Fashion is all around us: we see it, we buy it, we read about it, but most people know little about fashion as a business. Veronica Manlow considers the broader significance of fashion in society, the creative process of fashion design, and how fashion unfolds in an organizational context where design is conceived and executed. To get a true insider's perspective, she became an intern at fashion giant Tommy Hilfiger. There, she observed and recorded how a business's culture is built on a brand that is linked to the charisma and style of its leader.

Fashion firms are not just in the business of selling clothing along with a variety of sidelines. These companies must also sell a larger concept around which people can identify and distinguish themselves from others. Manlow defines the four main tasks of a fashion firm as creation of an image, translation of that image into a product, presentation of the product, and selling the product. Each of these processes is interrelated and each requires the efforts of a variety of specialists, who are often in distant locations. Manlow shows how the design and presentation of fashion is influenced by changes in society, both cultural and economic. Information about past sales and reception of items, as well as projective research informs design, manufacturing, sales, distribution, and marketing decisions.

Manlow offers a comprehensive view of the ways in which creative decisions are made, leading up to the creation of actual styles. She helps to define the contribution fashion firms make in upholding, challenging, or redefining the social order. Readers will find this a fascinating examination of an industry that is quite visible, but little understood.