Everything begins in 1776 – Adam Smith publishes An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. It is the first bestseller on economics and the deal of cards for modern capitalism. Smith argues that the free market and specialisation allow everyone to prosper. His ideas fall on fertile ground in England, where young engineers are experimenting with steam engines. In 1784, just eight years after the publication of Smith’s work, James Watt’s improved steam engine is used for the first time in a textile factory in Leeds. The mechanisation of labour and the invention of the spinning frame and power loom mark the beginning of the First Industrial Revolution.
A boy from England named Samuel Slater adds an American chapter to this story. In 1789, disguised as a farmer, he escapes to the United States with schematics of spinning machines, which in Britain were a closely guarded secret. A year later, he builds in Rhode Island the first water-powered cotton mill in America, starting the textile industry in the USA. Soon after, in 1791, Alexander Hamilton presents his Report on Manufactures, in which he points to the importance of the steam engine and convinces the American Congress that the young economy must protect its factories with tariffs and subsidies in order to become independent from the British. Hamilton’s ideas are taken up by German economist Friedrich List, who lived for a time in the United States, and after returning to Germany he writes in 1841 that weaker countries must defend their industries with tariffs until they are ready for free competition. From that time, Germany’s economic power begins to grow.
Technological progress accelerates with the invention of new machines. In 1846, Elias Howe patents the sewing machine, and Isaac Singer improves it and in 1851 begins mass production of a device that changes the way clothing is made. During the California Gold Rush in 1853, Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss opens a business in San Francisco supplying miners and combines sturdy denim with copper rivets, creating the first jeans. The spread of the telephone, patented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, brings a new era of communication and heralds the Second Industrial Revolution.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, brands appear that will later become lifestyle icons. In 1892, David Abercrombie opens a sporting goods store in New York, which, after Ezra Fitch joins as partner, will take the name Abercrombie & Fitch. In Boston in 1906, New Balance is founded; at first it produces orthopaedic insoles, but over time it becomes a famous manufacturer of running shoes. Two years later in Massachusetts, Converse Rubber Company is established, soon to be known for its “All Star” shoes.
The First World War (1914–1918) creates huge demand for uniforms and textiles; later, hyperinflation in Germany in 1923 (with one mark worth as little as 1,000,000,000,000) shows how devastating a mismanaged economy can be. At the same time, Austrian-American propaganda specialist Edward Bernays publishes his book Propaganda in 1928, describing how the conscious manipulation of public opinion can serve both politics and marketing and sales. When the Wall Street stock market collapses in October 1929, the global depression teaches producers that demand must be sustained through advertising and constant seasonal novelties.
In 1934, representatives of the Frankfurt School – Adorno, Marcuse, and Horkheimer – flee from Germany to the USA and take up posts at Columbia University. There, they continue revising Marxism and focus on musicology, critical theory, and the idea of individual liberation. Their intellectual work will have a huge impact on the development of the hippie movement in the 1960s.
Between the 1930s and 1950s, modern marketing develops. Cosmetic and clothing companies, using Bernays’ insights into consumer emotions, begin to promote seasonal changes in trends. Nazism and the Second World War (1939–1945) strengthen industrial production and introduce synthetics (e.g. nylon), and after the war the United States becomes the industrial hegemon; in 1944, at the Bretton Woods conference, it establishes the US dollar as the main settlement currency in international trade. In 1947, Bell Labs creates the transistor – the device that will start the Third Industrial Revolution – and in the same year German doctor Klaus Märtens designs cushioned-sole boots; in 1960, British company R. Griggs launches the distinctive Dr. Martens boots with yellow stitching. From a quarrel between the Dassler brothers in Herzogenaurach emerge two brands: Rudolf founds Puma in 1948, and Adolf – Adidas the following year. The US emerges from the post-war years as the leader of innovation – productivity rises to record levels between 1945 and 1955, but in the following decades begins to decline.
In the 1950s, music starts dictating fashion. In 1954, Elvis Presley records his first song That’s All Right (Mama) in Memphis, considered the birth of rock and roll. His style – leather jackets, jeans, and slicked-back hair – becomes a symbol of youthful rebellion. In 1957, John Lennon meets Paul McCartney, and in 1960 they form The Beatles. At first, the band takes inspiration from Liverpool’s working-class youth style (leather jackets, jeans), later shifting to elegant tailored suits. By the mid-1960s, The Beatles popularise longer hair, colourful shirts, and psychedelic patterns, which are adopted by hippie culture.
In 1964, track coach Bill Bowerman and young entrepreneur Phil Knight establish Blue Ribbon Sports in Oregon, later known as Nike. The hippie movement of the 1960s, rooted in universities and influenced by the Frankfurt School philosophers, is described by Britannica as the revolt of post-war boom children against materialism, and brings fashion for long hair, fringes, bell-bottoms, and colourful tunics. The cultural ferment draws the attention of designers. In 1967, Ralph Lauren begins his career by creating wide, elegant ties and the Polo brand, which will develop into a symbol of American luxury. A year later, Calvin Klein opens a small boutique in New York’s York Hotel, showing a collection of simple coats and dresses, soon winning a place in Vogue. The famous Woodstock Festival in 1969 attracts about half a million people and becomes an icon of hippie culture.
In July 1971, Jim Morrison, frontman of The Doors, dies in Paris. His style – leather trousers, open shirts, and long hair – cements the image of rock bohemia and symbolically closes the psychedelic era.
When President Nixon suspends the dollar’s convertibility to gold in 1971, and in 1973 the G-10 countries move to floating exchange rates, the Bretton Woods era comes to an end. Freed exchange rates and rising competition lead to production being moved to cheaper Asian countries. In 1975, Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega opens the first Zara store in La Coruña and tests the model of rapid response to trends – clothes are produced in small series and quickly reach the shops.
In 1981, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield form Metallica. Their style – black band T-shirts, denim jackets with patches, leather jackets, and boots – becomes the uniform of metal culture, expressing opposition to the pastel fashion of the 1980s.
In the early 1990s, the New York press calls Zara’s strategy “fast fashion” – the brand’s collections reach stores in just fifteen days from design. In the same year, 1991, Nirvana releases the album Nevermind, bringing grunge aesthetics into the mainstream: flannel shirts, ripped jeans, heavy boots, and second-hand clothes. The anti-fashion style is quickly adopted by major fashion houses and becomes one of the decade’s key trends. At the same time, productivity in the US falls, and Western company managers imitate the methods of General Electric CEO Jack Welch (since 1981), pushing downsizing, financialisation, and outsourcing.
Globalisation, cheap labour in Asia, and advances in logistics allow brands like Zara and H&M to introduce thousands of new models annually. The development of the internet leads to the creation in 2000 of the online shop ASOS (As Seen On Screen), offering clothing inspired by celebrity style. Another great acceleration comes in 2010, when Instagram launches. According to Vogue, the Silicon Valley app turns fashion into a “parade of pictures” – influencers and brands must constantly provide new, photogenic outfits, which fuels fast fashion.
In 2011, the term “Industry 4.0” appears at the Hannover Fair, describing the combination of automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence into smart factories. Ten years later, scientists are already talking about “Industry 5.0,” emphasising the need to balance technology with care for people and the planet. Yet the fashion business still heads in the opposite direction. In 2016, Chinese platform Shein begins its global expansion; thanks to its mobile app and data analysis, it offers hundreds of new models daily and achieves million-dollar revenues. NielsenIQ research shows that in 2022 Shein launched as many as 315,000 new products, while Zara – 6,850. Thus arises “ultra-fast fashion.”
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 keeps people at home but does not stop shopping. The growth of online sales goes hand in hand with the explosion of second-hand platforms. According to a ThredUP report, in 2020 alone, 33 million Americans bought second-hand clothes for the first time, and the resale market is growing eleven times faster than traditional retail. At the same time, more and more young people notice the negative impact of fast fashion on the environment – over 100 billion pieces of clothing are produced annually, most of which end up as waste. Only a tiny fraction of fabrics are recycled.
Today, in 2025, we stand on the threshold of the Fifth Industrial Revolution and the clash of two narratives. On the one hand, pressure grows for a circular economy – designing clothes from recycled materials, rental and resale, reducing waste. On the other hand, platforms like Shein still lure with ultra-cheap, disposable garments. History shows that every stage of industrialisation – from the steam engine to Instagram – has contributed to ever faster cycles of production and consumption. Will the new technological revolution help slow down this pace and harmonise fashion with the planet? That is a story whose next chapter is still being written.
