It has been almost three years since the publication of Produttori di Stile, the notebook reporting the results of a research financed by Provincia di Milano about working practices and flexibility in a number of fashion houses in Milan. At the time we witnessed the presentation during which authors and promoters, among the other things, underlined how 8 out of 10 contracts, in all the major business companies of such field/section/area, were atypical (cocopro, interns, fake VAT number recordings etc); this not as a response to production peaks, but as basic structural resource, as a far from being atypical strategy/procedure of human resources management.
Continua su Digicult in italiano/ Continue on Digicult in english
Download PDF Passionate Work: Labor Condition in italian fashion sector
Scarica PDF Lavoro che passione: le condizioni di lavoro nella moda in Italia
Read the final paper on the Journal of Cultural Research:
This article analyses labour conditions among creative workers in the Milan fashion industry. Employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, the article shows how workers in the Milan fashion industry are generally underpaid and overworked. Despite such dire conditions, fashion work is generally considered gratifying and workers express high levels of satisfaction. The second part of the article attempts to unravel this paradox, departing from McRobbie’s conception of passionate work. It suggests that the promotion of creativity as a desired form of life in the contemporary metropolis has shaped new forms of identity related to symbolic remuneration for work.
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