Convegno Internazionale - Centri di Ricerca - Università Cattolica ...

Convegno Internazionale
QUESTIONI DI MODA
Milano, 7 Maggio 2004
Aula Pio XI
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
L.go Gemelli, 1
THE GLOBALISATION OF CULTURE:
THE FASHION INDUSTRY AS A CASE STUDY
Diana Crane, University of Pennsylvania
Abstract
Globalization has become an immensely popular topic among social scientists in spite of the fact that
the phenomenon is poorly defined and difficult to research systematically. In this paper, cultural
globalization—as opposed to economic, political, or technological globalization—refers to the
transmission or diffusion across national borders of various forms of media and arts, including
decorative or applied arts. I will examine the production and dissemination of fashion and clothing as a
form of cultural globalization.
Surprisingly, there is little agreement or even discussion concerning what constitutes
transmission or diffusion on a global scale. In fact, however, cultural globalization generally refers to
cultural products or artifacts that are circulated among advanced or advancing countries, particularly
those that constitute desirable markets or that possess sufficient levels of income for investment in the
arts and in industries that produce cultural artifacts. It is important to realize that cultural globalization
is no longer conceptualized in terms of the emergence of a homogenized global culture corresponding
to a McLuhnian global village. Instead, cultural globalization is recognized to be a complex and diverse
phenomenon consisting of global cultures in the plural, originating from many different nations and
regions.
Assuming that all forms of culture construct and deconstruct social identities and social
relations, cultural globalization raises important and controversial issues concerning its effects on
national and local cultures and the nature of their responses to it. What are the implications for our
understanding of cultural globalization of changes in the character and ownership of international or
multinational conglomerates, of the roles of regional and national cultures in relation to global cultures,
and in the complexity of the public’s responses to global cultures?
My objective in this paper is: (1) to review the principal theoretical models that have been used
to explain or interpret the phenomenon of cultural globalization; and (2) to discuss the current status
of these models in relation to recent literature on the globalization of fashion and clothing industries.
The four models I will discuss are the following: the cultural imperialism thesis, the cultural flows or
network model, reception theory, and a model of national and urban strategies toward cultural
globalization (see Figure 1). My approach will be to confront these models with available evidence
which is inevitably incomplete. The phenomenon of cultural globalization is sufficiently complex that
no single theory can be expected to explain it adequately.

E. Mora - Modacult
NOTES FOR DISCUSSION
Abstract
I’ll try to point out some questions about the modern Italian fashion system. The four models of
cultural globalization illustrated by Diana Crane give us an useful theoretical frame to understand the
terms of the topic:
1) what are the specific features of Italian fashion system, related to specific characteristics of the
country, in the global network of fashion?
a) modern Italian fashion was born in the ’50 and ’60 thanks to the intuitions and
undertaking of some people, who were at the same time tailors/designers and
entrepreneurs: i.e., modern Italian fashion is since its origin already an industrial
phenomenon, which gave an important contribution to the transformation of the social
role of fashion. In fact, Italian fashion designers had to gain their international
acknowledgment against French couturiers, who were considered and considered
themselves as artists.
b) The cultural mood of exclusivity, creativity, elegance that characterize Italian fashion
has its roots in the medieval and renaissance history. The fragmentated structure of Italy
in many states and courts produced a relative closeness of all social strata to the inner
life of the courts, exposing most people to the tastes and uses of clothing of the
aristocracy and favouring the wide diffusion of such tastes.
As a consequence of these two independent processes we could say that the modern Italian
fashion system creates a widely accepted cultural mainstream, which involves people of all the
social strata, who are finding in the fashion a way to empower their social visibility and
inclusion. At the same time, it seems that Italian fashion system and its particular kind of
audience restrains the development of clear forms of resistance, such as autochthon streetstyles.
I’ll try to discuss some social implications of this specific model of fashion reception.
2) As part of the global conglomerates, the most important brands of luxury as well as those of
fashion-oriented clothing market exercise a pressure in terms of cultural imperialism upon the
rest of the Italian fashion system. This is characterized by a wide diffusion of small enterprises,
located all over the country and suffering because of this pressure. This cultural and economic
cannibalization feeds the traditional individualism of the actors of the fashion system and the
radical competition among them, and doesn’t aid the Country-System to develop useful
policies to face the challenges of globalization through a rationalization of local strategies.

Simona Segre Reinach, IULM University, Milan
Abstract
“I wish to thank Prof. Diane Crane for a most interesting paper that make me re-think about some
fashion issues I’m working on at the moment”.
As it was said, cultural globalization raises important and controversial issues concerning its effects on
national and local cultures and the nature of their response to it.
Fashion and clothing are form of cultural globalization as media, arts, decorative or applied arts.
The first point I like to discuss is the peculiar nature of fashion within the realm of commodities and
consequently its specific role within cultural globalization.
The debate anti-fashion is much older than the one against consumption, for instance....
Fashion it is not the only product that deals with the body and one’s identity, but certainly is the one
that is most defined by the relation body-identity.... (Entwistle 2000, Wilson 2002).
Criticising or enhancing, different authors enphasize fashion peculiar nature...(Baudrillard 1987 and
Mc Cracken 1988)
I will briefly discuss two fashion industries, China and Senegal, that hopefully contribute to this debate
about global fashion.
The first one refers to a field work I’m doing at the moment....
The second one is just a flash after visiting the Biennale of Dakar..a couple of years ago..
The first case ( China) illustrates how a country that has been in a position of subjection (a case cultural
imperialism), it is now not only reacting, but it is also challenging the leading fashion culture: Italian
pret à porter.
Italy wants to sell luxury products to the new Chinese rich, protect the so called “made in Italy” luxury
products (very often made in China) from the low cost similar products that come from China and still
using China as a productive base for both luxury and fashion oriented producsts.
The very theme of imitation, copying and falsification (China is the first country producing false
brands, Italy is the second and fisrt in Europe) is at the heart of this process which is unveiling some
paradox in the current notion of luxury and speeding up the diffusion of global fast fashion....
Italian fashion system sees China as both an opportunity and a danger.
China wants to learn from Italy fashion branding strategies.
With Joint ventures and WFOE increasing in number every year, a cultural and economic battle is
going on.
(Segre 2004)
The second example (Senegal) could be considered a case of Regional Alternative to Western Fashion
Industry. It illustrates how a country, and a specifically region – Dakar and surrounding – can produce
an autonomous fashion system probably because it is consistent with Western codes - i.e. catwalk
shows and a system built around designers.
The presence of a “filiera integrata” (verticalization) - production of textile, style designers and
taylors, urban life style, active connection with Paris fashion– give rise to a local fashion and a
circulation of African talents whose center is Dakar annual fashion week.
The interest of Western countries for “well designed” (to fit Western standards) ethnic fashion
contribute to establish the Senegal model.
(Grabski 2003)

Enrico Cietta, Diomedea
Crane’s paper is important and valuable for three reasons:
1. she offers a unique taxonomy of theoretical models that have been used to explain cultural
globalisation
2. she applies those models to fashion industry and tries to understand at which extent such models
explain what happened in the industry/market
3. she uses a model of analysis that may be used to identify a cause-effect relationship (i.e. if a
specific theoretical model is true then we can expect fashion market will follow a specific
development path in the future.)
From an economic point of view and from an Italian perspective I will analyse what globalization
meant and did not in the fashion industry.
First of all I will describe which were the fears of many Italian fashion businessmen (let’s say ten
years ago) on the matter of globalisation. For each wrong forecast and expectation I will give
an example (with economic data if it is possible) that explain the incorrectness of that forecast
the false/incorrect model/idea that inspired that prediction (I will try to relate it to Crane’s paper)
the true/correct model/idea on my view
according to this table:
Wrong forecast example False model/idea explanation
homogenized global consumption The same consumer Cultural
Reception theory
uses different
distribution channel
imperialism model
Fashion is a game for big players Failure of multibrand Cultural
Niche vs. brand
strategy
imperialism model market
Need of economy of scale for Country/brand Big markets need Glocal theory
fashion firms in certain activities: specific product and big players
communication, marketing,
design, advertising, finance
advertising
Impersonal retailing The communication Big market needs (g)local markets
of product does not
end with the
advertising
big retailers
Instead globalisation meant for fashion industry:
Vertical integration Producers became retailers and viceversa
Retailing as well as
producing became global
International retail system for Italian fashion system
Different market
Brand (mass) market
segmentation based on firm specialized in a specific consumers (behaviour) target
unusual characteristics firm specialized in a specific products family

According to me we need to investigate more on:
1. reasons, effects, differences of cultural globalisation in three different type of industries
producers controlled industries: like biotechnology with its effects on food industry (food does
have a cultural impact on society) and on biodiversity
partially producers controlled industries: like music industry where big players partially control
distribution system
consumer driven industry: like fashion where consumers can be influenced (not forced) with
powerful global media but consumption behavior remains mostly unforeseeable.
2. The contribution in cultural globalization of segments of the fashion market different from “brand
market”
firm specialized in a specific consumers target
firm specialized in a specific products family

Silvana Lincetto/Trussardi S.p.A.'s speech content
Abstract
Japan is one country able to play a primary role in development ad spread of cultural globalization,
due to its strong national cultural identity different from Western, and contemporarily with a high
capability of assimilation and high technology level, consequently with strong potentiality of
expression.
I will use the 4 models proposed to show Japan in the context of cultural globalization, explaining the
development of fashion from the eighties tonowadays, with emphasis on its peculiarities that make it a
unique case.
I'm not a "scholar" but a manager working in luxury brand fashion business since '88, mainly dedicated
to Japanese market after a University degree in Oriental languages, a 2 years stay in Tokyo for
improving my Japanese, so I will refer to my personal job experience.