KOREASCHOLAR

Compelling evidence suggests that the Earth’s resources deplete fast and the fashion industry from mainstream to luxury is also partly responsible to this environmental deterioration. The model of fashion production based on global supply chains for cheaper production locations and consumption where speed and endless diversification cater for global demand can hardly be described as sustainable and luxury is no exception to this. The thorny issue in the current state is how to reconcile sustainability which by definition opposes wasteful production and consumption with competitiveness which is built on aggressive models of global brand domination. The authors argue that the craft practices of the tailoring institutions of Savile Row in London constitute an important sustainable luxury example. The tailors have managed remarkably to combine sustainability and competitiveness in a relational model of competition and cooperation.

• WenYing Claire Shih(Hsuan Chuang University, Taiwan)
• Konstantinos Agrafiotes(Independent Fashion Consultant, UK)