Capitalism’s Favorite Child: Global Fashion Business since 1850

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Professor Pierre-Yves Donzé (Osaka University, Japan) Ben Wubs (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands)

Capitalism’s Favorite Child

Name: Capitalism’s Favorite Child
Price: 160 AUD
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ISBN: 9781350109810

Global Fashion Business since 1850

Professor Pierre-Yves Donzé (Osaka University, Japan), Ben Wubs (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands)

$160

Hardback

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English

Bloomsbury Visual Arts
19 March 2026

History of Art & Design Styles; History of fashion; Fashion & society; Economic history; Fashion & beauty industries

Combining research methods from business and global history, Donzé and Wubs equip readers with a vital and expansive new analysis of the development of the global fashion industry from the mid-19th century to today.

Ranging across Europe, the Americas and Asia over two centuries, Donzé and Wubs bring the work of manufacturers and designers together with trade associations, fashion forecasters and retailers to investigate the transformations of this truly global business - 'capitalism's favorite child' (Werner Sombart). New data and sources reveal unexpected threads and detail within even such well-trodden narratives as Chanel under the occupation, the Nylon revolution, and the retail strategy of United Colours of Benetton.

What impact do the hidden histories of fabric trades such as cotton, wool and silk have on how we dress today? What continues to divide ‘high’ and ‘low’ fashion when low-cost production countries transition into high-income economies? How do technological changes from ‘fast fashion’ to e-commerce trace back to the industry’s beginnings – and what can students, scholars, and industry leaders learn from this history about what the future might hold?

Featuring new work on unstudied areas from Swiss silk companies in East Asia to the influence of finance on modern fashion, this is the most global, long-term, and interconnected history of the industry to date.

By: Professor Pierre-Yves Donzé (Osaka University Japan), Ben Wubs (Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 246mm, Width: 174mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 880g
ISBN: 9781350109810
ISBN 10: 1350109819
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 19 March 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1. Introduction 2. The Emergence of a Modern Fashion Business 3. The Rise of Haute Couture or High-End Fashion 4. Fashion for the Masses 5. East Meets West 6. American Fashion 7. Fashion, Fascism and World War II 8. Post-war Fashion Systems 9. Global Fashion and Relocation of Production 10. Fashion Conglomerates and Fast Fashion 11. Sports to Fashion 12. Digital Fashion and Global Production Networks 13. Conclusions Index

Pierre-Yves Donzé is professor of business history at Osaka University, Japan and visiting professor at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Ben Wubs is professor of international business history at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Reviews for Capitalism’s Favorite Child: Global Fashion Business since 1850

This book’s scope and breadth has long been needed in the field of fashion history. Its macro approach to the growth of mass fashion, luxury brands and the textile complex since the mid-nineteenth century is readable, easily digestible, thought-provoking and well-researched. * Dr Kate Annett-Hitchcock, Emerita Professor, North Carolina State University, USA *