Age, experience and creative labour
Narratives of creative professionals over age 55 in the New York fashion industry
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13015170 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anne McInnis (0000-0002-7724-8501, University of Georgia, corresponding author), Katalin Medvedev (0000-0003-1814-8233, University of Georgia) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 281-298 |
| Publication date | 2021-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Fashion Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2051-7106 • E-ISSN: 2051-7114 |
| Publisher | Intellect (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1386/infs_00054_1 |
| OpenAlex | W3207258449 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 13 |
This qualitative study introduces six creative fashion professionals, aged 55‐74, who started their careers in the 1980s. They have managed to overcome the complex challenges of employment and remain active in the highly competitive and youth-centric fashion industry of New York City. The participants represent key occupations that drive the behind-the-scenes creative force in the industry’s supply chain. While their long careers have equipped them with expertise, multiple transferable hard and soft skills and extensive professional networks, they have become a rare age demographic in the industry. We investigate the importance of professional experience that comes with age in the current workforce by exploring the participants’ self-reflections and assessments about their careers as ageing workers. We determine how exogenous factors such as globalization, trade agreements, changes in technology, the effect of politics and recessions, global health crises and endogenous factors, such as changes in positions, additional training and work‐life balance, have influenced their careers. We highlight the benefits of intergenerational teams in which older workers are effectively able to transfer knowledge to and collaborate with younger co-workers and vice versa. Employing insights of the theory of experience, continuity theory, social exchange theory and generational theory, the study shows that intergenerational collaboration is critical to mastering creative processes in the fashion and textiles industry. Our research uncovers this demographic’s collective experience, tacit knowledge and resilience and proclaims their passion for their professions. It also illuminates the strategies the participants employed to remain professionally relevant as they adapted to the shifting landscape of the global fashion industry
Creativity · Economic growth · Economics · Globalization · Knowledge management · Political science · Psychological resilience · Public relations · Recession · Sociology · Tacit knowledge · Workforce · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Psychology · Retirement, Disability, and Employment · Social Psychology
A Continuity Theory of Normal Aging
From Holloway to Hollywood
Sartorial Appearance Management Strategies of Creative Professional Women over Age 50 in the Fashion Industry
Passionate Work? Labour Conditions in the Milan Fashion Industry
Age, experience and creative labour
Both/and
Soft skills assessment
Continuity, change and possibility in older age
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2021 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |