The Business of Fashion Podcast

Over the past year, the pristine image luxury brands have built on their links to artisanal craft, ethical manufacturing and quality has begun to crumble, buffeted by a scandal that has linked labels including Dior and Armani to sweatshops in Italy. 

According to investigators in Milan, factories producing for the brands were operating illegally and exploiting workers. Dior and Armani have said the allegations don’t reflect their commitment to ethical practices, but prosecutors say the issues uncovered by the probe are systemic and entrenched. Around a dozen more brands could still be implicated, with further cases expected in the coming months.  

This week, BoF senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent discuss the findings of BoF’s own investigation into how exploitative practices persist in luxury’s supply chains and what the scandal means for the industry. 

Key Insights: 

• Luxury brands use their high prices and Italian manufacturing to sidestep concerns over labour practices frequently levelled against lower-priced labels. But the problems pervade even Italy’s most exclusive supply chains. “This may seem shocking and surprising to those outside this part of the industry, but in Italian manufacturing, everyone knows,” said Kent. “It's an open secret.”
• BoF’s investigation found brands routinely turn a blind eye to labour exploitation, ignoring red flags raised by audits and sustainability teams in the interest of convenience and cost. 
• New regulations mean the risks associated with such scandals will soon be much more severe. Under incoming European due-diligence rules, brands could be subject to penalties of up to five percent of global revenue if they fail to adequately monitor and prevent labour abuses in their supply chains. “There are still a lot of questions around how that's going to be enforced and what that might actually mean,” said Kent. “But that is a chunky piece of change for any big company.”

Additional Resources:

• Inside Luxury’s Italian Sweatshops Problem
• Is Luxury Finally Set for a Sustainability Reckoning?
• Are Luxury Brands Still Worth It?

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In recent years, extreme weather events have become commonplace catastrophes. And in an increasingly globalised fashion system, developing nations often bear the brunt of climate crises. For fashion and its complex global supply chains — which disproportionately depend on resources and labour from these countries near the equator — one of the most urgent issues is extreme heat. 

In April, the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh and India all experienced merciless and sometimes deadly temperatures, which shuttered workplaces and schools. According to the US National Centers for Environmental Information, Africa, Asia, and Europe all logged their warmest Julys since global records began in 1850. 

To discuss what this means for fashion, BoF’s chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent convened a panel of global experts:

Laurie Parsons of Royal Holloway at the University of London, who focuses on the garment industry and climate vulnerability, explains: “What's at stake is the productivity of the industry, the health of the workers and as more and more of these stories come out, the reputation of an industry.” 

From Brazil, Beto Bina, the founder and CEO of supply chain consultancy FarFarm says: “Thinking as an ecosystem, you can be philanthropic, you can bring in public policies. It’s a job for innovation, for marketing, for sustainability. If you bring these teams together and develop an innovative project to start this new supply chain that could be amazing for everyone.”

From Sri Lanka, Abiramy Sivalogananthan, country coordinator at Asia Floor Wage Alliance, who adds: “The freedom of association should be ensured. Workers should be able to talk to be part of the union, to fight for their rights with the factory’s management.” 

Key Insights: 

• Workers in garment factories face a range of challenges that often go unaddressed, particularly in the Global South. Sivalogananthan highlights the critical need for collective bargaining to give workers a voice in addressing these issues. “They should be able to talk to whom they need to talk. They need to talk with the unions who should be part of it. And then as a collective, they should be able to talk to the supplier and of course able to talk to the fashion brands.”  

• While many fashion brands are proud of their sustainability initiatives, these efforts overwhelmingly focus on reducing emissions, neglecting the immediate impacts of climate change on workers. Parsons points out this glaring gap, stating, “almost every brand focuses on decarbonisation, but there is an infinitesimally small amount of sustainability policies that actually focus on the populations affected by climate change.”

• Bina further emphasises the interconnectedness of fashion brands and the broader environmental and social systems they rely on. “If you buy cotton, you are part of the agriculture industry,” she says. “We need to start to recognise this is part of the business and the brand.” Instead of viewing climate impacts as externalities, brands must integrate systemic accountability into their operations to ensure long-term viability and ethical production, she added. 

Additional Resources:

• Why Hotter Weather Matters for Fashion
• What Happens When It’s Too Hot to Make Fashion? | BoF

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Over the summer, BoF editor-in-chief Imran Amed and editor-at-large Tim Blanks both spent time with Valentino’s new creative director Alessandro Michele to learn about his vision for the fabled Roman couture house.

One thing became clear in those conversations. Alessandro was drawn to Valentino in part because it would reunite him with Valentino’s CEO, Jacopo Venturini. 

Alessandro and Jacopo first made magic at Gucci, alongside CEO Marco Bizzari, when the luxury megabrand quadrupled its profits after a period of slow growth in the post-Tom Ford era. There is a special symbiosis in their pursuit of creativity and business, based on a strong emotional connection and a shared passion for creating beautiful things together.

In their first-ever joint talk, Alessandro and Jacopo joined Tim Blanks at BoF VOICES 2024 to share their plans for Valentino and go inside their unique creative process.

Key Insights: 

• Michele describes his approach to Valentino as a blend of honouring its heritage while infusing it with his own perspective. "I try to be gentle … It’s not my place, it’s me working in that place,” he explains. “There is always a conversation [with Valentino].” 

• Michele acknowledges that his work divides opinions, especially online. “Some people feel aggressive in front of the freedom of someone else … I’m happy with myself because I am free.” 

• Finishing the thought, Venturini says Michele’s work embodies “genius creativity that starts with real freedom … He has eyes that open the eyes of someone else.” Venturini further highlights how creativity fuels not just design but the entire business ecosystem. “Our company is really human-centric and creativity-centric,” he says. “The goal is to translate this energy into the real world without losing any of it."

• Michele embraces the inherent unpredictability of the fashion industry, stating, "I’m understanding that you cannot really plan in fashion." He likens his role at Valentino to cultivating a "beautiful garden" where experimentation and creative freedom allow for growth and innovation. 

Additional Resources:

• Alessandro Michele’s Valentino Vision | BoF 
• The BoF Podcast | Alessandro Michele: ‘There Is Always Mr. Valentino Somewhere With Me.’
• Alessandro Michele’s Valentino Debut: Lightness, Luxury and ‘Fireflies Seeking Love’ | BoF

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As the year comes to a close, BoF’s executive editor Brian Baskin and senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young look back on some of their favourite articles from 2024. The stories include topics that dominated industry conversations throughout the year, as well as some that have had key updates since publication.

The four articles they discuss are “How Nike Ran Off Course” by sports correspondent Daniel-Yaw Miller, Butler-Young’s three-part Black beauty series, “The Fight for Influencer Marketing Dollars Heats Up” by senior news and features editor Diana Pearl and “Inside Luxury’s Italian Sweatshops Problem” by sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent. The conversation wraps up with a set of predictions for what’s to come in 2025.

• Miller’s “How Nike Ran Off Course” topped the list of key stories from 2024. It was a trying year for the brand, marred by declining sales quarter after quarter. Many pointed to former CEO John Donahoe as the source, with marketing and product feeling stale since he joined in 2020. “This was the year where it really crystallized that there were viable alternatives to Nike in the market,” said Baskin, with competitors encroaching from all sides. Looking ahead, Butler-Young said “Nike is not resting on its laurels” and is doing a lot to try to “turn around a very large ship,” starting with selecting a new CEO, longtime Nike executive Elliott Hill.

• Sarah Kent’s story, “Inside Luxury’s Italian Sweatshops Problem,” digs into this year’s viral scandal surrounding luxury brands’ labour practices. “It found that luxury brands that manufacture in Italy…routinely turn a blind eye to labour exploitation in their supply chain,” said Butler-Young. “They ignore red flags raised by audits and sustainability teams for the sake of convenience and cost.” Dior in particular faced social media backlash for “the disparity between what people pay for products and then some of the things that happen in the supply chain,” said Butler-Young. Next year, brands will face penalties for failing to comply with new European due diligence regulations.

• Baskin and Butler-Young shared predictions for the industry in 2025. For Butler-Young, ESG and DEI will be key to watch as they “attempt to continue to take shape in a very hostile political environment,” said Butler-Young. Early adopters of DEI who stick with it despite ebbs and flows might benefit by being the most innovative in the space down the line. For Baskin, “My prediction is one of these big struggling brands … is going to successfully pull out of its slump,” he said, pointing to Nike as a potential winner. 

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In a slowing luxury and fashion market, it’s not just the big brands and e-commerce companies that are being impacted. Independent fashion designers around the world — from China to the US to Europe — are facing a barrage of challenges too. As more multi-brand retailers shut down, this not only puts tremendous cash flow pressure on small fashion businesses, but they are also losing their main channels to reach customers. Alongside other factors like inflation, Brexit and growing geo-political turmoil, it becomes almost impossible to build a sustainable, independent fashion business.

But there is hope. According to London-based designer Roksanda Ilincic, “the beauty of an independent brand is that you can quickly adapt, quickly change. You can try to find a solution, maybe even quicker than a big giant.”

To examine this topic at BoF VOICES 2024, 1 Granary founder Olya Kuryshchuk hosted a panel on independent fashion, with Ilincic, publicist and consultant Bohan Qiu, and the designer and Antwerp Royal Academy director Brandon Wen. 

• The traditional reliance on multi-brand stores and fashion shows is shifting, with young designers exploring direct-to-consumer models and leveraging emerging technologies. Qui notes that new opportunities are coming from grassroots movements and emerging markets. “I feel like there is going to be this next movement where it’s coming from the streets, it’s coming from the underground, it’s coming from the youth culture that are so sick and tired of the current system. They want to overthrow and build something so strong that our current system can no longer neglect it.”
• For Wen, fashion education must evolve to prepare students for the realities of a saturated market. While fostering creativity, institutions should also teach practical skills like budgeting and business management to ensure graduates can navigate the industry successfully. “They need a lot more business advice and opportunities … they also should know how to use Excel, make a budget sheet, and … learn how the big machines work so that they’re not struggling with their own machine.”
• Independent brands must focus on the unique value they bring to the industry, such as craftsmanship, small-scale production, and authentic creativity. Ilincic highlights the importance of educating consumers about these distinctions, explaining, “the quantities that we produce are much smaller than the quantities of the big brands. So just understanding that you’re buying a very unique and specific product. That should be championed.”

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In the late 2010s, and particularly after George Floyd’s murder in 2020, the fashion industry appeared to embrace a progressive awakening on issues like racial justice and climate change. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) departments were established, and companies announced ambitious sustainability targets. Yet, from the outset, critics - often from the same communities these initiatives aimed to support - questioned the authenticity of this activism, suggesting it was more about marketing than meaningful change.

Now, those sceptics may have been proven right. Following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action, companies have begun scaling back hiring initiatives, grants for Black founders, and other DEI efforts. Sustainability commitments are also under scrutiny, with the industry far behind its climate goals and facing a hostile political environment in the US. 

Executive editor Brian Baskin is joined by sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent and senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young to untangle the future of DEI and ESG (environmental, social, and governance).

Key Insights: 

• Diversity and inclusion in fashion was built on already fragile foundations. “Most companies didn’t have a DEI department before George Floyd,” Butler-Young points out. She explains that these departments were often created hastily and emotionally, which left them vulnerable to becoming performative. “We never moved beyond that conversation into ‘how is this good for business? Why does this matter for a company beyond social good?’”

• "The acronym DEI has become so politicised,’” continues Butler-Young. "Something that started off as having some good intentions and some really value-driven tenets, and suddenly it's co-opted and becomes something almost derogatory." Companies are now moving away from the language, but that often means moving away from the work as well. 

• The story in the world of sustainability contains some parallels. “What we’ve begun to see in a handful of cases is a quiet reframing of sustainability commitments, making them less ambitious and, in some ways, more realistic,” says Kent. This includes “the restructuring of sustainability teams, significant layoffs, and a shifting focus.” 

• Although sustainability efforts are losing traction in the US, Kent points out that European regulations will keep the pressure on global brands. “From an investor standpoint, this is a compliance issue - companies need to meet laws or face significant penalties, which is obviously not good for business.”

Additional Resources:

• What Fashion’s Advocacy Will Look Like in the Trump Era
• Trump’s Impact on Fashion Takes Shape | BoF

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Many fashion brands are realising that operating across multiple cultural sectors is a business necessity. In our social feeds, fashion competes with music, film, and sports for our attention.

Learning how to tap into other cultural sectors is something that many fashion brands are trying to do, but few have done it better than this week’s guests.

At BoF VOICES 2024, BoF founder and CEO Imran AmedI spoke with Jens Grede, co-founder and CEO of Kim Kardashian’s Skims, the shapewear brand and David Allemann, co-founder and executive co-chairman of the Swiss sportswear company On, to learn how they’ve tapped into the cultural zeitgeist, especially at the growing intersection of sports and fashion.  

Key Insights: 

• For both Grede and Allemann, the foundation of a successful brand lies in creating exceptional products. Grede emphasises the critical importance of innovation, crediting Skims’ success to years of fabric development before launching the brand. “Before a brand, there are products, and you can’t build a great brand without a great product,” he explains. Similarly, Allemann shared On’s origins, which began with a makeshift prototype crafted from a garden hose to test their signature “cloud tech” soles. 

• Sports and fashion have become deeply interconnected, reflecting how cultural and personal identity have evolved. Allemann notes that, over the past 15 years, sportswear has transitioned from functional equipment to an extension of one’s personality, becoming a new uniform. “Because it becomes part of our personality, it’s elevated to a whole different level, and so in a sense, [sport] becomes fashion.” Athletes now use fashion as a platform to build their personal brands, with Grede describing it as “a superpower” that amplifies their influence beyond their sport. 

• Tapping into culture is essential for brands looking to stay relevant and expand their influence. Grede describes building a brand as finding “a little part in this moment in popular culture,” which requires an understanding of the zeitgeist. For Skims, partnerships like their recent collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana push the brand into uncharted aesthetic territory while providing customers with something entirely new. On takes a similarly thoughtful approach, having turned Roger Federer from an ambassador into an investor. 

• As brands grow, the decision to go public can be a significant milestone, but timing is critical. Grede acknowledges that Skims will eventually become a public company but stressed the importance of focusing on expansion and building away from the scrutiny of the public eye. Allemann shared advice from On’s IPO journey, describing the need to stay close to the customer: “On really tries to be very close to the consumer and be the brand that helps the explorers and the dreamers and probably even the rebels to ignite their spirit. I think that's what's really important right now.”

Additional Resources:

• BoF VOICES 2024: Global Culture and Creativity 
• The BoF Podcast | Jens Grede on Building Skims, Frame and the Future of Fashion
• Why On Running Could Be Worth $6 Billion | BoF

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Resale is no longer confined to thrift stores or niche platforms; it has grown into a roughly $50 billion industry in the U.S. alone, by some measures. Platforms like Poshmark, The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective have transformed the experience, making it more accessible and attractive to consumers at every price point. At the same time, brands are increasingly stepping into the space, with some launching their own programs to resell returned or used merchandise, transforming what was once a reactive practice into a strategic business opportunity. And new start-ups hope to create a new secondhand market out of brands’ returned merchandise. 

Retail editor Cat Chen and e-commerce correspondent Malique Morris join senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin to unpack the evolving resale landscape. 

Key Insights: 

•  The destigmatization of secondhand fashion is closely tied to convenience. “A large part of the equation is how easy it is to shop and sell secondhand,” explains Chen. “There are dozens of platforms that do peer-to-peer shopping options where you can buy something secondhand for, you know, at a fraction of the cost of retail where you can sell something that you've had for a while.… When resale is top of mind like that, I think the market adapts to that acceptance mentality.”

• But establishing a leading position in the market has proven difficult, despite rapid adoption. “The learning for operators of these platforms is that there’s very little consumer loyalty in this space,” says Chen. “When I consider selling something, I’m going to look at every single platform - whichever one gives me the quickest sale, the easiest sale, and the most money.” This dynamic has created a fiercely competitive landscape, with platforms racing to attract sellers by offering the best incentives.  

• Bazar is taking a different approach to resale, stocking its marketplace with returned, goods brands would struggle to restock without refurbishment, including some fast fashion. “Bazar doesn’t go through the trouble of necessarily fixing items. It’s kind of listed as is, and customers get a ‘what you see is what you get’ experience,” says Morris. Additionally, Bazar allows fast fashion brands like Cider to offload inventory, which many traditional resale platforms avoid. “There is a level of transparency there which is supposed to be a part of the proposition of sustainability and a part of the proposition of resale as well.”

• As the industry develops, Morris envisions brands taking more ownership of resale, as platforms like Revive are already helping brands create their own resale programs to handle returned merchandise. Such efforts could turn resale into a sustainable, profitable venture, making it a key part of brand operations. “If resale can prove that it is an avenue for [brands] to achieve profitability … I can see it becoming a bigger priority brands which will make the shopping experience all the better for consumers."

Additional Resources:

• Fashion’s Big Opportunity in Reselling the Unsellable | BoF
• Should Brands Stop Offering Free Returns? | BoF

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In 2024, luxury e-commerce faced a harsh reckoning. A pandemic-era boom gave way to a bruising downturn that exposed deep-seated weaknesses, as rising marketing costs, excessive discounting, outdated technology management and intensifying competition hit profitability. 

MatchesFashion went into administration at the start of the year, shortly after it was sold off in a fire sale to Frasers Group. Farfetch’s share price plummeted by 98 percent, bringing the company to the brink of bankruptcy, only for it to be rescued by South Korea’s Coupang. Richemont sold off Yoox Net-a-Porter to rival luxury e-tailer Mytheresa in October, ending a years-long effort to offload the struggling business.

This week on the podcast, Mytheresa CEO Michael Kliger and Lauren Santo Domingo, co-founder and chief brand officer of Moda Operandi, join BoF Founder and CEO Imran Amed on stage at BoF VOICES 2024. Together, they explore what went wrong in the luxury e-commerce sector, how they are navigating the ongoing luxury slowdown, and what comes next for the industry.

“We didn’t know that this big slowdown in aspirational demand would happen, but we were well prepared,” Kliger said.

Key Insights: 

• What separates the winners and the losers in the luxury e-commerce reckoning comes down to preparedness, said Kliger. Mytheresa also “felt the pressures,” but the business was better suited to handle an environment laden with high inflation, high interest rates and middle-income shoppers retreating. 
• Kliger added that he still believes in the viability of the luxury e-commerce model because “there is a consumer that wants to shop like that.” “Rumours of our demise have been greatly exaggerated,” added Santo Domingo. 
• Despite the challenging market environment, some customers are still spending. E-tailers need to create desirability and find ways to attract shoppers to their platforms through curation, storytelling and other forms of differentiation. “They want from us more experience than just access to product,” said Kliger. “That’s why the brands want to be with us. We are brand enhancing,” echoed Santo Domingo. 
• Mytheresa has also invested in optimising its marketing funnel to identify customers who are more likely to remain loyal over the long-term. “We’re not bidding for traffic. We’re not bidding for revenue. We’re bidding for customers,” said Kliger. The business built an algorithm to predict based on past purchases, addresses, types of payment, and time of purchase, whether a customer is likely to return, and they focus their marketing efforts accordingly. 

Additional Resources:

BoF VOICES 2024: Fashion's Next Moves: Industry insiders including designers Simon Porte Jacquemus and Glenn Martens, H&M CEO Daniel Ervér, e-commerce executives Lauren Santo Domingo and Michael Kliger and more spoke about key challenges and opportunities for their businesses and fashion at large. Meanwhile, McKinsey provided an outlook for 2025.

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When Simon Porte Jacquemus came on to the scene in 2009, he did so with a bang. The French designer’s playful take on Parisian fashion draws inspiration from 20th century sculpture, the French New Wave, and sunny afternoons in Marseille. His creations have catapulted him and his label into stardom, with the brand’s campaigns often going viral on social media. 

“It’s [all about] having fun,” said Jacquemus. “Having fun is being creative, it's going one step aside and it's playing with the system.”

Jacquemus has been able to build on the social media buzz and create an independent label garnering more than 200 million euros ($210 million) in annual turnover. His fashion shows have been staged in picturesque locations across France, including the Chateau Versailles. In October, he opened his first store in New York City, drawing crowds akin to those mostly reserved for movie stars. This month, he opened another location in London, part of the designer’s plans for a global retail expansion. 

At VOICES 2024, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed sits down with Jacquemus to discuss how the designer has been able to build a successful independent business in the competitive luxury sector and amidst a consumer downturn. 

Key Insights: 

• Jacquemus credited creating attention and buzz in unconventional ways for the success of his brand and his ability to remain independent for 15 years. The designer recalled staging his debut runway show disguised as a fake protest outside of a Dior boutique on Avenue Montaigne as a media stunt that gained him notoriety early in his career. “I only had one rule when I [started]. I need to be visible,” he said. 

• Jacquemus said his love for imagery and the hit TV show “Sex and the City” inspired to go into fashion. “I wanted to build images and create the sensation of a young boy looking at magazines,” the designer said. This fascination with imagery has translated to the brand’s social campaigns, namely the CGI versions of the label’s signature purse Le Bambino roaming through the streets of Paris. 

• The brand’s design codes deviate from traditional luxury fashion, in that Jacquemus wanted his designs to appeal to ultra-luxury shoppers as well as mass consumers. “I [wanted] to do something everyone can understand – the post guy, my grandmother. And references to niche things.”

• Now, the designer wants to transport his feelings of familial bliss and his childhood in the south of France to his retail locations around the world. “I want them to feel like home,” he said. The design elements of the brick-and-mortar stores call back to Provence with soft linens, high windows and traditional furniture. 

• As the CEO of the brand, Jacquemus said he finds he may often lean more toward the business side than the creative side. This is something he wants to balance in the near future. “I’m interested in everything,” he said. “I wake up every morning looking at the sales, not because I love money but because I want my work [to become] something real.”

Additional Resources:

• Jacquemus: A Fashion Star's Business Vision
• Jacquemus Is Seeking a Minority Investor
• The Debrief | What Makes Jacquemus So Successful?

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