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When it comes to the analysis of markets, difference has been described as a tool for competition and for carving out specific target groups. Once it is taken as factual, the significance of difference for market processes is undoubted. Taking a practice theoretical perspective at the market for Islamic fashion in Berlin, this paper explores what comes before. It intends to investigate not only the effects of difference but also its performance. Investigating how difference is accomplished by entrepreneurs as active agents of the market will also shed light on the societal surroundings of the market and the ways in which it is embedded in its sociocultural and discursive environment, hence highlighting the significance of its context for economic action, and vice versa.

Buying secondhand clothing is not only interesting for consumers wanting to save money but also for sustainable clothing enthusiasts. It is now among a number of consumption practices which slow down fast fashion production while saving 10 to 20 times the energy (Fletcher, 2008, p. 100). While most of the recent scholarly work focuses on secondhand consumers (Bianchi & Birtwistle, 2010; Franklin, 2011; Norum, 2015), this paper aims to examine business activities. This perspective from economic anthropology enhances understandings of secondhand clothing, as research to-date has tended to neglect the semiotic function of clothing while underlining exchanges. To gain insight into the dynamics of the sector in Germany today, two businesses from Hamburg have been ethnographically examined by the author since 2014. This study outlines their work practices and explains the development of this high-end segment of the market from the 1970s until the digital age. For businesses, the digitalization of the trade has had massive effects on their business practice because it seems to solve inherent problems connected to the selling of pre-owned clothing. I argue that the digitalization did not only promote acceptance of buying secondhand clothing in Germany but also the emergence of new businesses models.

Because we lack a usable definition of the concept of style to inform research on the creative industries, this chapter takes a first step toward developing a style-based perspective on them. The use of style in disciplines where the study of creative industries occupies a notable position (sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and management) is compared and contrasted with a series of related concepts (status, fashion, trend, genre, movement, and category). Style is defined as a durable, recognizable pattern of aesthetic choices. Propositions that relate style to an organization’s creative performance are formulated for two types of audience: insiders and outsiders.

My ‘lost project’ is captured in a recollection of a senior school ball, my final ethnographic encounter following 15 months of fieldwork in a middle class government high school, from which students barely get a mention in any of the publications stemming out of the overall project. Two questions are pursued in the paper, focused firstly on why students were ignored in the final rendering of my doctoral research and why I continued to continue to research student groups so actively right up to the end point of the project? Attributing this apparently contradictory set of circumstances to an anthropological commitment to holism that eschews the smallness of studies of groups and sites and fail to take account of broader socio-political contexts, the author is content enough in acknowledging that insights reported here would not have emerged without an ongoing commitment to an engaged holism throughout the whole of the project.

As a significant part of childhood material culture, children's clothes contribute to shaping their social identity and gender, as well as to developing and supporting their interactions with their environment related to their age. The focus on children's education and well-being is essential. Their voices should be emphasised in the interest of promoting an inclusive future in both research on children's material culture and in practice. However, despite the daily nature of children's interaction with clothing, their relationship with clothes is ignored and methods to support an analysis of it are lacking. An investigation of children's clothing behaviour is needed to better understand children's agency, to influence industry experts and to encourage policymakers to engage more sustainably with children's fashion. IN2FROCC (Interdisciplinary and International Network for Research on Children and Clothing) is comprised of historians, anthropologists, sociologists, ethnologists, museum curators, childhood practitioners, designers, industry representatives and children united in an investigation into children's clothes around the globe, historically and in social ecosystems. This network seeks to engage in an innovative, inclusive and organic manner with current research on children's dress codes, fashion and clothes to establish a deeper understanding of children's clothing interactions. This chapter will present the initial reflections and actions of this network, creating impactful methods for participative children's clothing culture and design.

This study aims to examine the functions of hijab fashion among hijab-wearing women and explore the role of social media and influencers in hijab fashion.

The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 29 hijab-wearing women in Turkey. The authors collected data in June–November 2020.

Findings show that hijab fashion functions as encouragement, attraction, modesty and social image among Turkish Muslim women. This study also shows that social media and influencers change the meaning of the hijab while promoting hijab fashion. Findings reveal that Instagram boutiques act as digital fashion magazines, which enable women to integrate faster into popular culture today. While influencers have increased the number of hijab-wearing women, they have also turned the hijab into a commodity in the market by degenerating its true meaning.

This study has several limitations regarding the sample and geographic context of consumers. This study may not represent Turkish Muslim women’s behavior as our sample consists of 29 women. Therefore, larger samples are needed to generalize our findings. Undertaking cross-cultural studies will also enable marketers to make cultural comparisons.

This study offers some insights for Islamic marketing practitioners in terms of influencer using in hijab fashion.

This study adds to the previous research on hijab fashion and hijab consumption on Instagram. This study also extends the previous literature by examining the role of social media and influencers in hijab fashion. Findings revealed that the hijab is gradually losing its spiritual value by becoming a commodity packaged and marketed through Instagram and influencers.

This study aims to provide insights to designers for seeking innovative ways to design sustainable clothes and appeal to consumers by enhancing sustainability.

To achieve the research purpose, the researchers went through a design process and designed three prototypes. The experts’ evaluation on the prototypes was positive.

Various design strategies derived from the Korean traditional costume were explored. Based on the strategies, three prototypes were developed, and the design experts’ evaluation on the prototypes was positive.

The research has implications as follows. The sustainable design process and methods used in this research for developing designs inspired from cultural costumes will provide insights to designers who want to create sustainable garments inspired by a certain culture. In addition, the design and sustainable design strategies, derived from the Chosun Dynasty, will guide apparel designers to create sustainable designs and broaden their perspectives. Furthermore, the research will provide guidance to following researchers who are interested in the topic of sustainability in apparel design. The researchers explored sustainable design strategies from the Korean culture, applied them in their design process and evaluated the design outcomes. By doing so, merits and limitations of the design strategies were more clearly understood.