered cultural labour

As a sector within “an almost wholly feminised industry” (McRobbie 1997, 84) and possessing “a preponderance of women” (Larner and Molloy 2010, 362), fashion is an area in which gendered issues around employment and entrepreneurial opportunity can be observed. For example, in Australia, women’s clothing represents around half of clothing sold each year, with men’s clothing representing around 20 per cent and the rest of the market comprised of children’s clothing and accessories

Chapter 1: Introduction 17

(Magnar 2017). The fashion retail industry has historically been heavily divided according to gender, with senior and skilled work being undertaken by men and unskilled, low-paid work being the domain of women who often worked from home or in poor working conditions (van Acker and Craik 1997, 23). The retail industry is still populated by a large percentage of women and remains characterised by a largely unskilled labour force and part-time and casual employment (Productivity

Commission 2011, 375).

Molloy and Larner’s study of the New Zealand fashion industry highlights its gendered nature and finds that various peculiarities within it – for example, an apparent unwillingness or inability for New Zealand fashion designers to internationalise their businesses – are actually often explained by gender-specific desires possessed by participants within this network (Molloy and Larner 2013).

Where some scholars, notably McRobbie, have expressed concern over the lack of secure and stable employment in the industry for its largely female workforce,

Molloy and Larner take a positive view of the issue, suggesting that by “remaining small [female business owners] can continue to live and work from New Zealand and combine their business with other passions and activities (including their partners and children)” (Molloy and Larner 2013, 155).

As such, the complexity of both contemporary work practices and gendered issues related to them are disproportionately experienced within the fashion industry and particularly in the independent fashion sector, where small businesses are predominant. Indeed, to return to the Instagram communities that initially sparked my interest in this research topic, all of the business owners and designers (and the vast majority of consumers) participating in liking, sharing and commenting on each other’s clothing were women. They are women who are interested in broader social

18 Chapter 1: Introduction

and cultural issues, and who want to engage with fashion, but in a way that they perceive to be distinct from what is offered by mainstream fashion brands. They interact with other like-minded women – whether in fashion or other creative fields – and support each other’s work. However, this support is reserved for those whom they perceive to be “independent” and not “mainstream”. Just what the concept of independent fashion refers to – including how it is recognised and why it is so important to those who would align themselves with it – is the subject of this research project.

1.5 STRUCTURE OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT

The format of this research project is “thesis by published papers”. The project is comprised of six journal articles produced to address the central research question:

How is the concept of independent fashion understood, demonstrated and judged by those who identify as participants in the independent fashion sector? Each chapter comprises two journal articles and also includes a preamble that situates the content within the broader context of the aims of this project.

The following chapter provides a literature review and is followed by an overview of the theoretical framework and methodology used in this research project. Next, three chapters (each comprising two journal articles) are presented.

These chapters are followed by a conclusion chapter summarising the findings of the research project.

Chapter 1: Introduction 19

Chapter 2: Literature review

The following sections provide an overview of the structure of the fashion industry before considering ways in which the independent fashion businesses operating within it have been examined in academic research. Next, two significant shifts to which the industry has been adjusting are examined: globalisation and technology.

Finally, drawing on the issues emerging in this section, cultural entrepreneurship is discussed, including its gendered aspects.

As discussed in the previous chapter, this research examines independent fashion as a cultural economy, with a focus on “independence” as its unifying cultural value. As such, while aspects of issues related to cultural entrepreneurship and employment within the creative industries are discussed in this section, issues related to entrepreneurial practices or entrepreneurship from a financial, business or marketing perspective are not included.

2.1.1 Interconnected networks: the structure of the fashion industry The fashion industry is vast, operating globally and employing 25 million people worldwide (Fletcher 2015). Fashion as a product has industrial, economic and cultural aspects (Entwistle 2015) and the industry is comprised of a series of value chains operating as “interconnected networks” that contribute to the development and communication of fashion (French et al. 2004, 56). French et al describe these as networks of “creativity, reproduction, distribution and consumption” and note that an examination of how they interact can reveal much about geographic, historical and temporal aspects of the fashion industry (French et al. 2004, 56). In addition to being comprised of various interconnected and overlapping networks, the industry is also segmented according to market levels. This is often understood in terms of quality, as

20 Chapter 2: Literature review

French et al suggest, incorporating haute couture, ready-to-wear and mass-market clothing (French et al. 2004).

Arnold describes this process of the attribution of material and symbolic elements to fashion as both a literal and metaphorical transformation (Arnold 2009).

Aspers identifies a number of markets, and the actors within them, that interconnect in order to produce fashion (Aspers 2010, 2006). He describes actors such as suppliers, manufacturers and retailers as well as markets employing those who produce what he describes as the symbolic value of fashion, including design schools, fashion week events and media. Entwistle similarly notes that the fashion system is produced through the intersections of “various agents, institutions and practices” that contribute to fashion’s production within the value chains described above (Entwistle 2015, 188). She suggests that these interactions needs to be examined “in terms of their temporal and spatial relations to one another”, because time has a varying impact on the different areas of the industry and because spaces are crucial sites through which the social interactions that form markets are enacted

(Entwistle 2015, 190).

Entwistle highlights several key issues that have characterised and shaped the industry historically and remain prominent in the industry today. These are: the exploitation of garment workers; the gendered nature of garment industry work and the industry’s reinforcement of social gender divisions; and the significant shifts caused by the introduction of new technology, from the sewing machine to contemporary communication technologies. Callon et al have argued that markets adapt over time as participants within them seek new and better ways of organising themselves (Callon, Meadel, and Rabeharisoa 2004). In the fashion industry, it has been shown that although fashion is consistently produced by networked actors,

Chapter 2: Literature review 21

institutions and markets, the broader industrial shifts (in addition to inherently unstable fashion trends) and the way in which networked participants organise themselves are subject to temporal and spatial variation.

2.1.2 Small-scale fashion production

The network structures underpinning the fashion industry, as identified above, apply to all businesses that operate within it, from large luxury houses and mass-market retailers to small-scale practitioners who often work alone or employ only one or two other people. These businesses are sometimes described as independent, though the concept is more often implied rather than explicitly used. The term independent fashion is sometimes applied to other businesses too: for instance, in popular discourse, high-profile global luxury labels such as Stella McCartney (Paton 2018a) are described as independent, but so are emerging Australian designers operating mostly at a local level (Waterhouse 2018). Discussing the fashion value chain,

French et al suggest that independent designers are often “recent graduates” who attempt to “go it alone”, giving the impression that independent fashion is linked to a career stage and a business structure (French et al. 2004, 56). They contrast this type of fashion business with larger ones (such as conglomerates including LVMH), describing the fashion industry as “bipolar” in its complexity and diversity (French et al. 2004).

McRobbie has extensively explored independent fashion practice in her work.

She describes independent labels as “own brand” labels or “micro-enterprises”

(McRobbie 2016b) and positions these types of businesses as entrepreneurial efforts to develop small businesses in a competitive industrial and economic environment.

She goes on to add that these businesses “to an extent circumvent or even subvert … domination by the major fashion houses” (McRobbie 2016b). McRobbie had

22 Chapter 2: Literature review

previously provided some examples of precursors to contemporary independent fashion practitioners, including Mary Quant, Biba and Vivienne Westwood in the earlier stages of her career (McRobbie 2002). She links particularly the independent fashion businesses of the 1970s to punk and DIY culture, noting that this gave way in the mid-1980s to a new generation of young designers with art school training who sought to set up their own labels. This suggests that the nature of independent fashion and its relationship to major fashion houses (as McRobbie expresses it) may shift over time, something that is not yet well understood.

There are many studies of independent fashion production that consider the practices of those who participate in the independent fashion sector, but these tend to take the notion of independence as an assumed quality that is quickly moved past in order to discuss other aspects. Like other widely used but ill-defined fashion terms such as “sustainable” (Thomas 2008) or “vintage” (Downing Peters 2014a), independent fashion as a concept has not been directly interrogated in academic research. Leslie et al studied Toronto’s independent fashion sector and described its characteristics (identifying an emphasis by practitioners on quality, timeless designs, sustainability and ethical production), but did not challenge the concept of independence in fashion in the way that it has been challenged in other cultural fields such as music or film (Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014). An Australian fashion curator and historian writes that independent fashion lies at the intersection of “art, craft and fashion”, but does not unpick any further the layers of complexity involved in the usage of those terms (Whitfield 2010). Additionally, not all independent fashion practitioners produce clothing as highly experimental as the designers Whitfield refers to; Leslie et al’s study in fact suggests the opposite. Others have aligned independent fashion businesses with local cultural sectors and with local or national

Chapter 2: Literature review 23

identities. This includes research in cultural geography highlighting the close and mutually beneficial relationships that form between local businesses (Crewe and

Forster 1993) and an analysis of independent fashion businesses in Peru, which suggested (like Whitfield’s observation of Australian designers in the 1970s) that their work was related to a desire to express local style identities (Cuba 2015). In fact, research that explicitly identifies small fashion businesses as “independent” consistently overlooks the question of what independence represents to those who participate in the sector, and the prominence of a concern with independence as a unifying symbolic value in the sector.

In some ways, it is easier to describe fashion business that are not independent. Chain stores and fast fashion retailers could fairly reliably be described as such. They are large, multi-national companies with complex business models and supply chains and multiple physical outlets, from dozens in the case of department stores to thousands in the case of a retailer such as Zara. Sometimes though, businesses one might describe as independent have stores in multiple locations, or may be stocked in leading department stores around the world. At what point would they no longer qualify as independent? Furthermore, sometimes chain stores and department stores exhibit characteristics common in the independent fashion sector.

Scholars have identified a history of mainstream businesses adopting counter-cultural aesthetics or practices and co-opting them for their own commercial purposes

(McGuigan 2009; Thomas 1997). In the fashion industry this may take the form of adopting aesthetic trends established by independent brands, collaborating with artists and designers, undertaking initiatives that engage with broader cultural and social issues (H&M’s recycling program, for example), or developing creative in- store displays with students or local artists. Research in sociology has suggested that

24 Chapter 2: Literature review

the most innovative and creative ideas occur at the “edges” of networks, or near

“structural holes”, because individuals in those areas are more likely to be active across multiple creative fields and are therefore more innovative; these individuals feed new ideas into other areas of the network (Burt 2004; Uzzi and Spiro 2005). In the fashion industry, independent fashion sector participants could be said to perform this function, recalling Whitfield’s suggestion that they produce highly creative and innovative work (Whitfield 2010).

The term “independent fashion” appears to have both material and symbolic aspects and like other fields of independent cultural production, the term refers to both cultural products and the system that supports them (Newman 2011). Research in other cultural fields has suggested that independent businesses tend to be associated with cultural values such as authenticity, diversity, trust and a high degree of personal interaction (Newman 2009; Fonarow 2006; Dolan 2010). For example, in film, independence is associated with production and distribution that occurs outside of the established system, and may also refer to content that is “edgier” than that seen in mainstream productions (Ortner 2012). Newman notes that the concept of independence is relationally established by the field’s participants, including consumers, and suggests that independent film exists paradoxically as both an outsider culture and an elitist “taste culture” producing films for a knowledgeable few (2011). In music, the meaning of independence is generally considered to have evolved from denoting existence outside the mainstream distribution system, to politically engaged songs that critiqued mainstream culture to become a genre of music in itself (Hibbett 2005; Hesmondhalgh 1999). In both music and film, independence is usually closely linked with a business model that facilitates creative freedom. This appears to be more closely related to demonstrating authenticity and

Chapter 2: Literature review 25

the direct involvement of creative professionals (musicians, directors, actors), than to the specifics of business arrangements, which are often difficult to determine. In the field of fashion studies there has been limited consideration of the concept of independence in cultural production, and specifically what it means to those who practice it.

In terms of a mainstream-independent boundary, several scholars and authors urge caution. Anderson’s work on maker culture and the “long tail” economy suggests that the concept of a mainstream is misleading (Anderson 2012, 2008). He proposes that perceived mainstream tastes may not accurately reflect what consumers desire, but were instead defined by a risk-averse production and distribution system that prioritized cultural products anticipated to sell in high numbers (Anderson

2008). Hibbett also suggests this in his study of indie rock, noting that participants in this field may be far greater in number, and far more embedded in the “mainstream” than they may realise (Hibbett 2005). Crewe et al warn that participants in independent cultural fields (she uses the term “alternative”) tend to use “celebratory” language to describe their work and as a result may overemphasise points of difference (Crewe, Gregson, and Brooks 2003). Nonetheless, examining the symbolic boundaries that separate independent from mainstream can reveal much about both the independent culture and the dominant system against which it positions itself, and offers insight into the priorities and practices of a sector that is increasingly visible, but whose vision of itself remains largely unexamined.

2.1.3 Local businesses in a global industry One of the shifts Entwistle (2015) has identified as having historical and contemporary significance for the fashion industry is related to globalisation. The relationship between the local and global is topical, and a 2018 issue of the Fashion

26 Chapter 2: Literature review

Practice journal was dedicated to exploring localism including the possibilities for and implications of a shift away from the dominant globalised system in which low cost products are produced in large volumes and shipped around the world at high speed (Fletcher and Grimstad Klepp 2018).

While tension between local and national or even global fashion has been shown to have historical relevance (Taylor 2018) and globalisation in fact has occurred since trade began (Arnold 2009), globalisation is today associated with the kinds of industry practices described above. In the late twentieth century, globally influential mass-market brands emerged including Zara and H&M and these businesses reflect global economic and industrial shifts that have led to the off- shoring of garment manufacturing and a highly competitive retail environment. As fashion brands have searched for cheaper garment manufacturing in order to remain competitive within this environment, lower costs have often been found at the expense of garment workers who may be poorly treated, underpaid or work in unsuitable health and safety conditions (Fletcher 2015).

Some consumers with an interest in ethically produced and environmentally sustainable fashion now demand transparency and best practice from designers and retailers, and this is particularly relevant given the close and immediate nature of the relationship between consumers and producers of fashion through social media.

Tseëlon refers to this as an increasingly “flat” mode of interaction between businesses and their consumers (Tseëlon 2011). For example, Melbourne-based fashion brand Gorman was targeted in 2016 by consumers concerned about its manufacturing practices when its parent company was awarded an “F” grade by

Baptist World Aid’s 2016 Fashion Report (Nimbalker, Mawson, and Harris 2016).

Consumers criticised the brand on social media outlets, and these comments were

Chapter 2: Literature review 27

subsequently reported on in mainstream news media (Singer 2016). Research has demonstrated that some fashion brands are slowly working to address consumer concerns about sustainability and ethical issues in the industry. Payne found, for instance, that large Australian brands such as Country Road or Billabong were willing to adopt sustainability-related initiatives, as long as those initiatives supported their brand stories (2014). For independent fashion brands, increased consumer awareness of issues regarding environmental and ethical issues in the manufacturing supply chain provides them with an opportunity to celebrate their own smaller, often more transparent supply chains (Crewe 2017).

Arnold writes that the rapid and energetic spread of mass-market labels around the world (which may occur through physical stores, but is aided by technology) has also resulted in increased homogeneity in major shopping districts as many high streets are occupied by the same mass-market brands offering the same trend-driven fashions. These brands have also blurred the lines between luxury and mass-market segments of the industry, particularly through their collaborations with luxury labels (Arnold 2009). Arnold also notes that some brands developed into large conglomerates and were joined by large luxury-focused online retailers (such as Net- a-Porter) in offering their products to a global consumer base. Such is the pace of concentration in the fashion industry that some commentators have asked if independent labels, in the luxury market at least, are to become a thing of the past

(Friedman 2018).

However, other commentators have suggested that traditional retail practice is no longer a viable model, highlighting the many closures and restructures occurring in the fashion retailing sector in the United States. In some instances the power of small, independent labels is proffered as a hopeful alternative: these labels, it is

28 Chapter 2: Literature review

noted, have a distinctive look and cater to niche audiences on a small scale, with product lines regularly selling out (Sherman 2017, 2018a). In this way, independent fashion is suggested as a solution to some of the ills that are seen to plague the greater industry, including issues related to rapid turnover of styles, lack of consistency or clarity in creative leadership, unethical supply chains and disconnection from consumers.

Research into local fashion businesses operating within the global fashion system has identified both challenges and opportunities for local operators. On the one hand, the fashion system is polycentric and New York, Paris, London and Milan continue to be the dominant fashion cities (Skov 2011). It has been suggested that designers in global cities receive many advantages over those elsewhere: they have access to a deeply embedded network of educational institutions, commercial media, industry organisations, manufacturers, retailers and “complementary” cultural institutions that play an essential role in their commercial and creative success

(Rantisi 2004). It has also been suggested that local fashion designers may struggle to establish or engage with local fashion identities. For instance, Craik argues that

Australian national style identity is a “vexed arena” through which unresolved national debates about cultural identity are explored (Craik 2009, 437). Palmer writes that the concept of a Canadian national style identity has been problematic and that

Canadian fashion designers are often expected to achieve a balance between conveying a sense of Canadian identity and simultaneously avoiding being “too provincial” (Palmer 2004, 9). Melchior notes that even in nations such as Denmark or Sweden, which are strongly identified with distinctive design styles, distinctive fashion identities remains a less clear-cut consideration, (although she also argues

Chapter 2: Literature review 29

that there remains potential for local fashion industries to enter the global stage through their fashion industries) (Melchior 2011).

On the other hand, it has been suggested that fashion businesses have place- making abilities: they can contribute to developing a sense of place and local character and in fostering attachment to specific places and neighbourhoods (Skov

2011; Bovone 2005; Crewe 1996). Local industries can thrive and make significant economic and cultural contributions including in smaller nations such as New

Zealand (Molloy and Larner 2013). For these businesses, success is measured against the intentions of the business owner and not against levels of international success

(Molloy and Larner 2013). Furthermore, some research has identified that local fashion businesses can become deeply embedded in local cultural scenes, making cultural contributions to the cities in which they operate. For instance, a study of

Toronto’s independent fashion sector found that designers often knew each other and formed mutually beneficial relationships with each other and with local suppliers

(Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014); a study of close relationships between local musicians and local independent fashion businesses in Stockholm and Toronto also found that the two cultural fields found opportunities for creative and commercial advancement through collaboration (Hauge and Hracs 2010).

It has also been suggested that there are performative aspects to participating in independent cultures. For instance, Zukin notes in her study of authenticity and consumption that for those seeking authenticity and the kind of consumption spaces that align with their personal cultural values, local creative and cultural spaces provide places in which they can “perform their difference” (Zukin 2008, 730).

Zukin suggests that people interested in these cultures spent time in stores, galleries and cafes to interact, be seen and showcase their own set of values to like-minded

30 Chapter 2: Literature review

individuals. Johnson’s examination of consumption communities also suggests that there is a performative aspect to community belonging (Johnson 2013). Participants in her study of farmer’s markets performed their cultural values by shopping at this alternative retail place, demonstrating their difference from mainstream consumption values. She noted that the community that forms at the farmer's market is both bounded by the geographic specificities of place, but connected in the space of shared values and ideals. Florida’s work has explored the relationships between place and creativity and suggests that aspects of place play a critical role in developing creative cities and helping them to retain creative people (Florida 2002) (though there are often negative social impacts too (Florida 2017)). Further, he notes that places for the consumption of culture are central to allowing people to develop an attachment to the place in which they live, and that they act as “third places”

(somewhere that is not home, and not the workplace) where people can meet and engage with the communities around them in a place that feels like their own

(Florida 2012; Oldenburg and Brissett 1982). Further research is needed in order to consider how independent fashion businesses may facilitate some of these performative aspects of participating in independent cultures, and additionally how this may occur in an online context as well as in a geographic one.

Bovone studied a group of entrepreneurs pursuing culturally-oriented enterprises in Milan and noted that they strongly contributed to the cultural character of the neighbourhoods in which they operated, in addition to reviving former industrial precincts and attracting economic, social and cultural benefits to the area

(Bovone 2005). She also noted that these businesses, though locally embedded, exported their products globally, often drawing on the cachet associated with place

(in this case, “Made in Italy”) to support their work. Additionally, Bovone observed

Chapter 2: Literature review 31

that the proprietors of these businesses were consumers as well as producers, developing and participating in a complex network of social and economic relations.

This finding is supported by other research on cultural production, including Zukin’s studies of gentrification in neighbourhoods in New York and Amsterdam, which also observed close-knit networks of producer-consumers engaging with one another through their work (Zukin 2012, 2008). In addition, Zukin’s research highlighted temporal aspects related to cultural entrepreneurship and place, tracing over time the impacts of these local economic and cultural shifts on the way the area looks, its cultural identity and its residents.

McRobbie’s observations of creative neighbourhoods in Berlin note that the place-making that occurs is informed by various economic and cultural elements, including such local factors as access to grants and government-provided funding

(McRobbie 2016a). Like Zukin, she also suggests that there are temporal aspects related to expressions of place and to place-making, highlighting the way in which local designers “revive[d] and update[d] local traditions” (especially, in this instance, counter-cultural ones) (McRobbie 2016a, 145). In this sense it could be argued that while operating a local business within a global industry presents many challenges related to the economic, industrial and cultural aspects of fashion, it also provides independent fashion businesses with opportunities to make contributions to the development and cultural identity of local neighbourhoods as well as to local social and creative scenes. This suggests that in any consideration of what independent fashion means to those who produce and engage with it, it is important to consider aspects of place, geography and community in shaping the processes and practices through which independence may be demonstrated and judged. The research by scholars including McRobbie and Zukin also discussed above suggests in addition

32 Chapter 2: Literature review

that it is important to consider that the nuances of these processes and practices may shift over time, or may emerge in direct response to practioners who operated in a previous generation.

2.1.4 Technology and fashion: new opportunities

Another of the broad shifts Entwistle (2015) identified as impacting the fashion industry is the widespread introduction of new technology. Vast changes have occurred in the industry following the introduction of the internet and subsequently e-commerce and social media and Crewe has argued that virtual spaces of fashion consumption are “unprecedented in their levels of ubiquity, immersion, fluidity and interactivity” (Crewe 2017, 130). Online shopping has been embraced by consumers following a tentative start (English 2013), and businesses such as Asos, Net-a-Porter,

Matchesfashion.com, Amazon, Yoox and Shopbop continue to develop global audiences. Social media platforms such as Instagram play an increasingly central role in the fashion industry, facilitating the consumption of fashion on a newly wide- ranging scale. Instagram has become highly influential since its launch in 2010 and bloggers with large numbers of followers are paid to wear clothing by labels they promote; models or celebrities are sometimes said to be selected for work based on the size of their Instagram following (Gallagher 2016; Hope 2016). It has also been suggested that fashion retail store design is being influenced by Instagram photography tropes such as posing in front of walls for “outfit of the day” photos

(McDowell 2017).

Rocamora suggests that digital media has become so deeply embedded in contemporary life that it may actually shape the practices of fashion industry participants, including in instances such as those listed above (2017). She draws on the concept of mediatisation to consider this. For example, Rocamora discusses the

Chapter 2: Literature review 33

way in which fashion parades are increasingly focused on social media content development, particularly as bloggers have become influential participants in the industry. Rocamora also cites as an example a (UK luxury brand) Burberry store whose “digital-first” design reflects the brand’s website and features digital multimedia offerings such as fitting room mirrors that suggest complementary items for purchase or provide additional product information (Rocamora 2017; Cartner-

Morley 2012). Crewe argues additionally that the internet has “empowered” consumers and that the fusing together of consumers, commodities and technology is reshaping the way the fashion industry operates (Crewe 2017). However, the possibilities this promises for independent fashion consumers and producers alike are not well understood. The studies in the previous section have highlighted the importance of place and geography for small fashion businesses, and in the introduction to this research project it was discussed that networks have a central role to play in facilitating and supporting cultural entrepreneurship. In the fields of business and marketing a growing body of research has explored connections between brand tribes or consumer communities and online shopping and social media, looking at ways in which brands can leverage the opportunities provided by these contemporary digital media platforms. However, there is minimal research that considers how technology is being used by brands from a cultural studies or sociological perspective, especially smaller brands. More research is required if it is to be understood how, or if, technology can foster communities and strengthen small businesses, and more research is certainly required if we are to understand the empowering possibilities of technology (as Crewe has suggested (2017)) for producers and consumers alike.

34 Chapter 2: Literature review

Notably, the material aspects of clothing remain relevant even in a digital context, because of the embedded links between fashion and the body (Entwistle

2015). Physical connections with consumers are important communication channels and sales tools. One of the key challenges of selling clothing online is that it needs to be worn on the body and, by extension, needs to fit and feel a particular way. Free shipping and free returns is a common offer for many large retailers and some small ones too, as they work to overcome this challenge. Pop-up stores provide an opportunity to engage with consumers in a physical location without the long-term financial commitment of a permanent retail space. Pop-ups also provide brand- building opportunities for labels in a competitive marketplace (Arnold 2009) and a growing body of research in marketing and business on “pop-up” retail stores links them to experiential marketing and the strengthening of ties between producers and consumers (see for example Klein et al. 2016; de Lassus and Anido Freire 2014;

Alexander, Nobbs, and Varley 2018). This is a popular practice for independent fashion businesses, and they may offer a pop-up experience in their own temporary space, within a store with a similar audience or at a high-end craft and design market.

However, they struggle to compete with the scale and scope of activities undertaken by larger businesses and digital workarounds (recalling the circumventions

McRobbie refers to (2016b)) are important, where they may collaborate with other creative businesses on videos or blog posts that showcase their clothing in a range of lifestyle situations and aesthetic settings.

Additionally, while some consumers have embraced online shopping and high-tech businesses, others are drawn to what they perceive to be more authentic products such as handmade, small-batch or artisanal goods. As Luckman writes,

“when you are a ‘digital native’, analogue is new” (Luckman 2013a, 50). Luckman’s

Chapter 2: Literature review 35

study of the contemporary craft movement and the rise of online craft marketplace

Etsy suggests that handmade, artisanal goods have acquired new meaning in a culture in which most goods are mass-produced. She also suggests that participants in the independent (she uses the term “indie”) crafts sector position it as an alternative to

“mainstream consumer culture”, noting that this continues a trajectory originating from the British Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the nineteenth century through to the counter-culture movements of the 1960s and 1970s (2013, 264).

Importantly though (as Luckman’s focus on the online craft marketplace Etsy would suggest) this is not occurring in isolation from technology, but rather in tandem with it. The contemporary fashion industry has been characterised as prioritising speed, overconsumption and low prices (Webster 2016). It has been suggested that the contrasting position put forward by independent fashion businesses offering artisanal services and high quality at mid-range price points and who take advantage of technology to do so, enables them to carve out a niche in which they can survive, and even flourish (Webster 2016). Relatedly, Anderson argues that technology allows makers to be both local and global and “artisanal and innovative”; he calls the makers movement a new industrial revolution (2012, 16).

DIY culture and the makers movement have been closely linked to “indie” or independent movements and research has shown that technology is being used to highlight the voices of these cultures and connect their participants in a newly amplified way. Luvaas says the concept of DIY is a central proposition in independent cultural fields and credits the internet with making it more popular and more widely accessible since the 1990s (2012). Gauntlett links making, DIY and craft. He notes the complexities of the word craft, which is sometimes used as an antonym for art; art being perceived as more superior, more elite (2011). After

36 Chapter 2: Literature review

detailed exploration, he defines craft as “the careful, thoughtful process of making something with the hands” (2011, 80). He argues that products made using digital tools or for online consumption qualify equally as craft, because of the making process behind them. In fact, Gauntlett suggests that the internet offers the potential to challenge dominant models of consumerism because it allows alternative voices and independent cultures to not only create, but “be effectively heard” (2011, 231).

Regardless of classification as DIY, indie or maker, what these cultures appear to share is an attitude towards production and consumption (and, notably, most likely a combination of the two) fuelled by a desire to interact with like-minded individuals in the pursuit of products not available in the mainstream. It is not a rejection of capitalism or its drive towards consumption, but rather a way to operate within that system in what participants perceive to be a more authentic way. In addition, contemporary technologies are allowing the voices of these independent communities to be more globally audible than ever before, and to provide potentially powerful alternatives to dominant or traditional models of consumerism. As such, it is essential to consider how technology may be influencing the priorities and practices of those who participate in the sector, and if it influences their understanding of independent fashion as a concept. Relatedly, it is important to contextualise this with historical cases that can inform an understanding of the role of technology in the sector today, so that any assumption that louder voices correlates to new priorities, practices and processes can be suitably challenged.

2.1.5 Cultural entrepreneurship Skov argues that in deindustrialised nations, fashion businesses are as closely related to other cultural industries as they are with the fashion industry (Skov 2011). This suggests that fashion designers may be perceived as more closely tied to other

Chapter 2: Literature review 37

creative practitioners, arts organisations, cultural institutions such as museums and galleries, and design schools than to large fashion businesses such as fast fashion brands and mass market retailers. It further suggests that independent fashion producers are cultural entrepreneurs. Bourdieu has argued that fields of restricted production emphasise symbolic over economic aspects and exercise greater amounts of autonomy in the cultural products they develop (Bourdieu 1985). However, this is not to say that these fields are without economic concerns and this is particularly true when considering the need for those who are producing cultural products (such as independent fashion) to make a living.

The form of entrepreneurship common in independent cultures and its associations with self-employment, creativity and versatility are increasingly visible in mainstream political and economic discourse. For instance, in the last twenty years governments have observed the economic possibilities of creative industries and have increasingly worked to develop policy around them. In 1998, the United

Kingdom’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport developed a series of mapping documents that explicitly linked creative fields with economic impact for the first time on such a scale ("Creative Industries Mapping Documents 1998" 1998). This practice has continued and can be seen, for example, in the 2018 discussion paper by an Australian state government, which outlines their intentions to develop a 10 year

“roadmap” for the “arts, cultural and creative sector” and highlights the broad economic and social contributions of these fields to the state ("Creating

Queensland’s future: 10-Year roadmap for the arts, cultural and creative sector"

2018). Following his successful leadership challenge in September 2015, former

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull gave a speech highlighting Australia’s need to be “agile”, “innovative” and “creative”. His statements echoed what have

38 Chapter 2: Literature review

become common themes in political and economic discourse globally, emphasising concepts such as creativity, agility and flexibility over ideas related to stability, tradition or predictability.

These concepts, which promote fluidity and instability as virtues, are associated with both post-Fordist production practices and with neoliberalism and are also strongly associated with creative industries and cultural labour. That they have become mainstream catch-all concepts used by prime ministers and chief executive officers as well as by artists, musicians and entrepreneurs suggests that creativity and the labour practices associated with it have become central pillars in the contemporary economic climate. In fact, it has been suggested that the prominence of the creative industries and their associated labour practices in the global economy have normalised labour practices and attitudes to work that were previously considered uncommon (Flew 2013; Nixon and Crewe 2004). Terms like “gig economy” are sometimes used in media discourse to describe the patterns of work these changes reflect (Schetzer 2018; Bailey 2018).

Mears uses the term “cool” to describe some creative industries, particularly those such as fashion that have “high cultural status and visibility in the media”

(Mears 2013, 134). She notes that the status of these jobs is related to contemporary perceptions of work, in which there is an expectation among many employees in post-industrial economies that work should be “pleasurable and self-fulfilling” and

“an integral part of who one is” (Mears 2013, 134). Employment in the creative industries is generally unstable, with infrequent, casual or project-based work a central feature. McRobbie has argued that creative industries labour fuses work and leisure time, resulting in lines between personal and professional lives being blurred

(McRobbie 1998, 2016a). Friends and family are called upon to assist with tasks,

Chapter 2: Literature review 39

labour is conducted during personal time and the personal satisfaction and meaning derived from the work is valued over other aspects such as financial stability.

McRobbie refers to this work as “passionate work” and expresses concern that cultural labourers appear to embrace it so readily, accepting low pay and poor conditions for the opportunity to engage in a glamorised world of creative work

(McRobbie 2016a). Arvidsson et al noted the allure of creative work even when the roles themselves offer little in the way of creativity, for example junior or lower- level workers in the fashion industry in Milan perceiving their roles to have autonomy and creativity even when their interview responses suggested the opposite

(Arvidsson, Malossi, and Naro 2010). Their study found a significant gap between the opportunities and experiences of a small number of senior workers who did enjoy flexibility, autonomy and creative freedom, and the majority of workers whose roles were largely dictated to them.

Neff et al’s study also observed a significant gap between the experiences of a small number of senior workers and the majority of workers occupying levels below them (Neff, Wissinger, and Zukin 2005). They noted that although there was a perception that creative fields have flatter organisational structures (therefore promising creative freedom and autonomy), it was actually very difficult for lower- level workers to reach those upper tiers. Like McRobbie, they note that workers in creative fields often give up financial gain, job stability and predictability and other benefits such as health care in order to participate in creative work. However, Mears has argued that for workers in creative fields there is genuine pleasure and personal satisfaction to be found in work that for employees is worth trading other benefits in order to receive (Mears 2011). Rather than emphasise the negative aspects of creative work, she highlights the value of symbolic remuneration for these workers,

40 Chapter 2: Literature review

something Arvidsson et al also make reference to. For instance, Mears notes that for many workers in the creative industries, irregular work hours are a positive aspect favoured above the perceived monotony of a “9 to 5” existence (Mears 2013).

Mears views creative work through the lens of aesthetic labour to consider ways in which it allows models to exercise personal creativity. Aesthetic labour refers to the embodied expression of particular cultural or social attributes. For example, it might refer to the use of an individual’s body type or shape, style of dress, tone of voice or accent as part of their work. Mears argues that aesthetic labour is a “potential source of power” for workers in creative fields, a source developed through experience and skill (Mears 2011, 119). Entwistle and Wissinger also argue that aesthetic labour infiltrates both professional and private spaces, work and leisure time (Entwistle and Wissinger 2006). For instance, they argue that models spend time exercising and dieting and attending to their bodies in ways that continue their aesthetic labour into their private spaces and personal time. Hracs and Leslie also found this in their study of aesthetic labour in Toronto’s independent music industry, where artists were required to promote themselves using increasingly personal information and an ever-present aesthetic that provided evidence of their personal

“brand” (Hracs and Leslie 2014).

Some scholars also argue that technology has expanded the definition of work to some forms so new they may not be recognised as such; these include activities such as blogging and vlogging, with or without immediate or intended financial reward (Taylor and Luckman 2018). Elias et al build on this, arguing that aesthetic labour, amplified by social media, is a kind of work performed in the interests of social life and wellbeing (Elias, Gill, and Scharff 2017). They draw on Foucault to

Chapter 2: Literature review 41

suggest that women are increasingly expected, under neoliberalism, to develop and extend the “enterprising self” into all areas of their lives (2017).

Relatedly, Luckman notes that there is a strong requirement for practitioners to market themselves as products as much as the objects they make, because in the craft sector – as in other sectors related to independent cultural production – the identity of the maker is interwoven with the objects they produce and communicating personal information has increasingly become an expectation of producers in these fields (Luckman 2015). Luckman and others including Molloy and Larner note that production increasingly occurs in personal as well as public spaces and is often enmeshed with social and family life; Luckman particularly links this with the type of post-Fordist and neo-liberal economic policies and practices that are becoming increasingly mainstream (Luckman 2015, 119).

However, Molloy and Larner (like others including Luvaas and Mears

(Luvaas 2012; Mears 2011)), caution against the assumption that participants in the industry are being “duped” by neoliberal economics and have fallen prey to the lure of creative work without understanding what they are involved in (Molloy and

Larner 2013, 186). Instead, they argue that participants are using the options available to them in the way that suits them best, and that when they perform their work they also exercise their personal creativity and meaningfully participate in communities and activities that are personally meaningful to them. There are close connections between personal identity and work in the creative industries. For many participants, their work is an expression of their identity. Certainly, some research on craft has emphasised the innate satisfaction to be found in developing and applying one’s skill to the production of an object (Sennett 2008). Additionally, many participants in independent cultural sectors genuinely believe they are producing or

42 Chapter 2: Literature review

consuming in a way that is socially and ethically meaningful. Leslie et al’s study of fashion designers in Toronto notes that for many designers, the challenges of running their businesses were balanced by opportunities to produce work that they sincerely believed was providing a better alternative to mainstream fashion products (Leslie,

Brail, and Hunt 2014). They highlight sustainability and ethical production as well as engagement with other local businesses as priorities, for instance.

There are social benefits involved in participating in independent cultural sectors. Gauntlett argues for the power of self-expression involved in making things and sharing them, a joyous aspect of making that Anderson also observes as he notes the power of technology to facilitate this (Anderson 2012; Gauntlett 2011).

Technology has also provided ways for communities to congregate around shared interests and form strong social bonds. In addition, there are a number of community events centred around independent cultural products that occur in physical spaces, including record fairs, vintage markets, farmer’s markets and the type of high-end craft and design markets that have proliferated in the last ten years. Research in the field of cultural geography suggests that for the consumers and producers who interact within these places the social aspect of attending the event is as important as the consumption of the objects available (see for example Downing Peters 2014a;

Johnson 2013; Hawkins and Ryan 2013). This would suggest that for independent fashion sector participants, they join the sector for a number of reasons related to identity and self-expression, the belief that they can contribute to broader cultural conversations and to engage with like-minded individuals on a social level as well as a commercial one.

Providing important historical context for contemporary research on the creative industries, Luckman notes that many of the characteristics associated with

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creative work today – such as the precariousness of labour practices – were also present in 19th century Britain and were questioned by figures associated with the

Arts and Crafts movement, including John Ruskin and William Morris (Luckman

2013b). Banks et al argue that it is important to contextualise contemporary research with “historicised and temporal” perspectives, because without this the “novelty” of contemporary cultural work may be overstated or misunderstood (Banks, Gill, and

Taylor 2013a). They also suggest that the motivations of those involved in creative work – individuals who are often well-aware of the economic risks of working in these fields – may often be rooted in issues related to the past; for instance, traditional work practices that may be seen as outmoded, unwelcoming or discriminatory (Banks, Gill, and Taylor 2013a).

2.1.6 Gendered entrepreneurial labour Finally, there are also gendered aspects to cultural entrepreneurship in the fashion industry. The fashion industry is dominated by women and has a largely female workforce (Craik 2015; Productivity Commission 2011; McRobbie 2002). Research has suggested that fashion is a creative field in which women have found entrepreneurial opportunity not otherwise available to them in more male-dominated streams (though as is discussed on and off in mainstream news media, most senior executives and head designers in fashion are male) (Wilson 2005; Shields 2009;

Hyland 2015). Evans and Thornton, in their study of high-profile fashion designers including Elsa Schiaparelli and Rei Kawakubo, suggest that fashion “has offered women opportunities of expression denied to them historically by the traditionally male-dominated world of fine art [and] enabled women to be both creative designers and businesswomen” (1991). This idea is echoed over two decades later by Molloy and Larner who argue that for New Zealand women working in fashion, the industry

44 Chapter 2: Literature review

facilitates the “aspirations of a generation of middle-class women who expect to be economically active, but who are looking for occupational models which fit with their own (gendered) priorities” (2013). Jenny Kee, an Australian designer who provides a historical example of female entrepreneurship in the fashion industry, took her daughter to work with her in her Flamingo Park store in the 1970s, where she napped and breastfed and “fitted in and generated happiness” (Kee and

Trenoweth 2006, 154). Family and friendship circles were interwoven with Kee’s work (Gray 2012, 2017); for example, her mother also occasionally worked in the store and staff at one American department store recalled fondly the handwritten invoices she would enclose when shipping products to them (Kee and Trenoweth

2006).

However, some scholars raise concerns about the gendered aspects of creative industries labour. Luckman suggests that although the increased visibility and popularity of craft (like fashion, a field that is highly gendered) as well as the availability of online platforms such as Etsy has provided income-generating opportunities for women, it risks reinforcing gender divisions in the workplace

(Luckman 2013a). Luckman’s concern is that by seeking and finding opportunities to participate in the workforce outside of traditional models so that they can balance economic and family demands, the underpinning structures of the labour market that prevent women from achieving equal participation within it are not being adequately challenged. McRobbie also shares concerns regarding the acceptance of what she perceives to be highly unstable careers and a lack of support from political and economic sources (McRobbie 2016a, 2002). She has written that the industry offers a

“vital source of female livelihoods” that requires “only … a minimum level of government intervention to turn them into viable micro-economies of culture”

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(McRobbie 2002). In a study from 2016, based in a creative precinct in Berlin,

McRobbie observed examples of micro-businesses that had received government intervention of various kinds (grants, awards, subsidies) and that as a result could provide sources of viable income and contribute to the character of local neighbourhoods (McRobbie 2016a). However, she is careful to note that in these businesses there continued to be a “downgrading of commerce” in favour of the opportunity to do creative work and be socially and culturally engaged, something she had observed of fashion graduates in the late 1990s and which recalls Bourdieu’s description of the emphasis of the symbolic over the commercial in fields of restricted production (McRobbie 1998; 2016a, 145; Bourdieu 1985).

2.1.7 Summary

The fashion industry is comprised of complex, interconnected networks that contribute to the symbolic and material qualities of a fashion product as it progresses through various stages of production. Fashion has economic, industrial and cultural aspects and these are interwoven, meaning that economic and industrial shifts that impact the industry (such as changes related to technology or globalisation) have impact for its cultural aspects too.

Independent fashion businesses operating on a small scale within the fashion industry also exist within these complex, interconnected networks and are subject to the same industrial and economic shifts. Studies on independent fashion businesses have demonstrated that research on spaces and places through which fashion’s economic, industrial and cultural aspects intersect can provide important insights into the fashion industry and those who participate within it. Additionally, studies of independent fashion businesses have highlighted that there are tensions in the industry related to cultural entrepreneurship and creative work in addition to gender,

46 Chapter 2: Literature review

and that these are also important areas for research. It is further suggested in research on independent fashion businesses that these issues and aspects vary over time.

However, what these studies have largely overlooked, including from the perspectives of space, place, time and cultural labour, is what they reveal about independence as a cultural value or about what those who participate in the independent fashion sector perceive independence to be. In disregarding this aspect, there is a risk of overlooking the nuanced attitudes informing the production of fashion as a cultural object, and there is a lack of clarity around the attitudes of participants in the sector towards the products they produce, sell and consume. That is the focus of this research project, which seeks to understand the concept of independent fashion as it is understood, demonstrated and judged by those who participate in the independent fashion sector. As discussed in the next chapter, it will do so by examining places and spaces through which the concept of independent fashion is enacted through both personal practice and social interaction. It will contextualise contemporary case studies with historical examples in order to consider how the concept of independent fashion may change over time, and how historical examples may inform emerging, contemporary understandings of the concept.

Chapter 2: Literature review 47

Chapter 3: Methodology

This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical framework used in this project with a particular focus on theories related to the production of cultural goods and the markets through which these are exchanged. Next, the methodological approach this framework has informed is discussed.

3.1 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This project seeks to understand the concept of independent fashion as it is understood, demonstrated and judged by those who participate in the independent fashion sector. For this reason, theories related to ways in which groups of people interact in relation to the production, dissemination and consumption of cultural products have been considered, including Bourdieu’s field theory (Bourdieu 1993),

Becker’s work in Art Worlds (Becker 2008), and social network theory. Within the context of these theories, the study of fashion as a cultural economy is also discussed, drawing particularly on Entwistle’s work on fashion modelling and fashion buying (Entwistle 2009).

3.1.1 Networks, worlds and fields of cultural production

Sociologists have developed related, but varying theories about how participants in specific kinds of systems interact with one another. In considering cultural products and the systems through which they are developed, disseminated and consumed, scholars have often turned to three key concepts: Bourdieu’s field theory, Becker’s concept of art worlds and social network theories. All share an interest in “relational thinking” and emphasise the fact that cultural products are produced not in isolation, but within rich and interactive social systems (Giuffre 2015). Scott and Power write

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that cultural products are those “imbued with high levels of aesthetic and semiotic content” (Power and Scott 2004) and it is through social systems that semiotic content and aesthetic qualities are understood, demonstrated and judged.

Bourdieu’s theory, developed throughout his career and refined during the

1970s and 1980s, highlights aspects of power and struggle (Bourdieu 2010, 1993).

He describes a system of social relations in which participants are endowed with limited amounts of capital in various forms, most notably social, economic and cultural capital. Participants use these forms of capital to display and increase their status within the field. Key aspects of field theory include the inherent suggestion that relations between participants tend to revolve around competition rather than cooperation, the idea that the field is a bounded space with finite boundaries, and that the field is dynamic and relationships between participants are constantly evolving.

Bourdieu’s theory has been applied in fashion studies by several scholars. Entwistle, whose work is discussed further in the following section, has applied field theory to fashion buying and modelling (Entwistle 2006, 2002) and Rocamora has also drawn on Bourdieu to consider, with Entwistle, the field of London Fashion Week

(Entwistle and Rocamora 2006). Others such as Pedroni have used field theory to consider the topic of fashion blogging and understand the way in which bloggers relate to one another as they try to increase their status and visibility (Pedroni 2015).

Rocamora has also highlighted some of the ways in which Bourdieu’s work may not adequately address fashion, particularly noting that his theories do not adequately consider either the material aspects of a cultural product such as fashion or the fragmented nature of the industry and increasingly grey areas between high and low culture, for instance (Rocamora 2002).

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Becker’s depiction of “art worlds” is often held up in contrast to Bourdieu’s field theory (Becker 2008). Art Worlds, first published in 1982, aimed to understand how art is produced, and it highlighted the way in which a work of art was impacted by many different people, tools, conventions and systems along its road to production. These include everything from the tools used by the artist to the galleries and curators involved in its sale or display. Worlds are characterised more by collective action than by competition, because while they are not free of comparison or competition between participants, they emphasise the ways in which people work together to get things done. Becker suggests that his concept also differs from

Bourdieu’s in that it has fluid, open boundaries; he has said of his concept: “the line drawn to separate the world from whatever is not part of it is an analytic convenience

[....] The world is not a closed unit” (Becker and Pessin 2006). Particularly pertinent for this research project is Becker’s concept of “conventions”: prior ways of doing things that have now become the customary way of doing them, and which are recognised easily by fellow participants. In fact, sometimes these cues become so obvious as recurring tropes that they provide fodder for those who would criticise them; for example, a journalist has described the incorporation of “real” people into movies as well as actors as an “indie affectation” (Collins 2018). These conventions become ways in which participants can recognise and communicate symbolic values of shared importance.

Social network theory is not exclusively focused on the production of cultural products, but has been used to study the formation of networks and their role in facilitating creativity. Giuffre describes networks as having varying levels of density, with innovation and creativity less likely to occur in dense areas of the network because “communal norms” are more likely to be imposed there (Giuffre 2015). The

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logical extension of this idea then is that areas of the network that are less dense –

Burt describes these areas as structural holes (Burt 2004) – are more likely to encourage creativity. Giuffre links this concept with the similar one of “small world structures” and cites as an example Uzzi and Spiro’s study of creativity on Broadway

(Uzzi and Spiro 2005; Giuffre 2015). This study found that when networks are too small and tightly formed they lose creative edge, because it is those who interact with other “small worlds” that access new and exciting work. Relatedly, Farrell has argued that “collaborative circles” form when creative people (though he says the term could also apply to producers in other fields, such as scientists or politicians) develop strong social ties that also help to fuel each other’s work (Farrell 2001); certainly, in Australia, Gray has argued that the social circle of highly creative individuals that formed around the Flamingo Park store and fashion label in the

1970s inspired and produced highly creative work (Gray 2012, 2017).

In this research project, aspects of all of these theories are applied and the next section offers examples of precedent for this type of practice and examples of ways in which fashion may be considered a cultural economy.

3.1.2 Independent fashion as a cultural economy This project takes as its starting point the idea that fashion is a cultural product and that the interconnected network structures through which it is produced and consumed could be described as a cultural economy (Entwistle 2009). This project examines independent fashion as a cultural economy in which independence is the unifying cultural value, and focuses on the way in which this value is understood, demonstrated and judged by participants in the sector.

Two scholars in particular provide precedents for this approach. Aspers has studied fashion markets – fashion photography and branded fashion retailers (for

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example, Zara) – in an effort to understand the stable structure of markets in an industry founded on recurrent change (Aspers 2010, 2006, 2001). Entwistle has studied fashion modelling and fashion buying in order to analyse the processes by which participants in those markets come to attain positions of cultural influence and mediate fashion (Entwistle 2009, 2006, 2002).

Aspers defines a market as “a social structure for the exchange of rights in which offers are evaluated and priced, and compete with one another” and adds that markets can be ordered by other markets (2010, 11). It is important here that Aspers uses the term “social structure” to define a market, suggesting that it is the social interactions of various market participants and their activities, intentions and values that come to form a stable and lasting structure. Aspers sees “social constructions as meanings that result from social interaction and become entrenched”; as a researcher he aims to understand the meanings that become entrenched and the ways in which this entrenchment occurs (2010, 8). Entwistle describes markets as “localised and situated encounters of trade”, emphasising that this is in some way distant from what might be considered a classical understanding of a market as an “impersonal . . . mechanism oriented in terms of precise laws of supply and demand” (2009, 29).

Though Entwistle and Aspers note that markets require stability in order to come to be defined, both acknowledge that they are highly dependent upon specific contextual social structures.

Entwistle in particular notes the problematic separation of economy and culture and sees a cultural economy (she also refers to aesthetic markets) as one in which the two are interwoven. She describes them as market systems in which economic value is assigned to a cultural quality and argues that in this type of market, “economic calculations are intertwined with cultural concerns, bound to

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forms of cultural knowledge, capital and acquired taste, and to social, cultural and institutional relations” (2002, 319). Aspers simply describes this type of market as one in which “aesthetic values are central” and cites markets for art directors, stylists and furniture as other examples of aesthetic markets (2006, 1).

Aspers and Entwistle apply two different theoretical approaches. Entwistle draws on a combination of Bourdieu’s field theory and Actor-Network Theory

(ANT), having determined that the bounded nature of field doesn’t account for the ways in which one market may connect with another: a concern reminiscent of

Becker’s guiding ideas of collective action and comparison (Entwistle 2009, 37;

Becker 2008). She also uses ANT’s suggestion that the characteristics of actors in a network are not pre-existing and develop as they are networked to overcome

Bourdieu’s perspective that fields have deep, underlying structures responsible for the “conditions under which agency emerges” (2009, 32). An important connection

Entwistle makes between the two theories is that they are both interested in the idea of mediation between market participants; from Bourdieu’s perspective this might be termed cultural intermediation and from the perspective of ANT this might be termed translation.

Aspers uses a phenomenological approach that seeks out and prioritises the perspective of market participants (Aspers 2010). A phenomenological approach could be described as the study of social structures through the analysis of expressions of first-person experiences; it privileges the perceptions and experiences of the individuals participating in a market. Drawing on Aspers’ definition of a market as one in which social constructions become entrenched following social interaction, it is this process of entrenchment that is emphasised by this approach.

Aspers writes that this can occur through cognitive processes, discourse and/or

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practice, and by taking a phenomenological approach he seeks to understand these factors as market participants understand them (2010, 8), an approach highly suited to the aims of this research project.

3.2 METHODOLOGY

This research project contributes a comprehensive examination of the concept of independent fashion as it is understood, demonstrated and judged by those who participate in the sector. As the structure of this research project is “thesis by published papers”, each research article has its own method section explaining the approach taken and why. This section therefore presents an overview of the greater methodological approach to the research project, the details of which vary within individual articles. This project involved the collection of data from human subjects and ethics approval was sought and received (QUT Ethics Approval Number

1700000094) before data collection commenced.

3.2.1 Overview of methodology

This is a qualitative research project that takes a multi-methods approach. In general, the project borrows from Aspers’ study of the Swedish fashion photography market, which foregrounded the perspective of the market’s producers and consumers and contextualised this with additional research in order to understand how meaning was created within it (2001). The project presents eleven case studies, which are supported by other research methods including an online survey, semi-structured interviews, observations of online communities and social media accounts, content analysis of websites, social media and news media and archival research.

Historical and contemporary case studies are presented, reflecting the observations of scholars including Gill (Gill 2013) and Banks et al (Banks, Gill, and

Taylor 2013b) who suggest that in researching contemporary cultural phenomena we

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need to consider historical examples in order to contextualise them and understand which features may be novel and which may be persistent and enduring. A list of research techniques used is presented in Table 1. As I have an interest in considering independent fashion businesses within the context of research on contemporary creative industries and entrepreneurial labour, all case studies are small businesses.

There are some larger businesses that could be considered independent: Stella

McCartney was provided as one example in the introduction to this project and outdoor and activewear fashion brand Patagonia provides another example.

However, this research project focuses on small businesses rather than larger enterprises.

McRobbie has noted that there are challenges involved in obtaining interviews with young, independent designers who are accustomed to the kinds of open, reciprocal exchanges common in the contemporary creative industries (such as receiving a profile in a blog or a magazine) and for whom anonymity is of little concern (McRobbie 2016b). McRobbie suggests that offering an opportunity such as a workshop is a way to entice potential interview subjects, or that researchers may increasingly need to rely on their own social and professional networks to find willing participants in this sector. McRobbie’s observations are reflected in my data collection experiences in this project. Interviews or requests for case study observation with subjects who were known to me or to professional colleagues were successful, while broader, more anonymous research techniques were not. For example, an online survey emailed to the owners of 68 Australian independent fashion businesses yielded only three responses. The intention was to obtain contextual demographic and psychographic information about the independent fashion sector in Australia, but with a limited number of responses it was an

Chapter 3: Methodology 55

unsuccessful tool for data collection. Far more successful were direct approaches to sector participants known to me or to colleagues, reflecting McRobbie’s observations of the challenges in accessing sample populations in this sector (McRobbie 2016b).

These subjects then often suggested contacts from within their own networks and this kind of snowball sampling proved highly effective.

The focus was mostly on Australian examples, as that is where I am based, but in some instances higher quality case studies were available internationally. For example, the Elizabeth Suzann label (based in Nashville, USA) is discussed in two papers. This label was purposively selected because it epitomises new modes of industrial practice and engagement with consumers. It is an online-only business that does not wholesale, and has developed from a small-scale market stall to an enterprise estimated to have an annual turnover of over USD 1 million (Phelan

2015). The designer’s technology-driven interactions with consumers and her oppositional stance to what she and her consumers perceive to be problematic in mainstream fashion make the label an excellent case study through which to examine contemporary modes of interaction between producers and consumers.

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Technique used Sample size Additional information Case studies 11 Interviews Fieldwork Ethnographically-inspired online observations Archival research Semi-structured interviews 19 Interviews conducted for case studies are included in this sample Content analysis (social 126 Instagram-based observations media) 12 month-long observation Content analysis (websites) 50 Website “about” content Survey (sent to businesses) 68 Questionnaire sent to independent fashion businesses Survey (of sizing) 50 Sizing information of 50 independent fashion labels as provided on their websites Archival research 2 Queensland Museum (Brisbane) Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Sydney) Passive observation 4 The Finders Keepers Market (Brisbane) TLC Pop-up Store (Brisbane) James Street retail precinct (Brisbane) Winn Lane precinct (Brisbane)

Table 1: Research methods used in the project

3.2.2 Case study methodology

Case study methodology was selected for this research project for two main reasons.

Firstly, case study research lends itself to exploratory, inductive research, which is particularly useful in an area in which little previous research exists (such as on independent fashion as a concept) (Yin 2009). Secondly, case study research encourages the gathering of in-depth qualitative data and its emphasis on descriptive outcomes is well-matched to this project’s aim to understand complex interactions in which cultural and economic as well as personal and communal concerns are balanced.

Chapter 3: Methodology 57

Case study research is characterised by its use of a small number of cases and by its emphasis on in-depth qualitative data; cases may be individuals, groups, events, institutions or society as a whole (Hammersley, Gomm, and Foster 2000).

Hammersley et al. note that case study research is sometimes seen, in contrast to experimental research or survey methods, as giving voice to the subject rather than solely using them as respondents or informants; they also note that case studies usually involve the collection of unstructured data in which the interviewer has no control over variables, nor any desire to control them (Hammersley, Gomm, and

Foster 2000).

Case study research is sometimes criticised for the lack of generalisability of its findings. One scholar suggests that including an increased number of case studies or cases from different periods within the same subject group can enhance the quality and generalisability of research findings by increasing the diversity and quantity of available data (Goldthorpe qtd in Outhwaite and Turner 2007). It has also been suggested that in fact data generalisation in the style of traditional “hard” sciences may not be a desirable outcome of case study research, because this type of research seeks to describe as well as explain: it places cultural specificity and description on an equal standing to (or even ahead of) the testing of a hypothesis or the explanation of data trends (Outhwaite and Turner 2007).

In this project, case study subjects were purposively selected for their self- identification as independent fashion sector participants, and all represent sites through which independence is enacted and judged both through personal practice and social interaction. Narrowing these criteria further, subjects were also chosen in order to examine temporal and spatial variations in understandings of independent fashion. A summary is provided in Table 2.

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Case study Temporal Spatial Additional information subject significance significance Gwen Gillam Historical: Place: Brisbane Part of a triangulated study of local 1950s/1960s Brisbane fashion in a globalised industry. Flamingo Park Historical: Site: Sydney Significant period of development for and Jenny Kee 1970s Australian independent fashion. High profile example from this period. Art Clothes Historical: Site: Art Gallery First exhibition of its kind in Australia in a exhibition 1980 of New South high profile institution. Part of a Wales triangulated study of exhibitions featuring independent fashion that highlight aspects of craft. Supafun Historical: Place: Brisbane Part of a triangulated study of local 1990s/2000s Brisbane fashion in a globalised industry Easton Pearson Historical: Place: Brisbane First fashion exhibition in newly launched exhibition 2008 state art gallery. Part of a triangulated study of exhibitions featuring independent fashion that highlight aspects of craft. Bien Contemporary Place: Brisbane Part of a triangulated study of local Space: online- Brisbane fashion in a globalised industry; only, occasional exemplifies a contemporary use of pop-ups technology, especially social media Shaina Mote Contemporary Site: independent Emphasises material aspects of her work, fashion business which are communicated globally through technology Jesse Kamm Contemporary Site: independent Emphasises material aspects of her work, fashion business which are communicated globally through technology Elizabeth Contemporary Space: online- Exemplifies a contemporary use of Suzann only, primary technology. Also selected for conscious communication emphasis on material aspects, which are via Instagram communicated through technology. @selltradeES Contemporary Space: Exemplifies empowered contemporary community Instagram-based consumer communities facilitated by technology. Expanded 2018 Site: Brisbane Part of a triangulated study of exhibitions Discrete States featuring independent fashion that exhibition highlight aspects of craft.

Table 2: Case studies selected for this research project

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3.2.3 Overview of data collection techniques

This section provides an overview of the research techniques used in this project, including narrative analysis, observational research and historical research. Sampling methods are also discussed.

Narrative analysis

Twenty-one in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of independent fashion sector participants (retailers, designers and consumers) and related experts (including fashion educators and curators). This format was best suited to this research project because it allows for a natural flow of questions tailored to a subject’s business type and their personal conversational style and allows for the maximum useful information to be extracted from the interview

(Roller and Lavrakas 2015), but also ensures that all relevant areas will be covered.

Interviews were recorded and later transcribed and were conducted face-to-face whenever possible, with others carried out via telephone or email if this was not feasible or desirable for the subject.

All 21 interview subjects were female. This was not intentional, but it is notable in that it reflects the observations of scholars who have examined independent fashion businesses and propose that they are dominated by women and provide entrepreneurial opportunities for women (McRobbie 2016a, 2002; Molloy and Larner 2013).

Observational research

This project used ethnographically-inspired passive observation techniques to observe retail stores, events such as markets, public shopping spaces and online websites and communities. The intention generally was to understand how participants connected and communicated with one another, how independent

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cultural products were represented in physical spaces, and content analysis of display and marketing materials produced by retailers, designers and consumers involved in the independent fashion sector.

Historical research

Research was conducted on a number of historical independent fashion businesses, including some that are no longer in operation. This was to assist in the identification of how these businesses contribute to contemporary notions of independence in the sector. To conduct this research, primary data was obtained from interviews as well as archival research at museums and galleries. This included visiting the Jenny Kee

Archive at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Sydney) and obtaining collection records information from the Queensland Museum (Brisbane) related to their Gwen Gillam collection. Where more detailed information was not available, exhibition catalogues were also sourced, including for the Art Clothes exhibition held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1980.

Sampling techniques

Purposive sampling was used for this research project. This type of sampling is described as “best used to provide information about specific cases or members of the study population that are intrinsically interesting or important for the study”

(Henry 2009). This technique is not random and therefore is subject to researcher bias, but was an effective way to ensure that high quality data would be available for the study. A “quality over quantity” approach was taken to ensure that interesting, useful examples were provided. As an exploratory research project it was felt that this was an appropriate course of action, given that subsequent research in this area could work to further refine its findings and address any perceived bias.

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Subjects were identified through a number of methods and the criterion for inclusion was that they were identified as being involved in the sale or consumption of independent fashion in a way that resembled small-scale and commercial independents (types 1 and 2, as defined in the typology of independent fashion businesses developed as part of the research project (see Chapter Four, and the article entitled “What is independent fashion? An Australian perspective”)). This was assessed by reviewing the content of their websites and social media channels, the brands they stock, the other organisations or individuals they collaborate with and their inclusion in media channels such as fashion magazines, blogs and online magazines that proactively support independent cultural production. Subjects were all located in Australia, with the exception of American online populations that were selected and used because they were exemplary cases that would yield important, high quality data.

3.2.4 Limitations of scope and known methodological issues

This research project focuses on small-scale independent fashion businesses, because those are the types most commonly referred to as independent in academic research.

There are larger businesses that are independently owned and culturally and socially engaged (Patagonia or Stella McCartney for example) that would have been interesting case studies, but they are not included here. Focusing on small-scale businesses allowed for a consistent measure against which variables related to place, space and time could be studied. However, comparing the way in which independent fashion is understood, demonstrated and judged in businesses of varying size is a possible area for future research that could yield important insights.

The findings in this research project have wide-ranging application in a range of fields and on matters including social media and technology, cultural geography

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and creative industries labour. This study drew on case studies and interviews with participants in Brisbane, where I am based, and in Sydney and Melbourne. Future avenues of research could consider variations based on geographic criteria, such as independent fashion sector participants living in regional areas of Australia or internationally.

Data collection through interviews raises questions regarding reliability and bias. There is potential for the researcher to influence interview responses, or for those responses to be inconsistent and this technique relies heavily on the skill of the interviewer (Roller and Lavrakas 2015). However, in-depth interviews have been established as an essential tool for qualitative researchers as they allow the interviewer to gain in-depth information that would otherwise not be available, particularly with regard to the personal motivations and experiences of the subject.

As this project considers a population whose perspective has not been widely considered, interviews are the best tool with which to extract information in an exploratory, inductive research context.

Finally, the population was purposively selected by me and as such may reflect my personal views and personal experiences of the independent fashion sector. Some of those interviewed were known to me or are affiliated with my research institution, and I have engaged with the independent fashion sector over a number of years. While the methodological approach to this project multiple methods, with an emphasis on case studies, it is also ethnographically-inspired in some respects, because I have spent a significant amount of time immersed in the sector as a consumer, educator, student and interested observer. Luvaas writes about the challenges of accurately describing and examining a sector in which he participates for his study of Indonesia’s “DIY cultures” (Luvaas 2012), but highlights

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the richness of knowledge that can be achieved from immersing oneself in a culture.

Thus, while there may be some bias present, the reward of developing rich, in-depth knowledge about the subject area (“thick descriptions”, as Luvaas quotes Geertz as saying (Luvaas 2012, 17)) makes this approach well worthwhile.

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Chapter 4: Negotiating the creative and the commercial

4.1 PREAMBLE

Central to the research problem this research project addresses is the question of how the concept of independent fashion is understood by participants within the independent fashion sector. The first of two articles in this chapter, “What is independent fashion?”, establishes the core characteristics of the sector, as understood by those who participate within it. Through semi-structured interviews, online content analysis and on-site observations, it is established that participants are preoccupied with the idea of authenticity, and that there are tensions between creativity and commerce in the sector. It is also shown that the concept of independent fashion is relational, and developed through social interactions between sector participants as well as trusted individuals and institutions in other creative and cultural fields. A typology is also provided that seeks to describe the variety of businesses situated within the independent fashion sector.

The second article in this chapter, “Crafting symbolic value: Art, craft and independent fashion”, builds on this research and examines ways in which an understanding of the concept of independent fashion is demonstrated and judged through associations with other cultural fields. That is, it seeks to understand how the nuanced tensions between independent and mainstream (and related preoccupations with differences between authenticity and commercialism) are negotiated and judged with the help of trusted participants from other fields. Using Bourdieu’s theory of cultural intermediation, this article proposes that the adjacent creative and cultural

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fields of art or craft contribute symbolic value to independent fashion and play an essential role in qualifying claims as to independence.

Together, these articles ascertain the characteristics that participants within the sector consider to be most closely aligned with the concept of independent fashion as well as some of the ways in which these characteristics are demonstrated and judged within the sector.

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4.2 WHAT IS INDEPENDENT FASHION? AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE

Tuite, A. (forthcoming 2019) “What is Independent Fashion?” Fashion Practice

4.2.1 Abstract

What does it mean to describe a fashion business – a designer, a label, a store – as independent? And how does one recognize it as such? Unlike in other cultural fields such as music or film, there is minimal research offering a comprehensive overview of “independence” in fashion, despite the sector being highly creative, engaging strongly with cultural and social issues, and enjoying increased visibility and impact through digital technology. This article, based in the Australian fashion context, begins to address this by providing a typology of contemporary independent fashion businesses and describing and examining the characteristics of two types. A mixed methods approach is used, incorporating semi-structured interviews with sector participants and thematic analysis of social media and website content conducted over a 12-month period. Findings show that independent fashion is not anti-fashion, but instead is fashion conducted by those who wish to retain creative control of their work and to develop and foster close personal connections with their peers and consumers. Findings also suggest that independent fashion acts as an incubator for creative ideas and trends that find their way into mainstream fashion industry practices.

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4.2.2 What is independent fashion? An Australian perspective What does it mean to describe a fashion business – a designer, a label, a store – as independent? And how does one recognise it as such? Does the term relate to a business model, signifying a level of authentic creative freedom that can only be achieved without the financial involvement of other parties? Or does it refer to an ethos, perhaps emphasising highly creative designs or a strong engagement with broader cultural themes and issues? Many fashion businesses are identified as independent, but the term is undefined and applied inconsistently in academic research and mainstream media discourse. The term’s meaning is further confused by the mainstream fashion industry’s adoption of practices or aesthetics closely associated with independent fashion. Current research has considered small fashion businesses in isolation, but unlike in other cultural fields such as music or film, there is minimal research offering a comprehensive overview of the concept of

“independence” in fashion, despite the sector being highly creative, engaging strongly with cultural and social issues, and enjoying increased visibility and impact through digital technology. This article, based in the Australian context, provides a foundation on which to build a body of research on independent fashion as a concept.

It does so by describing and examining the characteristics of the independent fashion sector and providing a typology of independent fashion businesses, with in-depth discussion of two types. The sector’s relationship with the mainstream fashion industry is also discussed and areas for future research are identified.

4.2.3 Independent fashion: defining an elusive term “Independent fashion” is a term that has not been closely analysed or questioned in academic research. Like other widely used but ill-defined fashion terms such as

“sustainable” (Thomas 2008) or “vintage” (Downing Peters 2014a), there has been

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little acknowledgement of the complexities behind the term independent fashion.

Leslie et al. studied Toronto’s independent fashion sector and described its characteristics (identifying an emphasis by practitioners on quality, timeless designs, sustainability and ethical production), but did not challenge the concept of independence in fashion in the way that it has been challenged in other cultural fields such as music or film (Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014).

Australian fashion curator and historian Danielle Whitfield writes that independent fashion lies at the intersection of “art, craft and fashion”, but does not unpick any further the layers of complexity involved in the usage of those terms

(Whitfield 2010). Additionally, not all independent fashion practioners produce clothing as highly experimental as the designers Whitfield refers to; Leslie et al.’s study in fact suggests the opposite. Others have aligned independent fashion businesses with local cultural sectors and with local or national identities. This includes research in cultural geography highlighting the close and mutually beneficial relationships that form between local businesses (Crewe and Forster 1993) and Cuba’s analysis of independent fashion business in Peru, which suggested (like

Whitfield’s observation of Australian designers in the 1970s) that their work was related to a desire to express local style identities (Cuba 2015).

In some ways, it is easier to describe fashion business that are not independent. Chain stores and fast fashion retailers could fairly reliably be described as such. They are large, multi-national companies with complex business models and supply chains and multiple physical outlets, from dozens in the case of department stores to thousands in the case of a retailer such as Zara. Sometimes though, businesses one might describe as independent have stores in multiple locations, or may be stocked in leading department stores around the world. At what point would

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they no longer quality as independent? Furthermore, sometimes chain stores and department stores exhibit characteristics common in the independent fashion sector.

Scholars have identified a history of mainstream businesses adopting counter-cultural aesthetics or practices and co-opting them for their own commercial purposes

(McGuigan 2009; Thomas 1997). In the fashion industry this may take the form of adopting aesthetic trends established by independent brands, collaborating with artists and designers, undertaking initiatives that engage with broader cultural and social issues (H&M’s recycling program, for example), or developing creative in- store displays with students or local artists. Research in sociology has suggested that the most innovative and creative ideas occur at the “edges” of networks, or near

“structural holes”, because individuals in those areas are more likely to be active across multiple creative fields and are therefore more innovative; these individuals feed new ideas into other areas of the network (Burt 2004; Uzzi and Spiro 2005). In the fashion industry, independent fashion sector participants could be said to perform this function.

The term “independent fashion” appears to have both material and symbolic aspects and like other fields of independent cultural production, the term refers to both cultural products and the system that supports them (Newman 2011). Research in other cultural fields has suggested that independent businesses tend to be associated with cultural values such as authenticity, diversity, trust and a high degree of personal interaction (Newman 2009; Fonarow 2006; Dolan 2010). For example, in film, independence is associated with production and distribution that occurs outside of the established system, and may also refer to content that is “edgier” than that seen in mainstream productions (Ortner 2012). Newman notes that the concept of independence is relationally established by the field’s participants, including

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consumers, and suggests that independent film exists paradoxically as both an outsider culture and an elitist “taste culture” producing films for a knowledgeable few (2011). In music, the meaning of independence is generally considered to have evolved from denoting existence outside the mainstream distribution system, to politically engaged songs that critiqued mainstream culture to become a genre of music in itself (Hibbett 2005; Hesmondhalgh 1999). In both music and film, independence is usually closely linked with a business model that facilitates creative freedom. This appears to be more closely related to demonstrating authenticity and the direct involvement of creative professionals (musicians, directors, actors), than to the specifics of business arrangements, which are often difficult to determine.

In terms of a mainstream-independent boundary, several scholars and authors urge caution. Anderson’s work on maker culture and the “long tail” economy suggests that the concept of a mainstream is misleading (Anderson 2012, 2008). He proposes that perceived mainstream tastes may not accurately reflect what consumers desire, but were instead defined by a risk-averse production and distribution system that prioritized cultural products anticipated to sell in high numbers (Anderson

2008). Hibbett also suggests this in his study of indie rock, noting that indie participants may be far greater in number, and far more embedded in the

“mainstream” than they may realize (Hibbett 2005). Crewe et al warn that participants in alternative sectors tend to use “celebratory” language to describe their work and as a result may overemphasize points of difference (Crewe, Gregson, and

Brooks 2003). Nonetheless, examining the symbolic boundaries that separate independent from mainstream can reveal much about both the independent culture and the dominant system against which it positions itself, and offers insight into the

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priorities and practices of a sector that is increasingly visible, but remains largely unexamined.

4.2.4 Method

Research on the concept of independent cultural production in fashion is limited. For this reason, this study is set within the context of independent cultural production in the fields of film and music, where substantial research on the topic has been conducted over a period of over ten years. This existing research provided direction as to two areas of clarification needed before further research on the topic could progress: the symbolic values most prominent in the sector; and the application of these values in separating independent fashion from a perceived mainstream.

The intention of this study is to describe and examine the concept of independent fashion as it is understood by those who identify as participants in the sector. The methodological approach of this study draws on Aspers’ research on fashion markets, which advocates for the foregrounding of participant perspectives contextualized with additional data interpreted by the researcher (Aspers 2006). This study draws on a mixed methods approach that included semi-structured interviews and social media analysis. 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with sector participants, including purposively selected fashion designers, retailers, historians, curators, educators and industry body representatives. Interview subjects were selected because they identified (for example, explicitly in their social media posts) as independent fashion sector participants, and they were cross-referenced against other sources including stockist lists or media platforms. Some were selected because their field of expertise (for example, as a fashion curator affiliated with major

Australian cultural institutions) allowed them to provide special insight into the sector. Subjects were also asked (and all replied in the affirmative) if they would

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describe themselves as proprietors of an independent fashion business. The sample was diverse and ranged from internationally recognized industry veterans with decades of experience to a recent graduate in the process of setting up her first business. Thematic analysis of the website content of 50 independent fashion businesses was also conducted and the Instagram posts of 145 independent fashion businesses were observed over a twelve-month period.

In terms of generalizability and scope, the majority of participants and businesses discussed are Australian, where the researcher is located. The generalizability of the study is therefore limited, but it nonetheless provides an essential starting point for examining this little-understood, but vibrant and increasingly visible industry sector. Future research based on variations related to methodology, and sampling in particular, would provide important layers of insight into the priorities and practices of independent fashion sector participants.

Additionally, the focus in this study is on producers and their businesses in the independent fashion sector, however consumers are active and vital participants in the sector that should not be overlooked. Though there is insufficient space within the limits of this article to examine their role, it is certainly an important area for future research.

4.2.5 Mapping the sector: a typology of independent fashion businesses This section offers a categorization system that allows for different types of contemporary independent fashion businesses to be defined. There is some cross- over between types and also the potential for a business to transition between types.

However, what is presented is an effort to begin to establish the range of businesses in this sector and some of their core characteristics.

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Small-scale independents These are usually micro- to small-scale businesses employing fewer than 20 people.

These businesses are often small by choice and may not wish to scale up beyond their current size. They tend to have a strong authorial voice and their aesthetic is highly creative or has a determinedly narrow focus. These businesses manufacture or retail in small quantities only available from the designer themselves or from a select range of independent retailers. Retailers and designers in this category will often have trained in design or fine art at a tertiary level. They usually maintain a strong ideological position related to fashion-related issues such as sustainability or diversity. They may sell online or in bricks and mortar stores, and do not usually sell at design and craft markets.

Commercial independents Commercial in this sense does not necessarily refer to the characteristics of these businesses’ designs, but to the scalability of their businesses and their level of commercial visibility. These labels and retailers have business models that allow for growth and development. They may have financial investors, but retain creative control. They will usually have been featured in mainstream fashion media stories.

The designers have usually been trained in design at a tertiary level. Designers in this category will usually have stockists around the world, which may include department stores as well as high end independent boutiques. Their retail outlets may operate in more than one location, including online.

Indie fashion businesses This type may not associate themselves with the fashion industry or with a desire to make a broader contribution to design. They may produce and sell fashion as an

“amateur” during their free time, while occupying a full-time position in another

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industry. They will usually be sole trader, or may employ one or two people, sometimes in a casual or informal arrangement (such as relying on family and friends). Designers in this category may not be trained in fashion design and are often self-taught. They may sell their products online using either their own website,

Instagram, or online marketplace Etsy. They often sell their products at craft and design markets. They are not usually stocked by retailers. The term “indie” is used here in recognition of this type’s amateur status, low engagement with the greater fashion industry and close ties with consumer communities. This type is closely related to do-it-yourself (“DIY”), craft and maker cultures. The relationship of indie cultures to independent cultural production is highly complex and warrants greater discussion than can be offered here; it is noted as an important area for future discussion and exploration.

Niche specialists In this category, the focus is on the provision of a narrow range of specialized goods

(for example, plus size fashion or maternity wear) and independence may be a by- product of offering a niche product range rather than reflecting an ideological position, business structure or expression of creative freedom. Provenance and manufacturing transparency may not be as valued as in the previous categories.

Goods provided in this category may not engage with or reflect contemporary fashion and design trends. The niche products offered can vary from a focus on material qualities to cultural ones. Common retail models for this type include bricks and mortar stores, online stores and, less frequently, market stalls (often at niche- focused events, such as a market specializing in childrenswear).

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Second-hand clothing retailers The sale of second-hand clothing in the independent fashion sector tends to take two paths that could generally be split by considering the professionalisation of the business owner. In this category, they tend to see their work as a profession rather than a hobby. They procure and provide second-hand fashion with a curatorial eye.

Choices may reflect specialised knowledge of fashion history or current aesthetic trends in the independent fashion sector. These businesses often relate strongly to ideological and philosophical positions in this sector. Products may be sold online, via bricks and mortar stores and through select high end markets or specialised events such as the “A Current Affair” vintage fashion market (New York, San

Francisco and Los Angeles, USA). Increasingly, businesses support sales in their bricks and mortar stores using the social media platform Instagram to sell vintage clothing. Products may also be sold on commission or using a “cooperative” method.

Second-hand clothing resellers Sellers in this category are likely to be individuals selling second hand clothing as a part-time business or hobby. They may procure and provide second-hand fashion with a curatorial eye, but may also select items on a purely commercial basis.

Specialized knowledge may be evident in this category. Choices may or may not reflect current aesthetic trends in the independent fashion sector. Products are likely to be sold online on websites, via the online craft marketplace Etsy or at a weekend market stall. It is increasingly common for individuals to set up and run resale accounts on the social media platform Instagram, sometimes specializing in a particular designer. This type is closely related to indie fashion businesses.

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4.2.6 Characteristics of independent fashion The previous section identified six types of independent fashion businesses. The remainder of this article focuses on types one (small-scale independents) and two

(commercial independents). This section identifies key characteristics shared by small-scale and commercial independents and provides insight into the perceptions of sector participants as to why these characteristics are important to any understanding of “independent fashion”. As noted in the previous section, type three

(indie fashion businesses) warrants closer examination and understanding this type could yield great insight in to the nuances of independence in fashion; this is an important area for future research.

Authentic, unique and personal Authenticity is usually described as being central to independent cultural production, and this is also the case in fashion. One designer, whose label achieved national and international acclaim, believes consumers of independent fashion value a personal relationship with the brand, seeking “a connection and a sense of authenticity and originality; a unique perspective”; she adds: “it’s really sentimental, it’s very personal” (personal interview, 21 August 2017). These values stand in contrast to the anonymous mass production and throwaway culture associated with fast fashion labels and chain stores. Though these values are shared across most types of independent fashion businesses, for small-scale and commercial independents they are closely tied to the skill and talent of the business owner and the professional expression of their authorial voice.

This perspective is echoed by a recent fashion graduate, though she approaches it from a different point of view and emphasizes instead the emotional connection the designer may have with their work: “There is usually a narrative behind their designs which is rooted in personal experiences or inspiration. It

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provides greater sentimental value than clothing which is trend driven” (personal email, 7 September 2017). Another subject, a former fashion wholesaler who now works as a fashion writer and educator, agrees that independent fashion is highly personal and valued for its originality; suggesting that there is “a sense of discovery and wonder with independent fashion brands and retailers: it can feel like a more exclusive and special experience to buy independent fashion. It can be more small scale, artisanal, creative and authentic” (personal email, 1 September 2017).

A fashion retailer who runs a Melbourne-based independent fashion boutique says of independent fashion: “it offers a unique or more scarce product; a product that differentiates itself from the mass market” (personal email, 14 September 2017).

However, she qualifies this statement: “that said, I’m not sure that all independent fashion is always totally original or different, and there are always trends that have influence in every market” (personal interview, 14 September 2017) (emphasis interviewee’s own). She notably uses the word “scarce” to describe independent fashion, implying a sense of exclusivity. As research on independent, alternative, maker and “DIY” cultures suggests, these cultures depend on a shared perception of difference from the mainstream that is achieved by developing products understood by or known only to a few (Hesmondhalgh 1999; Newman 2011; Oakes 2009).

For the owners of independent multi-brand boutiques, the prominence of personal service and the involvement of the business owner means they often play a curatorial or aggregative role for consumers. One subject, who operated a multi- brand independent fashion boutique in inner-city Brisbane for several decades, says the store was a destination for people wanting to see new styles or trends from emerging design talent. Now located in Melbourne, she also notes that her store was a place where consumers received personalized service: “I made a lot of strong

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relationships with clients and would hold things for them or order things especially for them [....] Every time I would introduce a brand I would forward them the lookbooks and say what do you think of this style for next season, I think it’s amazing” (personal interview, 20 September 2017). Her store has now closed, but she is still in contact with many of her former consumers: “I had a coffee with a friend last week and we were talking about things she was looking at buying, so it’s still kind of that same relationship: talking about trends” (personal interview, 20

September 2017). This kind of close relationship between proprietor and consumer recalls the “identity transfer” that Bovone observed in a fashionable Milanese shopping precinct in the 1990s, indicating that this kind of personal contact is still relevant in the sector today (Bovone 2006).

As a sector in which authenticity is highly prized, many participants seek products and experiences not available in shopping malls, high streets and department stores. This objective becomes increasingly urgent against a backdrop of globalized fast fashion retailers and of social media algorithms tailoring content based on the user’s established preferences; there was a pervasive distaste for sameness and a lack of originality among interviewees. For participants in the independent fashion sector, the smaller quantities often produced by labels and the personal presence of the designer contributed to a sense of authenticity and originality. As discussed further in subsequent sections, this is compounded by an interest in the sector in being educated about clothing and in supporting positive production practices, which a label perceived as “authentic” would be strongly associated with.

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Artisanship and quality An emphasis on the skill required to produce high quality work is one aspect that separates small-scale independent and commercial independents from indie fashion practitioners; in the first two types there is an emphasis on professionalism and technical skill and designers are often trained. Indie fashion practitioners may also be highly skilled and have practiced for a number of years, but their work tends to be less engaged in the idea of fashion as a cultural product. Many independent fashion businesses highlight the quality of their products as a point of difference from mainstream fashion, and fast fashion in particular. This recalls the emphasis on quality that independent fashion designers in Toronto, Canada were found to place on their work (Leslie, Brail, and Hunt 2014). One retailer interviewed for this study argues that quality is a central point of difference for independent fashion:

Our customers like how the clothes feel and fit their body, and they wear their garments for years and years. I don’t think that all of mainstream fashion is terrible, but when the aim is to sell the garments at an accessible price in high volumes across hundreds of outlets, it’s just so unlikely that a comparable level of detail and design consideration can occur (personal email, 14 September 2017)

Quality control can be difficult for small labels as their businesses expand; their production requirements are often too small for outsourcing to larger factories, but too large to continue to manage themselves. Speaking in her Brisbane-based home studio, one fashion designer highlighted the difficulty of maintaining high quality levels while growing her business, especially outside of Australia’s dominant fashion cities of Sydney and Melbourne. She tried using local outworkers for production, but was dissatisfied with the quality of work and concerned about the lack of

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transparency involved: “we didn’t know where it was going, they were all slightly different and the quality wasn’t good” (personal interview, 27 September 2017).

Quality can be a difficult thing to establish in the marketplace and many designers, retailers and industry representatives in the sector feel strongly that there is an educational aspect to their work. One fashion retail worker, interviewed in the boutique of a high-end independent designer, says consumers don’t always understand why something is more expensive to produce: “fast fashion has changed people’s perception of price. Everyone’s a bargain hunter. [They] don’t really realise the value of a dress that’s been made in Italy with the finest cotton. They look at the price tag and just walk out” (personal interview, 17 May 2017). The former director of one of Australia’s largest fashion festivals agrees, and echoes concerns regarding the need for consumers to be educated by independent fashion producers: “they have to educate their own consumers for them to appreciate the value of a good [...] design and why it offers a point of difference” (personal interview, 25 September 2017). She elaborates further, noting that consumers may shop at both low-cost fast fashion retailers and luxury brands: “people say they are different markets, but they’re not.

People style-surf these days so you will get the same person buying something at

Gucci as well as H&M” (personal interview, 25 September 2017). The Chief

Executive Officer of an Australian craft and design advocacy body says they have had some success in educating consumers about the value of the products they sell by holding workshops and encouraging consumers to try their hand at various skills.

This leads them to better understand the skill, time and personal investment that goes into producing an object:

When people don’t have much money and they have to think about that, what’s another way [of educating them] other than making people feel bad? [....] When people try something that is quite difficult they think oh my goodness this is

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actually kind of hard and there is empathy created [....] There is empathy for the process and increased value for the maker and for the end product as well. (personal interview, 9 October 2017)

It has been suggested that consumers of ethical clothing need a particular

“competence” to navigate the sector, picking up on various signals and cues in the way clothing is described or sold (Bovone 2016; Crane 2016). Aspers notes that price is one such signal, and describes the “information gap” that can occur when it is not clear why one item is priced differently than another; he suggests that “trust and local knowledge” are ways consumers may bridge these gaps (Aspers 2008). In the independent fashion sector, trusted intermediaries can educate consumers and help them to fill knowledge gaps. These might include journalists, curators, festival directors, stylists and educators. For example, work by independent fashion designers has been accessioned into the collections of the leading cultural institutions; many of these designers have also been featured in exhibitions at these venues ("Linda

Jackson Bush Couture" 2012; "Easton Pearson" 2009). These types of connections and acknowledgements highlight the creativity and artisanship of their work and further delineate it from mainstream fashion products. This finding supports previous research on cultural intermediation in studies of fashion (Entwistle 2006; Pedroni

2015; Larner and Molloy 2010). Their role also confirms and recalls the “mix of economic and relational factors” that Bovone suggests defines the professionalism of

“makers” (Bovone 2016). In a sector in which personal relationships are valued and foregrounded, the role of trusted voices in determining and disseminating concepts of independence (such as the importance of quality) points to the way in which meaning in this sector is relational but fluid and dependent on interactions and falls on the shoulders of both producers and consumers.

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Alternative, not oppositional Independent fields of cultural production are sometimes seen to offer a critique of their mainstream counterparts. One fashion designer, who relaunched her label several years ago after a period of disillusionment with the fashion industry, offers radical transparency, makes garments to order and eschews contemporary retail practices such as frequent markdowns. She says that her label, while not acting in opposition to fashion itself, critiques the traditional practices she opposes:

I’ve worked in the traditional system and I felt like that was fundamentally broken and it’s not sustainable. It has so many flaws within it [....] One thing that I really critique I guess is the culture of over-inflated prices and then markdowns [....] People are like “oh I really like this, but I will wait until it is on sale”. Consumers don’t buy it until it is on sale [....] They’ll get five things because it’s half price, rather than the one thing they really want. (personal interview, 20 September 2017)

However, though independent fashion labels they may criticize aspects of the fashion industr