27241 - Organisation of the Fashion System

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students should have acquired contents and tools that are essential for sociological-type analysis from a cultural production theory point of view, with a specific connection to processes relating to job organisation. Students should be able to analyse and understand the processes relating to material and symbolic production in the fashion system and in the cultural production areas linked to it on both a practical and theoretical level and using the specific bibliographical teaching material.

Course contents

The first part of the course deals with the fundamental sociological theories that have been engaged in fashion as a cultural product; that is, as both a material and symbolic result of the collective action in an organised context. After the first part, fashion system organisation processes will be studied in order to understand the way they work in practice, specifically in the phases of planning, production and commercialization of a collection.

The main topics of the course are summarized below:
1) The theories of fashion as a system:
-Fashion as innovation and collective selection;
-Fashion as a field of production of symbolic goods;
-Fashion as a cultural industry;
-Fashion as a world of art.
2) The lexicon of fashion:
-Haute Couture;
-Prêt-à-Porter;
-High fashion;
-Fast fashion.
3) The fashion system: borders and actors:
-The fashion form and its modalities;
-The relationship with the arts;
-Fashion as an organizational mechanism.
4) The Dior organizational model.
5) The study of consumer behaviour.
6) Forecasting trends.
7) General structure of a clothing company.
8) The development of the collections.
9) The fashion show organisation.
10) Retail management and visual marketing.
11) Fashion management and strategic planning.
12) The industrialisation of the product.
13) The sales process.
14) The forecast and analysis of the sales.
15) The purchases process.
16) The production process.
17) Customer service.
18) Logistics.

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

1) - Nicoletta Giusti, Introduzione allo studio della moda, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009. Students should study only chapters 3-4-5-6-7- of this book;

2) – Nicoletta Giusti, Il “designer di moda”, "man-in-the middle" e intermediario culturale, in "Rassegna italiana di sociologia", n. 4, ottobre dicembre 2009, pp. 570-607;

3) - Vittorio Bini, La supply chain della moda. Strumenti per la gestione globale dell'impresa: dallo sviluppo del prodotto al negozio, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2011;

4) - Simona Ironico, Fashion Management. Mercati, consumatori, tendenze e strategie di marca nel settore moda, Milano, Franco Angeli 2004. Students should only study chapters 2-4-5-6-9-10 of this book.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures on the topics indicated above, with the support of multimedia devices. Professionals working with companies operating in the fashion industry will be invited to lecture and to contribute thanks to their experience, by tackling some of the topics to be dealt with during this course.

Assessment methods

b) Non-attending students

Non-attending students will sit a written exam using the TCExam platform at the informatics labs situated in Via Domenico Angherà 22, Rimini. The written exam will consist in 15 questions, which will be formulated on the basis of the material stated in the syllabus.

For every question, four possible answers will be suggested, out of which the student needs to indicate the one he/she considers to be the most correct one.

The evaluation for all students to be examined is based on 30 points. The final result is calculated by subtracting from 30 the sum corresponding to the possible errors and/or missing answers.

For every correct answer, 0 points will be subtracted, while 2 points will be subtracted from 30 for every wrong or missing answer.

The time at the students’ disposal to complete this written test will be 25 minutes.

Non-attending students wishing to improve their result obtained in the written exam will have the possibility to take an oral exam, which will integrate their written exam, after having studied one text to be chosen out of the following options:

-Paolo Volonté, a cura di, La creatività diffusa, cultura e mestieri della moda oggi, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2003;

-Emanuela Mora, Fare moda, esperienze di produzione e consumo, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2009;

-Marco Ricchetti, Enrico Cietta, a cura di, Il valore della moda, industria e servizi in un settore guidato dall’innovazione, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2006;

-Yunica Kawamaura, La moda, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005.

a) Attending students

Students who attend classes can choose one out of two exam options:

1) The first option is to sit the exam as described above for non-attending students.

2) The second option, for students who attend the majority of the planned lessons, is to sit a written pre-examination on the part of the programme relating to the text "Introduction to the Study of Fashion" by Nicoletta Giusti, on 18th March 2019 at 9:00 a.m..

This pre-examination will use the TCExam platform, with the modalities indicated above for the written exam for non-attending students.

Students who attend classes will then be able to sit an oral exam on the remaining part of the programme, based on the exam dates published on AlmaEsami from May 2019 onwards.

We would kindly ask all students, who register on the exam lists, to unsubscribe if they decide not to sit the exam or are unable to do so. Your cooperation is essential to the optimal organisation of the exams and to ensure that students, who are present, do not need to wait unnecessarily.

In general, students are expected to know the principal sociological theories, which are trying to understand and to explain the mechanisms of fashion production and diffusion and the operational processes of the fashion phenomenon understood as an organized system.

Considering that many students will be close to start approaching the working world, a fundamental aspect for the evaluation will be the good knowledge of the organisational aspects characterizing the companies, which are operating in the fashion field with regards to the creative, productive and commercial parts.

In case of an oral exam, the maximum result will be given if the student demonstrates to be able to put forward the material in an organic, exhaustive and conscious way, connecting it possibly also to knowledge obtained in other classes. Further criteria for a maximum result will regard the capacity of analysis and reasoning, the language quality and the development of an own point of view, which might also be critical, on the topics to be dealt with.

A satisfactory result will be given if the student demonstrates a good knowledge of the topics treated during class, a good expressive capacity and if the student develops a personal approach to some of the treated aspects.

A sufficient result will be given if the student demonstrates a minimal knowledge of the course contents, without showing a personal approach to the treated aspects and if the student does not always use the proper terminology.

A negative result will be given if the minimal knowledge of the course contents is missing and if the student uses an inadequate expressive form.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slides and videos will be used during lessons.

Office hours

See the website of Luca Fabbri