The End of Fashion: How Marketing Changed the Clothing Business Forever (Paperback)

by Teri Agins (Author) "The stock market crash of October 19, 1987, left the world in stunned suspension, as millions of people pondered how their lives would inevitably change..." (more)
Key Phrases: fashion licensing, fashion insiders, designer merchandise, New York, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The End of Fashion rips into the seamy underbelly of a world where marketing is king, and often the emperor has no clothes." -- Vanity Fair

"A fascinating read for anyone who lives the industry, its players, or clothing itself." -- The Boston Globe

"Agins has a gift for bringing the business of fasion to life. . . . It may indeed be the end of fashion, but Agins makes it an entertaining ride." -- Newsweek

"Fast reading and surgically precise. The hottest business book at the start of the millennium. The End of Fashion should be required reading for everyone in our industry." -- Bud Konheim, CEO, Nicole Miller Ltd.

"Teri Agins is one of the most influential and well-respected reporters in the industry of fashion and all its facets. The End of Fashion is a watershed book which has pioneered a new realm of what fashion means to people. This is landmark book which reveals the complexities inside fashion in an original and entertaining way. -- Andre Leon Talley, editor at large, Vogue

It ought to be required reading for peoople who think they might like to be clothing designers. -- --New York Times

It ought to be required reading for peoople who think they might like to be clothing designers. -- New York Times

No other writer has the combined wit, style, sources, and fashion industry savvy to match the Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins, and it's all on display in The End of Fashion. The depth of reporting makes this essential reading not just for "fashionistas," but anyone interested in how business really works-or fails-in this dizzying world of art, culture, entertainment, and finance. -- James B. Stewart, author of Den of Thieves and Blood Sport

[The End of Fashion] will have old-school fashionistas weeping into their Ferragamo scarves. -- --Entertainment Weekly

[The End of Fashion] will have old-school fashionistas weeping into their Ferragamo scarves. -- Entertainment Weekly

“[The End of Fashion] will have old-school fashionistas weeping into their Ferragamo scarves.” -- --Entertainment Weekly

Product Description

The time when "fashion" was defined by French designers whose clothes could be afforded only by elite has ended. Now designers take their cues from mainstream consumers and creativity is channeled more into mass-marketing clothes than into designing them. Indeed, one need look no further than the Gap to see proof of this. In The End of Fashion, Wall Street Journal reporter Teri Agins astutely explores this seminal change, laying bare all aspects of the fashion industry from manufacturing, retailing, and licensing to image making and financing. Here as well are fascinating insider vignettes that show Donna Karan fighting with financiers, the rivalry between Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, and the commitment to haute couture that sent Isaac Mizrahi's business spiraling.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (August 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060958200
• ISBN-13: 978-0060958206
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #80,811 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Names, Names, Names, dahling, November 24, 2004

By	DelancyStreetBooks (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I'm glad that I finally got the book after seeing Teri on the Oprah show and the Metro Channel. Her reporting genius and years of experience show as she single-handedly unveils this industry which too often tends to believe its own hype. It was especially interesting to read her accounts of the ways in which the homogenization of large American retail stores has bolstered designers' marketing and branding efforts and subsequently, and ironically, led to the death of fashion. This read was especially timely as I watch my hip trendy New Yorker friends spending $200 on banal denim pants in assorted hues. My only regret is that Teri never once conceded that designers are artists; her approach was strictly business and on those terms this book is brilliant.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Have" Book for Fashion Designers, June 19, 2002

By	Senay (TOPCUOGLU) GOKCEN (Izmir, TURKEY) - See all my reviews

I bought this book 2 years ago and I still read it over and over again. When you're in Fashion Business, you always want to know what others - "your competitors"- do at the same time. How they react to the same trends, how they manage their works, how they do their fashion shows, what they think of, etc. This book tells all the backstage, all the things about Fashion Designers, all you wanna know and things you'd never think of. It's easy and fun to read. If you're a beginner in Fashion, you must have this book. This book is like a kitchen and every single page is a recipe...

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fashion books tend to be vapid. This book packs a wallop, January 15, 2004

By	clothing design entrepreneur (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Teri Agins did a terrific job with her book "The End of Fashion". The title sounds a bit fatalistic, but the content and tome is fantastic. I've always wanted to know the history, business practices, personality and profiles of accomplished designers and Teri Agins delivers all this beautifully. No malice is detected and Ms.Agins' professionalism is evident throughout. No catty swipes are made, even when she discusses Donna's exorbitant overhead and sample process or when she discusses Tommy's obsession with everything Ralph Lauren. Remember Ralph: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I'm so glad to know what really happened to Mossimo and Zoran. This book about fashion designers and the fashion industry is a great read. I highly recommend it to fashion and garment industry types as well as for the informed or curious customer.