The Indispensable Role of Entrepreneurship in fashion

At the end of the day, what’s the need behind establishing ourselves in the fashion industry? Is there any guarantee we can have in creating a legacy, a name, or a footprint for the next generations?

I can’t fully answer this question, but there is an array of responses to this issue. Affirming your own brand, voice, and lifestyle is an inevitable homework that most emergent fashion designers, fashion students, and creative entrepreneurs must do in order to find and pave their own way into the industries they desire to experiment with, and eventually stick in.

Between November 2022 and January 2023, layoffs in tech and media have skyrocketed and touched the ceilings of many businesses, bursting a bubble of safety nets and comfort zones that many people had to give up. Working in media, just like in technology or in the arts, doesn’t guarantee you longevity in the long run, unfortunately. Hope is alive and optimism shouldn’t die, but it is also good practice to remain honest with each other and know that the workforce isn’t as generous as we would like to think or wish to be. For this reason, having the ability and knowledge to create an opportunity for yourself, detached from larger and richer institutions one must abide by, means giving yourself a chance to earn money within spaces and communities that are familiar, local, and at heart. An entrepreneurial mindset comes clutch in situations where bureaucratic hierarchies and societal forces don’t allow you to denounce injustices with the same urgency you would like to emphasize them, don’t redistribute wealth to communities in need, or don’t prevent harmful gatekeeping activities. if you’re reading this and you’re from the West, you might get it, but other cultures react differently to entrepreneurship, even within some West countries. Let’s go back to fashion and focus on entrepreneurship in fashion. For example, the Italian fashion industry relies more on core values like tradition and familiarity, giving little to no space to other avenues of promotion and income, through influencer marketing, social media channels, or tight and strategic public relations moves. In Africa, despite the poor data we have been able to gather as a community, there is strong speculation that due to the implementation of new professions and roles in the industry, there’s going to be an evolution in fashion academia too. The United States shows emblematic cases of Internet sensations that blow up one day after the other, securing them profitable deals, fast investments, and successful pathways leading toward financial freedom. The fashion industry isn’t immune to novelty and dynamism, hence to entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs are spread all over the world, from the guy at the corner store selling newspapers to the Wall Street billionaire in an Armani suit. For the purpose of our editorial space, we will focus on the existence and difference between two types of entrepreneurs: the creative entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial creative.

The first one retains more business-oriented steps. Creative entrepreneurs are those who apply creativity in their plans, with no limitations of thinking outside of the box or getting to the edge of an opportunity. These people believe in unconventional ways to achieve success when they don’t see a product or an idea that isn’t present enough in the market. Then there is the entrepreneurial creative, who in the creative and media industries is most likely the person that falls under the categories of designers, influencers, journalists, writers, publicists, or similar professions. Entrepreneurial creatives are lovers of the liberal arts in all their manifestations, but they see a potential profit on which they’d like to gain more capital. In better words, entrepreneurial creatives are individuals that want to carve their own angle in the industries they’re part of, and whose careers are in the creative fields.

But can’t we all shine and benefit from this system? Yes, with a certain mindset. No, with other points of view and goals in life. There’s no right or wrong answer to this, but it is inevitable that one thing that a person can try to approach their career is by having an entrepreneurial mindset or at least knowing about entrepreneurship.

We can learn about entrepreneurship even without holding a degree in economics or being financial gurus. Entrepreneurship is the economic model through which one or multiple parties build, own, and organize a business. The people involved are called entrepreneurs and they are the ones in charge of most of the actions, events, and material that is involved in the business.

True, being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but it is the most popular professional role that suits the majority of creatives, media professionals, and fashion designers who intend to establish themselves in their respective industries’ landscapes. Not everyone wants to be a 9-5 worker, as much as not everyone wants to do the opposite. The beauty of human life is that there is no single and closed-minded way to enjoy one’s existence, so it is up to the individual to explore as much as possible the various chances and styles to give a shot at a good life. Sure, time and location play a huge role in a person’s inclination to lead a certain life and choosing a particular mindset to live by, but in the fashion and media industries entrepreneurship becomes a mirage that is at least mentioned once or twice in someone’s lifetime.

As one can imagine, entrepreneurship isn’t solely attached to fashion or media, but it encompasses any reality or product that can bring profit. If there’s a lack of elements that a person is able to spot right on in the market, there’s an audience that has the potential to be interested in knowing more about the solutions to bring to dismantle the current state of a business, industry, or environment. Clearly, there’s a risk: building an enterprise and getting your foot into entrepreneurship can become a challenge if there’s no education about its difficulties, tricks, and downfalls. So why is entrepreneurship important to know of, and maybe worth studying? Because entrepreneurship is a tangible solution that many minorities get attached to, bet on, and with which escape from the poverty line.

Successful stories of talents like Telfar Clemens (fashion), Babba Riviera Canales (beauty), MoAna Luu (design, jewelry), and Karen Comer Lower (art) demonstrate the efficiency that comes out of implementing creativity and entrepreneurship together, with the objective of the creation of a legacy, the acquisition of societal autonomy, and the obtainment of financial freedom, which in most cases leads to financial stability.

However, entrepreneurship isn’t necessarily something you are born with: it’s a skill that needs education around it, practice, and mentorship. Fashion On The Beat decided to dedicate the last week of January 2023 to the first themed series of this year, on the realities, businesses, and personalities that can inspire us to get more familiar with the entrepreneurial mindset. This week you’ll get to read stories featuring the wonderful winners and students at Entrepreneurs Of Tomorrow (EOT) and many other fashion designers whose take on entrepreneurship shook the state of fashion, business, and creativity.