Fashion as a City’s Symbolic Capital

Fashion has become an important tool for positioning cities on the global stage. Local brands, industry events, and residents’ style all contribute to a city’s visual identity, helping attract talent, tourists, and investment while communicating its cultural identity and character. In successful fashion centers, the industry does more than create jobs and generate tax revenue: it also strengthens a city’s global influence and creates long-term economic value.

• What shapes a city’s international image more: the scale of its fashion industry or the originality of its cultural expression?
• How should the impact of fashion development be measured: through economic indicators — brand exports, retail turnover, jobs — or through how the city is perceived by international audiences?
• Where does the line of responsibility lie between the state and the market: who creates the infrastructure, and who shapes the cultural agenda?
• How can local identity and cultural heritage, expressed through fashion, become a resource not only for business but also for the city’s international positioning?
• What new fashion industry hubs are emerging around the world, and what enables them to shape the global agenda?
• Can the technological development of the fashion industry become a “springboard” for BRICS+ cities, giving them a competitive advantage over traditional fashion capitals?