1st Edition

Fashion Entrepreneurship Principles and Practice

Edited By Caroline Swee Lin Tan, Saniyat Islam Copyright 2026
364 Pages 56 Color & 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

364 Pages 56 Color & 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

364 Pages 56 Color & 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This new book is designed to provide a practical and comprehensive guide to fashion entrepreneurship, empowering readers to transform their creative ideas into a viable fashion business. Providing a comprehensive overview of both the commercial and creative aspects to building a fashion business, this textbook also incorporates perspectives on the major sustainability and ethical issues that... Read more

Part 1: The Entrepreneurial Foundation and the Big Idea  

1. Introduction to Fashion Entrepreneurship  

Caroline Swee Lin Tan and Saniyat Islam  

 2. Customer Discovery and Validation  

Caroline Swee Lin Tan  

Part 2: Understanding the Fashion Landscape  

3. Research Strategies for Fashion Ventures  

Saniyat Islam  

4. Analysing the External Environment for Fashion Ventures

Murray Rees  

5. Fashion Forecasting and Analytics  

Luise Adams  

Part 3: Product, Sourcing and Sustainable Operations  

6. Building a Sustainable Product: Materials, Sourcing and Manufacturing  

Saniyat Islam  

7. Ethics and Sustainability: An Intertwined Fashion Systems Approach  

Saniyat Islam  

8. Building Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Internal Analysis  

Caroline Swee Lin Tan  

Part 4: Branding, Marketing and the Business Plan  

9. Building a Fashion Brand  

Tony Lee  

10. Entrepreneurial Marketing: The Interplay Between Fashion Entrepreneurship and Marketing  

Tony Lee  

11. E-Commerce for Fashion  

Nishtha Mohil  

12. Developing Your Fashion Business Plan  

Caroline Swee Lin Tan  

Part 5: Launching, Leading and Scaling the Venture  

13. Legal Issues and Intellectual Property  

Rebecca Taube  

14. Financing and Raising Capital for Entrepreneurial Fashion Ventures  

Chinmay Ananda  

15. Leadership, Human Resource Practices and Organisational Culture for Entrepreneurial Fashion Ventures

Caroline Swee Lin Tan  

16. Measuring Performance for Entrepreneurial Fashion Ventures  

Chinmay Ananda and Caroline Swee Lin Tan  

17. Going Global  

Murray Rees  

Biography

Caroline Swee Lin Tan is an award-winning educator and Associate Professor at RMIT University, specialising in Fashion Entrepreneurship.

Saniyat Islam is an accomplished academic and Associate Professor at RMIT University, focusing on Fashion Enterprise and Sustainable Innovation.

"Carol Tan has assembled a crack team of fashion sector experts and drawn on her own extensive knowledge to produce a masterclass in fashion entrepreneurship. The book takes you from founding through to growth, from strategy to execution, and covers everything from planning, innovating, branding, legal, ethics and sustainability and more. If you’re teaching or working in the business of fashion, Fashion Entrepreneurship: Principles and Practice is a foundational source."

Michael BeverlandProfessor of Brand Management, University of Sussex Business School, UK

"This comprehensive fashion entrepreneurship textbook makes even the toughest concepts easy to understand. With practical tools for instructors and clear, insider knowledge for students, it’s destined to be a classroom favorite."

Lynn M. BooradyPhD, Professor and Department Head in the Department of Design and Merchandising, Oklahoma State University, USA

"For real-world wisdom on driving success that benefits people, profit, and the planet, this book is the gold standard. Filled with invaluable case studies and thought-provoking questions, it's an essential guide for any entrepreneur or educator looking to stand out and lead change in the ever-evolving fashion industry."

Kylee MitchellAcademic Course Manager, Bachelor of Design, Box Hill Institute, Australia

"Fashion Entrepreneurship: Principles and Practice brilliantly bridges the gap between fashion creativity and business acumen. Its comprehensive coverage from customer discovery to global scaling, combined with dedicated chapters on sustainability and ethics, provides aspiring entrepreneurs the essential toolkit to build profitable, responsible fashion ventures in today's competitive marketplace."

Abdullah Abo Milhim, Fashion Business Academic and External Examiner, UK

"The rapid rise of technology coupled with increasing pressures around sustainability makes launching and running a fashion startup more demanding than ever before. This textbook is an essential guide for fashion students and lecturers, equipping them with the tools and knowledge needed to gain a head start in the industry."

Jye Marshall, Lecturer in Fashion Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia

"This book highlights the critical roles of customer discovery, research-driven strategy, and the global network of supply chain, addressing the realities of fashion. It provides a practical guide for emerging entrepreneurs to innovate responsibly and scale sustainably. A must-read for the next generation of fashion entrepreneurs seeking real impact."

Natasa Pitra-Grbic, Founder of PITRA, Fashion Entrepreneur & Academic Mentor, Australia