Fashion Designers as Entrepreneurs: Challenges and Advantages of Micro-size Companies

Abstract

This study examines fashion entrepreneurship from the designer’s perspective. The aim is to identify what kinds of challenges fashion designers face in their simultaneous roles as designers and entrepreneurs, and what the potential advantages of that position are. The article aims to supplement existing research on micro-scale fashion design businesses that has focused primarily on the encountered challenges. A total of 16 entrepreneurial fashion designers from Finland, Estonia, and Latvia were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used in order to identify patterns in the diverse experiences of the entrepreneurial designers, and to conceptualize them into concise themes and subcategories. The purpose of the study is to bring a broader understanding of the designer’s viewpoint, and thus it highlights also personal perspectives and motivations behind fashion entrepreneurship. The results show that entrepreneurial fashion designers have to have multilevel managerial skills to run their business. Another important factor for success is the creating of balance between the business and private life. This study identifies micro-size fashion companies as businesses where creativity is a successful combination of fashion creativity and entrepreneurial creativity. Furthermore, the study shows that the obstacle for business growth might be the designer’s business orientation rather than the lack of investors. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the different drivers behind the business, acknowledge the importance of intrinsic values (e.g. aesthetic and creative aspects), and allow them to shape the business.

KEYWORDS:

• fashion designer
• micro-scale business
• entrepreneurship
• creative business
• challenges
• advantages

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 According to Carland et al. (1984), a small business owner can be understood as an individual who establishes and manages a business mainly for furthering personal goals and who may perceive “the business as an extension of his or her personality” (358). An entrepreneur is similarly the founder, independent owner, and manager of the business, but in addition, he/she prioritizes profit and growth, and thus employs strategic management practices in the business (Carland et al. 1984). In most small-scale fashion business and entrepreneurship literature these terms are used interchangeably. In this article, the terms are used in a similar manner, with the emphasis on a person who owns and manages the business, whether the focus is on growth or personal goals.

2 This detail emerged as a secondary finding of this study.

3 For example, emerging Finnish fashion designers have won first prizes and other awards in the respected International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères in recent years (http://www.villanoailles-hyeres.com/welcome/).

4 The Fashion BA program of Aalto University (Finland) received third place in 2016 and fifth place in 2017 in a global fashion school ranking conducted by The Business of Fashion (https://www.businessoffashion.com/education/rankings).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture; the Department of Design and Fashion/Textile Futures research team; and the EU-funded Central Baltic Fashion Seed project (EUSBSR funded, project number S96, acronym CBFSEED).

Notes on contributors

Maarit Aakko

Maarit Aakko is a visiting post-doctoral researcher at Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture with an interest in artisanal and slow fashion.

Kirsi Niinimäki

Kirsi Niinimäki is an associate professor in Design (Fashion Research) and Leader of Fashion/Textile FUTURES research group at Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture. Her research interests include sustainable fashion and textile design, the connection between design, manufacturing systems, business models and consumption habits, Product-Service-Systems (PSS) and green business thinking.