From fashion to design in Italy

The presentation addresses two key problems that creative industries face today: valuation of the products and the speed dimension. The problem of valuation relates to the ability of firms to estimate the value of different products, or to select successful products to be introduced at the final market. The speed dimension relates to the ability of firms to undertake the process from idea to product fast to meet a central demand in the fashion industry: to differ from the crowd.

The presentation is based on interviews with the design branches of world leading leisure and sportswear firms in the cluster of Montebelluna in NE Italy. The process from idea to product is described and includes the sequential interaction between information and inspiration from external sources and internal resources of firms. The valuation of the product and the speed dimension are related to the collective knowledge creation and learning mechanisms found in industrial clusters. The ability of clusters to address the problems of valuation and speed and to support the competitive advantages of firms will be discussed.