The Geography of Producing and Marketing Design for Montreal Fashion: Exploring the Role of Cultural Intermediaries

Abstract

The significance of design as a source of value-added for manufacturing goods is gaining wide currency in an era of globalization. Design offers a means by which firms in a given nation can differentiate their products and remain viable as markets become more open, competitive and volatile. However, as an activity that simultaneously entails aesthetic, technical and commercial considerations, it can not rely on an established set of practices. Rather, design will often involve short-lived cycles that require continual flows of information, with innovation in this context implying a command of current trends. Moreover, these cycles assume different temporalities for different sectors, with clothes having relatively shorter cycles in comparison to cars, for instance. With the rise of new communication technologies, information flows through the clothing supply chain (from textile supplier to distributor) have ushered in a new paradigm of ‘fast fashion’, which shortens the product cycle even further. Thus, the basis of competitiveness in this context is an ability continually to tap into market trends and to embody such trends within the design and marketing of one’s products.

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