Chapter 8 Grappling with the Challenges of Start-up in the Designer Fashion Industry in a Small Economy: How Social Capital Articulates with Strategies in Practice

Abstract

Creative industries, such as the designer fashion industry (DFI), are among the toughest in which to establish sustainable business ventures. While studies have examined how networks and social capital contribute to independent DFI start-ups and why such businesses fail, these studies have been largely restricted to well-established entrepreneurial spaces like London, which differ in structure and size compared to emerging DFI entrepreneurial spaces in small economies like New Zealand. This chapter addresses this gap in the creative enterprise literature by presenting findings from an examination of 12 New Zealand fashion designers' accounts of their responses to start-up challenges. The analysis, which paid particular attention to the relationship between social capital and reported strategic practice, revealed that the designers' challenge profiles and strategic responses were linked to very 'biographical' personal

The role of networks in supporting micro- and small-sized sustainable fashion businesses

“…Sustainable clothing businesses face multiple challenges: maintaining product value, quality, and esthetics; meeting the needs of suppliers; and coping with higher material and labor costs (Curwen, Park, and Sarkar 2013). Personal (informal) and formal industry networks and professional connections play key roles in helping startups meet the challenges they face (Mills 2018;Aakko and Niinim€ aki 2018) as SMEs often lack sufficient resources and knowledge for business operations (Schoonjans, Van Cauwenberge, and Vander Bauwhede 2013). In particular, building relationships with manufacturers is important (Malem 2008).…”