The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry in the United States

 The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry in the United States

By Alexa DuChateau

The fashion industry has more of an impact on the United States economy than one would originally think. The numerous companies all together make up a multi-billion dollar industry, which fuels the economy through the number of jobs that it creates, as well as the amount of money it generates as a whole.

The fashion industry in the United States alone contains around 786,000 designers. This is an enormous amount of jobs, not to mention the retail workers, marketers, fashion illustrators, fashion photographers, and more who also fall under the category of being in the Fashion Industry. The industry itself impacts the unemployment rate by providing tons and tons of jobs, and by doing so, provides numerous other benefits to the economy. For example, The increase in the labor force due to jobs provided in the fashion industry, directly impacts the United States GDP.

Additionally, The amount of money that the Fashion Industry generates is another reason why its impact is greater than one would imagine. According to Satistica, “The United States apparel market was valued at approximately 368 billion U.S. dollars as of 2020.” Not only is the industry booming, but it continues to have positive growth, especially with emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific, and European regions, bringing the United States even greater opportunity for trade, as well as exports. So, if different apparel is created in the United States, and then traded with or sold to another country, this will not only increase the GDP but also save even more money.

Below is a graph showing the data and predictions for United States retail alone, which gives an idea of how the Fashion Industry as a whole will grow years down the line.

Graph-Inside Intelligence, Emarkerter.com, US Ecommerce Forecast 2021

Furthermore, we can see that the industry will continue to develop for years based on evidence from the past. There have also been a rise in the amount of events solely based around the purpose of showing off new fashion, and rise in participants in those events (Ex. Met Gala, Coachella, Fashion weeks in Paris, London, Milan, etc.) Which are also large scale events that generate lots of revenue. In conclusion, the Fashion Industry produces hundreds of thousands of jobs, as well as funds the economy through the revenue it generates. Therefore, it impacts the economic state of the United States much more than assumed. Although the United States has a GDP of over 20 trillion dollars, more credit should be given to the Fashion Industry for making a positive impact on the health of the economy. 

Katy Perry 2019 Met Gala look “The Munchie”

Works Cited

Davidkhanian, Suzy. “US Ecommerce Forecast 2021.” Insider Intelligence, Insider Intelligence, 8 July 2021, https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-ecommerce-forecast-2021.

“Designers.” Data USA, https://datausa.io/profile/soc/designers.

FI Editors. “The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry.” Fashinnovation, 10 June 2021, https://fashinnovation.nyc/the-economic-impact-of-the-fashion-industry/.

Smith, P. “Topic: Apparel Market in the U.S.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/topics/965/apparel-market-in-the-us/.