...and the power is in...!

Have you ever wondered why American fashion industry is twice as big as the one in Europe? 

Europe is so much smaller than North America and still has three fashion capitals - London, Paris and Milan (I hope I'll be able to add Łódź or Warsaw to these cities in the closest future) as well as bunch of great fashion schools like Polimoda or London College of Fashion. What's more, most of the greatest designers are Europeans - look at Alexander McQueen, Prada, Versace or even Krzysztof Stróżyna (yes! http://www.krystofstrozyna.com/ ).

But the secret of American fashion industry success is in merchandising management. In States, the managers decide what are the high-demand products and suggest to design such pieces. In Europe, this process is inverse. The designers make the decisions about collection and managers are responsible to do their best and sell as many products as possible at the highest possible price.

Wouldn't be that easier to just make an agreement between managers (who are also market researchers) and designers (who are the greatest artists ever) about the collection and satisfy both customers and their needs, and business people pockets? All in all, business is about money... Though, I recommend not to forget about individuals and sometimes design things that are completely non-essential (haute-couture) but look like amazing pieces of art!
(check http://www.net-a-porter.com/Shop/Designers/Alexander_McQueen)