The Business of Fashion

We talk about sustainability, business, and being an editor with Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases.

Hi Natascha, would you be able to introduce yourself?

I am an award-winning author, educator and researcher specialising in sustainable fashion, international marketing and responsible business. I am Vice Chair of The Costume Society, Chair of the UK and Ireland Chapter of the UN-supported initiative Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). I have collaborated with organisations including Crafts Council, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the RSA on projects at the intersection of sustainable fashion, cultural heritage and alternative business models, and currently work at Ravensbourne University London where, alongside my research activities, I run an innovative MBA in Fashion Business and Entrepreneurship.

I am also the author of several cases in Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases collection, including the Stella McCartney case [this business case is free to read for a limited time] which was runner-up in the Financial Times Responsible Business Education Awards.

Do you think that being an editor has helped your wider work?

I love writing, but before working with Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases, I didn’t realise what a skill being an editor was, and how much I love it! It’s great to be able to find the gaps in the field and see the potential in someone else’s work and help them achieve their writing goals. I’m passionate about quality teaching, and am frequently asked to contribute to course validations and workshops on teaching excellence, and being an editor of such a unique fashion industry resource has helped me develop a specialist area of expertise in case study writing and teaching, which is appreciated by both business and fashion faculty seeking to deliver authentic teaching and assessments.

What industry developments are you excited about at the moment?

I’ve recently been invited to write about the impact of technologies on fashion design, promotion and selling – which of course is a perennial theme in the development of the industry. I’ve also been working for a long time on research into fashion’s relationship with cultural heritage and craft. So, whilst these topics may seem unrelated, I’m excited both at how craft and hand skills are finding new audiences and new levels of appreciation, as well as seeing the potential for technology to enhance the production and experience of fashion, and even what we consider fashion to be.

Are there any issues you think the industry needs to focus on in the future?

Unfortunately, it seems as though sustainability – in all its understandings – has slipped down the priority list for many fashion businesses, despite students and young professionals wanting to deliver a greener, fairer fashion industry. So, it’s not a new issue, but the industry needs to find a variety of credible ways to deliver decent work (the United Nations SDG 8) through fashion, as well as sustainable long-lasting products in ways that don’t harm people and planet and at a scale that is more in line with responsible consumption and production (UN SDG 12).

The Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases annual update is now available, what business cases are you looking forward to sharing and why?

One of my missions as Editor-in-Chief of BFBC is to encourage new case authors, so I’m delighted to see a few new author names added to our list of contributors! This enables us to engage students with a more diverse range of fashion business cases, so I’m equally pleased to see the annual update includes cases on fashion businesses in Asia (Anisa Johny) and Africa (Kismot Kamal). Contemporary fashion business has a lot to learn from the history of fashion, not just in terms of style but how business practices developed, so it's good to see cases that utilise archive materials to engage students with the sorts of recurring questions fashion business face in terms of stock and merchandising (Jennifer Mower). Similarly, exploring brand success stories helps students understand strategy in practice (Bryce Quillin and Jessica Quillin). Whilst finding ways to push ethics, inclusivity, and sustainable and circular fashion, not only align with my own specialism but are just what today’s future leaders of fashion want and need to engage with (Emma Håkansson, Alex Baudet, Ela Veresiu, and Marie-Agnès Parmentier, C. Zoe Schumm, Ha Eun Chae and Kyung Hee Choi, Barbara Shepherd and Sarah Collins).

How do you think the collection can help prepare students for their future careers?

There is often talk of a ‘skills gap’ between what employers in the fashion industry expect, and what graduates feel they can offer. A well-written case delivered by an enthusiastic teacher provides opportunities for students to put themselves in the shoes of decision-makers in fashion companies and to engage with the sort of real-life crises and events that face fashion brands and businesses and that require strategic, informed decision-making and action. In this way students can get a chance to rehearse fashion industry roles – whether it be in design, merchandising, marketing, management etc. and to develop a skillset that makes them ultimately more confident and thus more employable.

What do you think makes a good business case?

The most important factors for writing a good business case is a strong narrative, setting the scene so students tackling the case in class can really feel the characters, products and events that are at the centre of the case. It’s extremely important that there is a central decision-making point to the case, and that students understand what their role(s) is/are in responding to the case. Cases need to be written concisely but with enough detail to set up the business questions and a good set of teaching notes offering examples of class activities and assessments is invaluable to help teachers introduce and develop the case in their own context.

Want to know more about Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases? Browse now or find out about free trials and purchasing options.

Interested in becoming an editor too? We are currently looking for people to join the editorial team for Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases to ensure we continue to represent the global fashion industry. Please contact Rosie Trethewey with your CV.

Image credit: Mindful Media via Getty Images