The stages of West European fashion industry formation: а historical analysis

The article presents the results of the analytical study of the stages of formation and development of West European fashion industry. The authors define the time frame for the emergence of the social phenomenon of fashion and the corresponding industry. In the chronological sequence with reference to historical sources the main changes in society that led to the formation of the fashion industry are considered: the improvement of tools of labor, the growth of commodity handicraft production, the formation of workshops, the development of urban culture, manufactory production, technical revolution, the emergence of high fashion, the issue of glossy magazines, the formation of light industry, the intensification of production. The main conclusions of the study are the following: firstly, the fashion industry is formed as a Western European phenomenon; secondly, historically, there are two main types of goods of the fashion industry - designed for the elite, high society and mass products oriented to consumers of the middle and lower classes; thirdly, the fashion industry becomes part of industrial production in the XX century, obeying the requirements of mass production.