Is Fashion Missing the Bigger Picture?

The Business of Fashion’s annual gathering for big thinkers BoF VOICES will take place from November 12-15 in the countryside an hour from London in the wake of the US election — and the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House — which will have far-reaching implications for everyone, everywhere.

Indeed, I can’t think of a time since we first created VOICES nine years ago which feels as critical for the global fashion industry as the moment we find ourselves in now. From high-street to luxury, from independent fashion businesses to luxury megabrands, from manufacturers to retailers, from the US to China to Europe, our industry is searching for a new normal in a post-Covid world that is more uncertain and unstable than I can remember.

This is due to the culmination of a variety of forces confronting us all at once. We are hurtling towards the point of no return amid a looming climate crisis. There is the ongoing shift towards a multi-polar world as Western supremacy wanes. Seemingly intractable wars are raging in the Middle East and Ukraine, while human rights and free speech are under threat, even in ‘democratic’ countries. And then, there is also the potential — yet still undefined— impact of artificial intelligence on just about everything.

Yet, not much has really changed in terms of how we as an industry are operating. We go about doing our work, keeping our businesses and the industry afloat on old models and antiquated ways of thinking. But beyond the plummeting share prices and declining sales that are used to measure industry performance, we are losing sight of the bigger picture. Our industry is so vitally important to everyday life, work and business around the world, but some days it feels like we are on the verge of some kind of cataclysmic upheaval for which we are not adequately prepared.

There are some bright spots of course. Seen from the vantage point of India, Southeast Asia and Africa, the prospects for the future seem measurably better. But there’s still no doubt we are on the cusp of a new era, which makes this a defining moment.

This is why we created VOICES in the first place. The exceptional group of people we will be gathering in Oxfordshire has the collective power, influence and intelligence to face up to this moment — together. We’ve gathered an extraordinary mix of creative visionaries, business leaders, forward-thinking entrepreneurs and activists all working towards a brighter future.

Across five sessions, over three days, we’ll convene more than 40 expert speakers including fashion designers Alessandro Michele, Simon Porte Jacquemus, Roksanda Ilinčić and Bianca Saunders; top CEOs including H&M’s Daniel Ervér, Valentino’s Jacopo Venturini, Mytheresa’s Michael Kliger, Skims’ Jens Grede and On’s David Allemann; as well as pioneering entrepreneurs like Daydream’s Julie Bornstein and Sojo’s Josephine Phillips, who are seeking to find opportunity in some of the industry’s greatest challenges.

But VOICES has always mixed industry leaders with experts from outside fashion. This year, we will welcome climate activists Clover Hogan and Nemonte Nenquimo, contemporary artists Salman Toor and Es Devlin, award-winning editor and journalist Tina Brown, the African Leadership Academy’s Fred Swaniker, deep fakes expert Tom Graham, multimedia artist Rosey Chan and many more inspiring speakers who will share their expertise, personal journeys and ideas on how to change the world.

As always, we will also be discussing the output from months of analysis by McKinsey & Company and BoF Insights to provide our highly-anticipated annual perspective on The State of Fashion 2025.

Register now to experience a transformative programme of provocative talks, interactive discussions and unforgettable learning moments examining the groundbreaking innovations and cultural forces shaping the global fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

This Weekend on the BoF Podcast

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In his first-ever public interview, Khalid Al Tayer, managing director of Al Tayer Insignia and CEO of the luxury e-commerce platform Ounass, shared his insights into the rapidly evolving luxury market in the Middle East, the region’s growing influence on global trends, and how developing his business with a customer-first mindset has enabled him to build Ounass, one of the most powerful e-commerce platforms in the industry.

“The brands that have taken [the Middle Eastern] customer as a very important customer and respect them are seeing benefit. The ones that approach this customer as, ‘They’re just going to buy what we make, and we’re going to do … a good enough job because we’re busy somewhere else,’ are not benefiting. Respect the Middle Eastern customer,” shares Al Tayer.

This week on The BoF Podcast, I sit down with Al Tayer to understand the shifting preferences of customers in the Middle East and learn how he is creating opportunities for regional talent to flourish.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Imran Amed, Founder and CEO, The Business of Fashion

Here are my other top picks from our analysis on fashion, luxury and beauty:

1. A First-Day Agenda for Estée Lauder’s New CEO. From cutting costs, rebuilding brand equity and right-sizing its exposure to volatile markets, incoming chief executive Stéphane de La Faverie has a lot to accomplish if he wants to reassure investors that the company’s best days are still to come.

2. How Prada Is Defying the Downturn. The Milanese group reported nine-month net revenues up 18 percent year-on-year, powered by eye-popping growth at Miu Miu, which more than doubled quarterly retail sales.

3. Case Study | The Strategy That Brought Adidas Back From the Brink. Adidas has mounted one of the more remarkable turnarounds in recent memory after facing a crisis two years ago from the end of its Yeezy business. BoF spoke to chief executive Bjørn Gulden and other members of Adidas’ leadership to unpack how a series of bold decisions on products like its Samba sneaker, a move to refocus the brand on athletes and internal shifts brought Adidas back from the brink.

4. The Denim Brands of the 2010s Grow Up. A number of start-ups are expanding beyond jeans, opening stores and navigating an increasingly competitive and fragmented market by staying close to their consumer.

5. How Marathons Became Fashion Shows. This year’s New York City Marathon will witness an unprecedented slew of fashion-related activations like branded run clubs, sneaker drops and even a beauty sponsorship as the industry goes all in on running culture.

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