The Business of Fashion Podcast

The former barrister and author of “A Dutiful Boy” examines intersectionality and identity at BoF VOICES. 

Just before the pandemic hit, Mohsin Zaidi, former barrister and author of the memoir “A Dutiful Boy,” was preparing for his wedding. When he tried on his sherwani, a traditional garment for South Asian grooms, he didn’t feel excited. Zaidi spent his whole life battling between his Muslim faith and his identity as a gay man. 

In his inspiring talk from BoF VOICES 2021, Zaidi examined the thorny topic of intersectionality and identity. On the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, Zaidi shares his experience of finding peace with multiplicity, cultivating bravery and pushing through fear. 

“We are all born whole. We are born one thing, but quickly broken into parts because of societal expectations and cultural norms,” he said. 

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Welcome to The Debrief, a new weekly podcast from The Business of Fashion, where we go beyond the glossy veneer and unpack our most popular BoF Professional stories. Hosted by BoF’s chief correspondent Lauren Sherman, who after covering fashion and beauty for nearly two decades, will be your guide into the mega labels, indie upstarts and unforgettable  personalities shaping the $2.5 trillion global fashion industry. 

Each week, Lauren will take you through one BoF Professional story —  in conversation with BoF’s correspondents and industry experts — and get to the heart of why it’s something you need to know..

From the rise of direct-to-consumer disruptors, to the rapid consolidation of the luxury industry, to cultural shifts turning beauty upside down, what people buy — and how they buy it — matters. 

The Debrief is launching April 20th, with new episodes released every Wednesday.

Search for 'The Debrief' and make sure to follow wherever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode.

Join BoF Professional today with our exclusive podcast listener discount of 25% off an annual membership, follow the link here.

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McKinsey’s head of retail practises in Central and South America Tracy Francis, luxury analyst Erwan Rambourg and Warby Parker’s SVP of retail Sandy Gilsenan join Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet, to examine the global forces redefining consumer behaviour and circumstances, and the implications on retail habits.

BoF assesses how the climate crisis and economic downturns are impacting consumer behaviour and retail practices, before addressing the new centres of wealth and income polarisation on a global scale. In the US, for example, more than 50 percent of American wealth in 2020 was held by Baby Boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1964, while Millennials held less than 10 percent, according to Harvard Business Review. In contrast, young consumers in China are powering an unprecedented level of spending as the first generation to come of age during China’s economic revolution — almost 80 percent of luxury spending in China today is by those under the age of 40.

The conversation goes on to analyse younger consumers’ relationship with luxury, and the industry’s evolution in democratising access for such consumers, before considering the strategy behind one direct-to-consumer brand’s post-pandemic brick-and-mortar expansion plan, attuned to the next-gen consumer whose expectations far exceed those of previous generations.

Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges the consumer of tomorrow will bring, and how retail’s transformation will impact your business.

Brookfield Properties is building marketplaces of the future that meet the needs of the modern shopper. Discover more.

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Four years ago, writer and activist Sinéad Burke made her debut at BoF VOICES, when she implored the fashion community to start designing for disability, noting that the global spending power of disabled people is more than $1.9 trillion.  Following a series of high-profile appearances after VOICES 2017 — from Davos to the Met Gala — Burke has been honing her sense of mission and purpose, and has come to the conclusion that creating products for disabled people is not enough. 

In her return to the BoF VOICES stage in 2021, she said: “If change is only embedded in the present, change will be a moment, not a movement.” 

Burke lays out a path for removing abelism from our society. Systemic change, she said, has to happen based around four pillars: people, places, product and promotions, and be jump-started with awareness, allyship and advocacy. 

In short this means “nothing about us, without us.”

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Associate professor Thomas J. Campanella, ‘Godmother of the Metaverse’ Cathy Hackl and Stôur Group co-founders Sonny Gindi and Eden Melloul join Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet, to discuss how physical and virtual consumer landscapes are evolving to meet next-gen consumer demands. 

Presented by Brookfield Properties, BoF investigates the consumer of tomorrow — how new fundamentals will shape the lives and behaviours of the next-generation consumer, and the impact on the retail industry today.

We begin by examining the redrawing of city life as new lifestyle patterns have propelled a seismic shift in the urban landscape. Globally, cities experienced a mass exodus of residents and commuters as the pandemic popularised remote living and working. 

The episode goes on to discuss how retailers are exploring innovative methods and use-cases for physical retail to better engage consumers in-store, such as New York’s Allure Store and its focus on media as the store’s metric for success. 

The conversation also illuminates the fast-emerging retail opportunities within the metaverse, discussing luxury fashion and beauty’s initial steps into this space, and the potential in leveraging the likes of NFTs, skins and blockchain technologies. Indeed, BoF and McKinsey & Co.’s State of Fashion Report 2022 cites estimates that the total addressable market for digital fashion is $31 billion.

Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges the consumer of tomorrow will bring, and how retail’s transformation will impact your business.

Brookfield Properties is building marketplaces of the future that meet the needs of the modern shopper. Discover more.

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Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just four weeks ago, thousands of people have been killed and  more than 10 million people have been displaced. Among those impacted are Julie Pelipas, former fashion director of Vogue Ukraine and founder of fashion upcycling platform Bettter; Lilia Litkovskaya, designer and founder of her namesake brand and Vadim Rogovskiy, chief executive and founder of virtual try-on company 3DLook. 

On the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, Pelipas, Litkovskaya and Rogovskiy spoke to BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed to share their personal reflections and experiences, and examined what's next for the Ukrainian fashion industry.

Resources to Support the Ukrainian Fashion Community:

• Bettter Community: https://community.bettter.us/
• Help Ukraine Win: https://helpukrainewin.org
• Lilia Litkovskaya: https://litkovskaya.com/

 

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Podcast host and founder of Retail Prophet, Doug Stephens, is joined by 14 global authorities and thought leaders, from fashion and retail executives to futurists and academics, in this second series of Retail Reborn. Guests will share insights on the changing consumer lifestyles and expectations shaping the retail ecosystem, discussing generational expectations as shaped by the pandemic, climate crisis and economic downturns, as well as examining where, how and what next-gen consumers will buy.

Retail Reborn Season 2 launches on 28th March 2022. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.

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In 2018, Vanessa Kingori joined British Vogue as its first female publisher. Since then, she has become a mother, received an MBE, and stepped into the role of Chief Business Officer of Condé Nast Britain.  At BoF VOICES 2021, Kingori shared her experience and lessons in leadership with purpose coach and founder of 822 Group Mory Fontanez, underscoring the importance of leveraging gut instinct to support data-driven decisions and challenging conformity as the “enemy of progress, creativity and business.” 

“Everywhere I've been, I have had to get comfortable with being a bit of an outsider, which often means the decisions I come to — are different to the normal consensus,” said Kingori. “It's OK to be intuitive. It's actually great to lean into your differences rather than try to push to assimilate too much.”

Discover leadership opportunities on BoF Careers across more than 300 of the fashion industry’s leading brands, businesses, retailers and media companies.

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This week on The BoF Podcast, founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed sat down with editor-at-large Tim Blanks to reflect on the fashion month gone by. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began the day Prada showed in Milan, raised questions about whether it was appropriate for fashion week to go on amid the horror and how the industry should respond to the unfolding tragedy and loss of human life.

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While the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic manifested in workplaces through budget cuts, layoffs and furlough schemes, the crisis also inspired a widespread re-evaluation of our relationship with work. Amid the so-called “Great Resignation,” Business Insider estimated over 38 million workers quit their jobs in 2021, with many seeking a better balance between life and work, and greater meaning in the work they do.

These evolving expectations are having a profound impact on how leaders have to run their businesses. At BoF VOICES 2021, Kevin J. Delaney, co-founder and CEO of media and Charter and former editor-in-chief of Quartz, examined the qualities leaders need to assimilate today.

On this week’s episode of The BoF Podcast, Delaney says: “One question I hear often from leaders is how do they find the right balance between a focus on operational performance of their business and these new expectations of their employees?”

Explore employment opportunities across more than 350 businesses on BoF Careers,The Global Marketplace for Fashion Talent.

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