The Debrief by The Business of Fashion

01.25.2023

Goodbye from Lauren Sherman

Hello Lauren Sherman here, we are interrupting our regularly scheduled programming today to share some news. After ten years of writing for BoF I am moving on to pursue some new projects and that means, sadly, that I no longer be...

01.18.2023

Why Getting Dressed Up Is Here to Stay in 2023

Occasionwear’s late-pandemic comeback may have felt like a reactionary fluke, but retailers and designers are betting it’s more than a trend. Background: Post-pandemic, occasionwear has been booming. During the second half of 2022 US and UK retailers introduced nearly twice as...

01.11.2023

How Harry Styles Built a Nail Polish Empire

Priya Rao, executive editor, Business of Beauty, joins Lauren Sherman to unpack how the singer’s lifestyle label has managed to build a loyal fan base — without his direct involvement. Background: Harry Styles has managed to pull off a feat that has...

01.04.2023

Why Designer Shoes Are So Expensive

A new BoF Insights report tracks the evolution of the fast-growing high-end footwear market — and why luxury shoppers are willing to spend more than ever on the perfect shoe. Background: Luxury footwear is booming as consumers opt to...

12.28.2022

What Happened With Fashion and NFTs?

Background: For fashion, one of the most alluring prospects for NFTs is how they could help brands collect royalties — forever — on secondary sales of physical goods. Though the mechanics of doing so are not ironed out yet, brands could...

12.21.2022

Fashion CEOs Explain Why This Downturn Is Different

Background: Fashion is bracing itself for a 2023 filled with uncertainty. An impending recession hangs in the background of executives’ conversations about the year ahead. Leaders will have to strike a balance between safe-guarding their companies (which, may inevitably will include...

12.14.2022

Is ‘Vegan Leather’ Better?

A number of products made from leather alternatives have begun to hit store shelves. BoF’s chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent unpacks why it's so hard to market — and scale — these new products. Background: Leather alternatives have been called both industry-changing...

12.07.2022

How The Frankie Shop Became Instagram’s Favourite Fashion Brand

In the past decade, the independent label has grown from downtown storefront to indie force with $40 million in net sales so far this year. BoF contributor M.C. Nanda breaks down how founder Gaëlle Drevet did it. Background: Whether you know it...

11.30.2022

Luxury’s Battle With Counterfeiters

BoF retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen details the consumer shifts that have made it easier — and more popular than ever — to buy luxury dupes. Background: A growing number of young consumers are embracing counterfeit Prada loafers and Gucci bags, as...

11.23.2022

Why So Many Direct-to-Consumer Brands Are for Sale Right Now

As the economy weakens and funding dries up, digital brands may face pressure to sell from investors. To do so, they’ll need to prove they’re more than just another money-losing start-up. Background: Over the past few years, investors have been bullish on...

11.16.2022

Fashion’s Gen-Z Obsession

The BoF Insights team shares details from their recent report on why these young consumers are so crucial to the success of the fashion industry — and what brands can do to woo them. Background: Gen-Z, or those born between 1997 and 2010,...

11.09.2022

The State of the Influencer Economy

A panel of experts, including BoF’s Lauren Sherman and Diana Pearl, detail how the business of influencing has evolved — and where it's all going. Things move fast on the internet. In just the past few years, there have been...

11.02.2022

Is Luxury’s Streetwear Obsession Over?

Background: After years of build up, from its origins in cultural movements like New York’s hip-hop scene and LA’s skating community to early commercialisation in the early 2000s from brands like Fubu and Stussy and Japanese designers Nigo and Hiroshi Fujiwara,...

10.26.2022

What Makes Jacquemus So Successful?

Simon Porte Jacquemus is one of fashion’s hottest independent designers — and his namesake label is one of its most impressive businesses. The company, known for its tiny bags and minimalist playfulness, is on track to double annual revenues to...

10.19.2022

Giorgio Armani, Fashion’s Most Successful Designer

BoF editor-at-large Tim Blanks describes the designer and businessman’s life, continuing impact on fashion, mysterious succession plans and newfound vulnerability. Background Over his decades-long career, Giorgio Armani has built one of fashion’s most successful businesses. Known for his signature tailoring and functional...

10.12.2022

Inside the $7 Billion Dior Phenomenon

How the 75-year-old luxury house tripled its revenue in just four years, according to BoF luxury editor Robert Williams. Background: In 1947, months after being founded, Christian Dior Couture revolutionised dressing with its “New Look,” an exaggerated hourglass-shaped silhouette. In the ’80s,...

10.05.2022

Can Patagonia’s Radical Move Change the Fashion Industry?

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s is giving away his billion-dollar company. BoF chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent explains why — and what influence the change could have on the culture of business. Background: Patagonia has long been the standard bearer for responsible capitalism:...

09.28.2022

Inside the Luxury E-Commerce Race

After years of speculation, designer e-tailers are finally consolidating in an effort to increase profits and gain market share. BoF’s Robert Williams and Tamison O’Connor unpack what’s in store for major players including Farfetch, YNAP and MatchesFashion. Background: The launch of Net-a-Porter...

09.21.2022

Inside Banana Republic’s Bid to Regain Relevance

BoF’s retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen joins The Debrief to discuss how the mall brand plotted a turnaround that’s starting to pay off. Background: Gap Inc. has had a hard year, accented last week by a dramatic Ye break-up following an anticlimactic...

09.14.2022

How Big Brands Choose their Creative Directors

Louis Vuitton is expected to name its Virgil Abloh successor within weeks. BoF’s Imran Amed joins Lauren Sherman to discuss what luxury labels think about when recruiting top designers. Background: Louis Vuitton has spent almost a year searching for a Virgil Abloh...

09.07.2022

Fashion’s Hottest Jobs

BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young unpacks how fashion’s labour market has evolved in the past year, and what positions brands are hiring for now. Background: As companies confront a potential recession, they’re making changes to the...

08.31.2022

What TikTok’s Rise Means for Fashion

BoF technology correspondent Marc Bain and contributor Chantal Fernandez join Lauren Sherman to discuss how TikTok took over fashion conversation — and what brands need to know to get the most out of the platform. Background: ...

08.24.2022

The Transformation of the Black Hair Care Market

BoF’s Sheena Butler-Young and Tamison O’Connor join Lauren Sherman to discuss how a new generation of entrepreneurs are driving growth in this underdeveloped category. Background: Monique Rodriguez turned a series of Instagram tutorials — where she made...

08.17.2022

Making Sense of the Direct-to-Consumer Reckoning

Mounting customer acquisition costs and a pressure to grow fast have made it hard to build a profitable DTC business. BoF deputy editor Brian Baskin and retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen join Lauren Sherman to analyse the past, present and future...

08.10.2022

Inside the Gap and J.Crew Comeback Attempts

BoF’s Cathaleen Chen and Marc Bain join Lauren Sherman to talk about retailers’ big hires, hopes and plans for bringing their brands back to life. Background: J.Crew and Gap defined how Americans dressed for much of the ’90s...

08.03.2022

Can Gucci Become ‘Gucci’ Again?

In an effort to reignite consumer fire, the Italian megabrand has done some restructuring. Bernstein luxury analyst Luca Solca breaks down what it all means. Background: In the late 2010s, Gucci pulled off a successful turnaround by aligning...

07.27.2022

How Skims Took on Victoria’s Secret and Spanx

Kim Kardashian’s ‘solution wear’ line was recently valued at $3.2 billion. BoF correspondent Alexandra Mondalek charts the rise of the brand, and details what challenges lie ahead. Background: Founded in 2019 by Kim Kardashian and retail veteran Jens...

07.20.2022

Why So Many Athletes Are Launching Fashion Brands

BoF’s Daniel-Yaw Miller unpacks why — and how — sports stars including Russell Westbrook and Megan Rapinoe are running their own labels, with full financial and creative control. Background: Athletes have long been part of the fashion conversation. In the...

07.13.2022

Department Stores Make a Comeback

After a pandemic pivot to e-commerce, many brands are back to working with third-party retailers, this time, with better terms. Background: The wholesale model, while offering exposure and some upfront revenue, did not always have the best terms...

07.06.2022

In Activewear, Where Are the White Spaces?

BoF correspondents Chavie Lieber and Daniel-Yaw Miller discuss why fashion brands are making products for sports like pickleball, padel, rugby, boxing and skiing. Background: Two decades ago, Lululemon built its brand around yoga — then considered counter culture. Today,...

06.29.2022

Eva Chen on Meta’s Virtual Fashion Experiment

The vice president of fashion and shopping partnerships at Meta and BoF technology correspondent Marc Bain join Lauren Sherman to discuss the company’s new marketplace — which sells digital items from Thom Browne, Balenciaga and Prada — and the future...

06.22.2022

Gen-Z’s Great Expectations

BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young explains why managers in the fashion and beauty industries are struggling to balance their youngest employees’ expectations against the needs of their businesses. Background: The youth-obsessed fashion and beauty industries can’t get...

06.15.2022

Why Chanel Is Opening Private Boutiques

BoF’s luxury editor Robert Williams offers insight into the surprising news that the mega-label plans to open stores dedicated to serving top customers. Background: As traffic to stores soars, Chanel’s chief financial officer Philippe Blondiaux said the brand...

06.08.2022

Is This the Beginning of the End for Leather?

Brands including Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and Hermès are making products from mushroom-based material. BoF’s chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent details the forces pushing next-gen fabrics like mycelium leather forward — and whether the much-hyped sustainability solution has a future in...

06.01.2022

The Decline of the Skinny Jean

After years of analyst anticipation that the leg-squeezing silhouette would soon go out of style, market research firm NPD Group found sales for the skinny jeans fell behind straight leg jeans in 2021. Skinny jeans are far from dead though...

05.25.2022

How Luxury Woos the World’s Biggest Spenders

BoF’s Chavie Lieber dives into the elaborate and secretive way luxury brands court their high-spending clients with trips to exotic locales and entry to exclusive events. Background: In the midst of a post-Covid luxury boom, brands are going...

05.18.2022

Fashion’s Greenwashing Problem

In a sea of unsubstantiated claims about sustainability, BoF’s Sarah Kent explains why it's so hard to measure impact, and what sort of regulation could be coming for fashion. Background: Concern about the environmental impact of clothing has...

05.11.2022

How Vacation Clothes Became Big Business

BoF’s Tamison O’Connor explains how the fashion industry is betting on resortwear as consumers return to their pre-pandemic lifestyles and travel rebounds. Background: Every spring, top fashion clients, influencers and insiders are whisked away to lush destinations like Monte...

05.04.2022

Who Is Designing Fashion in the Metaverse?

BoF’s Marc Bain chats with Lauren Sherman about the 3D creators, game designers and NFT experts bringing fashion into the virtual world. Background: A new generation of digital creatives are leading fashion brands into virtual worlds by using...

04.27.2022

Unpacking Alexander Wang’s Rise, Fall and Attempted Return to Fashion

BoF’s Lauren Sherman and Matthew Schneier, senior writer at New York Magazine and The Cut, discuss the former star designer’s attempted industry re-entry following a slew of sexual assault allegations. Background: Following a flurry of sexual assault allegations...

04.20.2022

Why Shein Is Valued at $100 Billion

Fast fashion upstart Shein set the industry ablaze this month after reports it was seeking to raise $1 billion in funding at a $100 billion valuation, according to Bloomberg. Shein has upended fast fashion by making apparel at jaw-droppingly...

04.13.2022

Introducing ‘The Debrief,’ a New Podcast hosted by Lauren Sherman

In this weekly series, BoF’s chief correspondent will go behind the scenes of the $2.5 trillion global fashion industry. Fashion has the ability to move markets, shake up cultural norms and even transform society. But who — and what —...