The Business of Fashion Podcast
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673 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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What Kind of Leaders Do We Need to Be Now? | BoF VOICES 2021
4 maart 2022 · 16 min
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. Lees meer
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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How Can Fashion Become Truly Circular? | BoF VOICES 2021
25 februari 2022 · 19 min
The traditional fashion value chain is linear: fibres are grown, harvested, spun into fabric and stitched into garments, which are then distributed to retailers, sold, worn and discarded. Lees meer
“The way we make and use things accounts for 45 percent of greenhouse gases and 90 percent of biodiversity loss,” said Dame Ellen MacArthur at BoF VOICES 2021.
In this conversation with BoF’s Sarah Kent, MacArthur lays out a vision for an alternate “circular” economy where the lifecycle of garments is extended through better design, including the use of more resilient, recyclable materials, and using systems throughout the manufacturing and sales process to facilitate items’ repair, reuse, and eventual transformation into something new.
But this kind of systemic change will require a collective and coordinated push from suppliers, designers, brands and retailers across fashion’s value chain.
“We need to work together to make this happen. You need the entire value chain in the room,” said MacArthur, adding that though such comprehensive change is a challenge, it's also an opportunity. Circular business models, including resale and rental, are on track to become a $700 billion market representing 23 percent of the fashion industry by 2030.
“Business as usual doesn't work,” said MacArthur. “It's not the solution.”
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How ‘The Age of Acceleration’ Will Transform Business | BoF VOICES 2021
18 februari 2022 · 19 min
At BoF VOICES 2021, Futurists Martin Raymond and Christopher Sanderson examined the series of fast-paced changes that will dominate the wider world in the coming decade — and advised on how brands must adapt. The world is at the beginning of an era defined by the emergence of fast-paced change at a never-before-seen scale, Martin Raymond and Christopher Sanderson, futurists and founders of The Future Laboratory consultancy said to a rapt audience at BoF VOICES 2021. They dubbed this moment the “Transformative Twenties.” The pandemic’s shock and subsequent shifts are just the beginning. A series of radical resets driven by new technologies, climate change and shifting demographics will require businesses to become more agile and flexible to keep up with the pace of change. Individuals will demand more sustainable, equitable and decentralised societies. Amid all this change, the dynamic between brands and their customers has already moved away from being purely transactional to focusing on collaboration and candour as the key tenets of a business model in flux. Lees meer
“We are moving through a decade in which we are proactively looking for the businesses, the brands, the products, the goods and the services that will help us on our journey to become healthier, wealthier and happier,” said Sanderson.
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Lessons in Fashion Business-Building from Proenza Schouler | The BoF Podcast
11 februari 2022 · 32 min
Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez speak to BoF’s Lauren Sherman about their journey from one-time fashion wunderkinds to seasoned entrepreneurs, navigating a series of ups and downs. Lees meer
Fresh out of fashion school — armed with approval from then Barneys New York fashion director Julie Gilhart, who bought their Parsons senior thesis collection in 2002, and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who helped them stage their first show in 2003 — Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez followed early 2000s American fashion’s script for success. They took investment quickly, produced buzzy runway shows and an ‘it’ item in the form of the PS1 bag, and began launching new categories and distribution deals — but struggled to achieve sustained commercial success.
“By 2018, the board of directors was quite large and in charge and we weren’t. That’s when, I guess, shit hit the fan,” said Hernandez.
So, 15 years after its 2002 launch and on the brink of bankruptcy, McCollough and Hernandez bought Proenza Schouler back from private equity firm Castanea Partners, installed fashion turnaround veteran Kay Hong as chief executive, and positioned the brand for growth in 2020, just before the pandemic hit. It appears their strategy is working: Proenza Schouler broke even in 2021 and is on a path to profitability in 2022.
On the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, McCullough and Hernandez join BoF’s chief correspondent Lauren Sherman following her feature, “The Nine Lives of Proenza Schouler,” to chat about their experience so far — and the brand’s next chapter.
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Understanding the Power of Mycelium and the Mushroom Movement | BoF VOICES 2021
4 februari 2022 · 27 min
An oft-overlooked natural asset, mushrooms are not just infiltrating the fashion industry, but also have the potential to unlock new ways of thinking and healing. Lees meer
One of the planet’s oldest lifeforms was the centrepiece of some of last year’s biggest stories in material innovation in fashion. But beyond fungi’s potential for shaping the future of materials, its ability to build things and create networks can provoke our imaginations and make us question the way we organise our lives, according to Merlin Sheldrake, biologist and author of “Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures.”
Download our latest Case Study: ‘Fashion’s Race for New Materials’ here
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Christian Louboutin on Balancing Personal Identity and Public Brand | BoF VOICES 2021
28 januari 2022 · 20 min
On the heels of selling a 24 percent stake in his namesake label, valuing it at $2.7 billion, Louboutin spoke with Rozan Ahmed at BoF VOICES 2021 about how his identity and upbringing have shaped his approach to business and life. Lees meer
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Jay Shetty on Finding Your Purpose in a Chaotic World | BoF VOICES 2021
21 januari 2022 · 20 min
The best-selling author and podcaster shares a powerful equation for defining your purpose and a guided meditation to help you discover it. Lees meer
At BoF VOICES 2021, Jay Shetty spoke about how his experiences as a monk taught him not only how to find purpose, but how to live with it.
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The Jonathan Anderson Experiment
15 januari 2022 · 33 min
Up until a week ago, Jonathan Anderson was set to show his J.W. Anderson show in Milan, but Omicron has put paid to that, and Jonathan had to quickly change his plans and instead film a presentation at the Scala in Kings Cross London. BoF's editor at large, Tim Blanks, sat down with Jonathan to discuss his responses to the challenges presented by the pandemic. Jonathan has done everything from a show in a box to a show on a wall, and this time he has continued his optimism and enthusiasm in the face of the pandemic. Lees meer
Read Tim Blanks' full article here.
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Dame Vivian Hunt on The Case for Stakeholder Capitalism| BoF VOICES 2021
14 januari 2022 · 11 min
The pandemic has upped pressure on brands and corporations to take action on issues from climate change to social justice. More and more investors are asking for it and more customers are demanding it. So what role do businesses need to play in creating the kind of society we want to live in? Lees meer
Dame Vivian Hunt is one of the most important voices in British business. During her talk at VOICES 2021, she made the case for stakeholder capitalism.
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Harris Reed and Alok Vaid-Menon: “The Future of Fashion Is Gender Free” | BoFVOICES 2021
7 januari 2022 · 21 min
At this year's edition of VOICES, performance artist Alok Vaid-Menon sat down with Harris Reed, a recent Central Saint Martins graduate who has emerged as one of the industry’s brightest rising stars and is vocal about pushing gender-fluid fashion to the mainstream. Reed and Alok spoke about concrete opportunities for industry stakeholders to de-gender fashion. While many fashion companies want to be seen working with gender non-binary people, few are baking their gender-free principles into their businesses beyond one-off collaborations. Lees meer
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Cédric Charbit: "Balenciaga: From Hype to Timelessness" | VOICES 2021
17 december 2021 · 22 min
We often think of hype as the antithesis of timelessness, especially in fashion. Chunky dad sneakers and sweatshirts emblazoned with logos, versus little black dresses and classic tailoring. But how can one brand straddle both? Lees meer
At BoF VOICES 2021, CEO of Balenciaga Cédric Charbit, discusses the brand's business vision, and how a soon-to-be 103 year old luxury house continues to shape the discourse.
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Janaya Future Khan: "What Activism Really Means" | VOICES 2021
10 december 2021 · 12 min
"Everybody is born into a script they didn’t write for themselves. But activists defy that script to rewrite the narrative, non-binary activist, storyteller and former international ambassador for Black Lives Matter, Janaya Future Khan, said in a powerful talk that wove together theory with raw personal experiences, including a racist encounter on a plane. Lees meer
Khan was careful to differentiate real activism that drives change from the crescendo of surface-level proclamations, from individuals and brands alike, that have filled social media in recent years.
“If we’re talking about what the work of activism really is, it’s about seeing the world as it is, not as we’re told,” they said. “Our job is to imagine change and make it true.”
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Kim Jones Drops a New Beat for Dior Men
9 december 2021 · 31 min
The last time Kim Jones showed in his hometown was 2003, the year after he graduated from Central Saint Martins. London didn’t really host many menswear presentations in those days. Besides, Kim already had his eye on the bigger picture, so he hightailed to Paris. His homecoming on Thursday, with the launch of his Pre-Fall 2022 collection for Dior Men at the Olympia Exhibition Centre, was, in one way, an appropriately spectacular reflection of everything that’s happened to him since. But it also illuminated the way Jones has managed to weave his own story into the brands — from Dunhill through Louis Vuitton to Dior and Fendi — that he has shaped. Lees meer
His latest Dior collection is infused with the spirit of the Beat Generation, especially Jack Kerouac and his watershed On the Road. Over the past few years, Jones has been building an extraordinary library of rare books and literary ephemera, and Kerouac features strongly. This boho prince might seem unlikely in the context of a French couture house, but Kerouac was writing while Christian Dior was still working. And the rebel spirit of the Beats inspired the Left Bank of Paris, which sparked Yves Saint Laurent who succeeded Dior at the house. So, it wasn’t so tricky for Jones to winkle out a connection. His ability to do so reminds me of Karl Lagerfeld’s knack for joining the dots between eras, people and places.
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Max Bittner on the rise — and rise — of fashion resale
27 november 2021 · 38 min
Vestiaire Collective is one of the leaders in the fast-growing fashion resale segment. Earlier this year, in its latest round of funding, the luxury resale platform achieved a valuation of $1.7 billion. Lees meer
Max Bittner, Vestiaire Collective’s CEO, attributes this success to a number of factors, including ease of transactions, pandemic-driven closet clean-outs and shifting consumer values. But he also acknowledges the challenges that lie ahead as Vestiaire Collective scales, particularly when it comes to verifying the authenticity of products in the face of ever-more sophisticated counterfeits.
Bittner’s insights are featured in the fifth episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg Quicktake.
Here, we share the full interview with Bittner, exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Watch the fifth episode of The BoF Show, “Resale: Inside the $130 Billion Secondhand Fashion Market”
Explore the new report from BoF Insights, “The Future of Fashion Resale” here.
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Maria Raga on why community is central to Depop’s success
26 november 2021 · 35 min
The CEO of the online peer-to-peer marketplace believes the platform’s ability to connect people sets it apart from typical fashion e-commerce. Lees meer
In June 2021, online marketplace Etsy announced plans to acquire Depop for $1.6 billion. The move was yet another sign of growing interest in the burgeoning fashion resale market, which according to BoF Insights, is now worth $130 billion globally.
CEO Maria Raga describes Depop as “combining elements from Instagram and eBay”. The platform is skewed towards lower-priced product exchange between younger traders, almost all of them 26 and under. Raga believes that it’s Depop’s community aspect — facilitating not just online transactions, but also person to person interactions — that attracts these all-important Gen-Z shoppers.
Raga’s insights are featured in the fifth episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg Quicktake.
Watch the fifth episode of The BoF Show here.
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The Dematerialised on the Rise of Virtual Fashion
19 november 2021 · 31 min
Marjorie Hernandez and Karinna Nobbs are the co-founders of The Dematerialised — a Web 3.0 marketplace for authenticated virtual goods, which they describe as “the digital department store of your dreams.” Lees meer
They’re part of a new wave of pioneering entrepreneurs challenging the luxury status quo and creating a new reality for fashion.
In the fourth episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg Quicktake, they share their thoughts on gaming culture and the metaverse — and explain why they believe virtual fashion will revolutionise the industry as we know it.
Here, we share the full interview, exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Watch the fourth episode of The BoF Show, “Dematerialisation: Why the Metaverse Is Fashion’s Next Goldmine”
Explore the new report from BoF Insights, “The Opportunities in Digital Fashion and Avatars” here.
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Ian Rogers: “Five years from now, we will have closets where we share our digital collections”
12 november 2021 · 45 min
Ledger’s Chief Experience Officer explains how — and when — fashion should tap into the NFT gold rush, as featured in the fourth episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg Quicktake. Lees meer
Ian Rogers moved to Paris from Silicon Valley in 2015 when he was appointed Chief Digital Officer of LVMH, acting as a digital whisperer to C-suite luxury executives.
Today, as Chief Experience Officer of Ledger — a security system that provides protection for digital currencies — he is uniquely positioned to speak to the opportunities being created as crypto technologies, gaming and fashion converge.
His insights are featured in the fourth episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg Quicktake.
Here, we share the full interview with Rogers, exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Explore the new report from BoF Insights, “The Opportunities in Digital Fashion and Avatars” here.
Watch episode 4, 'Why the Metaverse Is Fashion's Next Goldmine' here.
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Sinead Burke: ‘Fashion has the power to change how society views people.’
5 november 2021 · 23 min
Sinéad Burke refuses to be excluded, despite fashion’s poor record on welcoming people with disabilities. Lees meer
In a wide-ranging interview, featured in the third episode of The BoF Show, Sinéad reminisces on her fashion journey — from calling out the industry for entrenched behaviours, at BoF VOICES in 2017; to advising luxury brands as Founder & CEO of consultancy “Tilt the Lens”.
Here, we share the full interview exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Watch the third episode of The BoF Show, “Belonging: The Business Case for Diversity in Fashion”
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Samira Nasr: “Real inclusion means anyone can follow their dreams”
29 oktober 2021 · 22 min
In 2020, Samira Nasr became Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar, the first-ever woman of colour to hold the position in the magazine’s 154 year history. Lees meer
The appointment, whilst joyful, also prompted tough reflection about racism and responsibility. How can a business based on exclusivity throw its doors open to all?
Nasr’s insights on what real inclusion looks like in fashion — and her hopes for the industry as it emerges from the pandemic — are featured in the third episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg QuickTake.
Here, we share the full interview with Nasr exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Watch the episode three of The BoF Show, “Belonging: The Business Case for Diversity”
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Angelica Cheung: Chinese Customers Will “Expect to See Something Different” When They Travel Again
22 oktober 2021 · 52 min
“We’ve been expecting you…” Lees meer
In Paris, everything is prepared for the return of big-spending tourists. Stores are open, mirrors shined, brand leaders bullish that the global capital city of luxury remains irresistible.
But when BoF founder and CEO, Imran Amed connects to Angelica Cheung in Beijing, she sounds a caution.
For 16 years, Angelica was Vogue China’s Editor-in-Chief. Today, she’s a venture partner at investment leader, Sequoia Capital China. She tells Imran that Chinese customers used to travel to Paris for choice — which they can now find at home; for price — yet prices are now balanced around the world; for “Made in France” — yet they’re increasingly proud of “Made in China”.
Her insights on what it’s going to take to lure the Chinese back to the City of Light are featured in the second episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg QuickTake.
Here, we share the full interview with Cheung exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Watch the second episode of The BoF Show, “Re-Invention: How Fashion’s Megabrands Will Adapt to Post-Pandemic Customer Behaviour”
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Could Luxury Become Responsible? | Transforming Luxury
18 oktober 2021 · 51 min
Over the Transforming Luxury podcast series, as we discussed market dynamics, product strategies, customer experiences, emerging technologies, new retail channels and our imminent entry into the metaverse, the pressing need and increasing demand for systemic change to create a more sustainable industry was a consistent theme. Lees meer
In this final episode of Transforming Luxury, a special six-episode series presented by Klarna, we confront the distinct uncertainty and disruption facing the luxury industry and us all, as a result of the climate crisis.
In 2020, BoF reported that the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions range from an estimated 4 percent to 10 percent of the global total. Without significant intervention, the industry will not align with global goals to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. Failure to do so is predicted to have catastrophic consequences for civilisation, outlined in the UN’s IPCC report 2021.
However, if bold enough leadership is willing to reimagine how the industry operates, equipped with the deep pockets of market leaders and further enforcing the existing, rigorous quality controls already in place, luxury would be " uniquely positioned to transform itself,” as stated by SVP of supply chain innovation at the Savory Institute, Megan Meiklejohn.
To hear more about the role sustainability must play throughout the luxury goods industry, BoF gathered four global authorities to discuss how luxury can become more responsible with host Robin Mellery-Pratt.
Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges a redefined industry will bring and how luxury’s transformation will impact your business.
Sign up for BoF’s Daily Digest newsletter.
For comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail: podcast@businessoffashion.com.
For all sponsorship enquiries, it’s: advertising@businessoffashion.com.
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Manfred Thierry Mugler: Fashion’s Original Radical
15 oktober 2021 · 40 min
For fashion aficionados of a certain age, the name “Thierry Mugler” throbs with memories of showgirl spectacles cast with extraordinary beauties and weirdos, garbed in looks of an other-worldly glamour. Such was their alien dazzle that there are times in this more prosaic era when I wonder if they ever really happened. Fortunately, there is now ample proof of their existence at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where Thierry Mugler: Couturissime is on display until April next year. It’s been on a world tour since it first opened in Montreal in 2019, but its homecoming was significant enough that Mugler sat down to talk about it, and everything else, for The BoF Podcast. And, being one of those fashion aficionados of a certain age, I was slightly awestruck. Lees meer
Mugler turned his back on fashion at the millennium, reclaiming his first name Manfred and devoting himself to costume design for the likes of Cirque du Soleil. He dressed Beyoncé's 2009 world tour. But the only fashion outfit he has designed in the past two decades was the “wet look” dress Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Gala in 2019. It apparently took eight months to make. Mugler had never seen her TV show, but when she walked into the room — not a word to anyone else, never a smile or a handshake — he said, “It was love at first sight.” He saw her body as that of “the original female, an antique goddess.”
It’s clear what kind of woman has always attracted and inspired Mugler. In his fashion heyday, it was Iman and Jerry Hall who embodied his very particular aesthetic. “Fashion needs a great animal to wear it,” he told me. He photographed his clothes on those women, draped over the Art Deco eagles on the Chrysler Building in New York, posed against massive Saharan sand dunes and Arctic icebergs. They were dressed like superheroines but Mugler made them small against the monumental backdrops. “It looks like they’ve been dropped from another planet,” he says now. “That was the idea.”
He claimed he wanted…
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Can Luxury Maintain Its Relevance in the Metaverse? | Transforming Luxury
11 oktober 2021 · 35 min
The metaverse — a term originally coined by the author Neal Stephenson in his sci-fi novel ‘Snow Crash’ — is now widely used to describe how our physical realities will be augmented and overlaid by ambient and accessible digital experiences and services. Lees meer
Luxury’s entrance into the metaverse was expedited by many brands’ leverage of new technologies to speak to consumers when lockdowns removed physical interactions in bricks-and-mortar stores and in-person events. But the impact of virtual and augmented reality on consumer behaviour preceded 2020: Forbes reported in 2019 that 40 percent of consumers were willing to spend more on a product they can experience through augmented reality technology first.
From stores that guide you from the street to luxury items designed exclusively for the smart glasses that every major tech platform is working on, the future of luxury is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.
Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges a redefined industry will bring and how luxury’s transformation will impact your business.
Sign up for BoF’s Daily Digest newsletter.
For comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail: podcast@businessoffashion.com.
For all sponsorship enquiries, it’s: advertising@businessoffashion.com.
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Tim Blanks and Imran Amed on The Season That Was
8 oktober 2021 · 31 min
After the conclusion of Paris Fashion Week — the first in-person version of the event since the pandemic took hold in early 2020 — BoF’s editor at large Tim Blanks sat down with BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed to discuss his reflections on fashion’s return to the runway. Lees meer
Designers appeared to come out of lockdown with renewed energy, breathing new life and ideas into their collections. Highlights included Jonathan Anderson’s Loewe collection, Extinction Rebellion’s talked-about moment during Louis Vuitton and the week’s finale, a tribute to the late Alber Elbaz.
Still, Blanks said that he doesn’t believe fashion has seen the full effects of the pandemic just yet. “I think in a sense everything changed and we haven’t processed it yet,” he said. “It’s going to take a long time.”
On the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, Amed and Blanks explore what fashion learned from its break.
Jonathan Anderson’s Loewe show leaned on the surreal to expand upon the designer’s previous pandemic-era collections and experimented with new themes. It also marked a departure from previous runway show set ups; this year’s show was staged in a bare-bones space that highlighted Anderson’s sculptural silhouettes. “Of all the designers that we’ve followed so closely, his response to the pandemic was perhaps the most creative,” said Blanks. “I think it was maybe his best show for Loewe.”
The Simpsons’ surprise appearance at Balenciaga also provided some levity to the week, with an abbreviated episode of the hit cartoon featuring characters walking in a Balenciaga show. Demna Gvasalia also explored themes of distance with a screening replacing a traditional runway show. Even without the Simpsons’ star power, Demna showed a collection that excited buyers and critics alike, particularly in bags and accessories.
Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion brought about what was perhaps the most talked-about moment of fashion week. During Louis Vuitton’s runway show, an activist stormed the ru…
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What Is Driving the Transformation of Luxury Retail Channels? | Transforming Luxury
4 oktober 2021 · 43 min
Today, the channels that consumers can now use to connect with brands to elicit a range of interactions have multiplied, dramatically. With major new platforms emerging all over the world, the retail networks utilised by luxury brands are evolving at an unprecedented pace to include a huge number of customer touch points — each a distinct opportunity for growth but requiring an idiosyncratic strategy for success. Lees meer
Due to mobile-commerce and social-commerce, when, how and why a consumer transacts with a brand has been reimagined entirely. The linear paths to purchase with which we are so familiar are being replaced by new conduits that combine digital content with customer-centric retail strategies to make transacting as engaging, enjoyable and instantaneous as possible.
There is one region responsible for the lion’s share of retail innovation: China. The engine of the luxury industry’s growth for decades is now the epicentre of the most significant retail innovation in the market.
From buy now, to swipe up, unboxing to bounce houses, KOLs, KOCs, shoppable video, live streaming, digital clienteling, resale sites, marketplaces, macro and micro influencers — luxury’s retail channels have been reimagined at scale. Now, that innovation is beginning to shape global retail strategy.
Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges a redefined industry will bring and how luxury’s transformation will impact your business.
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Demna Gvasalia: “Couture Is The Most Sustainable Way of Consuming”
1 oktober 2021 · 43 min
The revival of Balenciaga’s long-dormant couture collection was the most anticipated event of the July 2021 haute couture season, and the first since the house’s namesake, Cristóbal Balenciaga, shuttered his salon in 1968. Lees meer
BoF’s founder and CEO Imran Amed was granted exclusive pre-show access and sat down with Gvasalia for a wide-ranging interview which is featured in the first episode of The BoF Show, now streaming on Bloomberg QuickTake.
Here, we share the full interview with Gvasalia exclusively on The BoF Podcast.
Watch the first episode of The BoF Show, “Disruption: Is Luxury Fashion ready to Change?”
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Why Big Brands Are Skipping Fashion Week
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How Is Luxury Customer Service Evolving? | Transforming Luxury
27 september 2021 · 37 min
In recent decades, the race to attract and retain customers saw dizzying amounts of money spent on clienteling — the industry term for building a 1 on 1 relationship with customers. Today, for major players of scale with the resources to invest in it, successfully digitising personalised in store service, which generates much high conversion rates through recommendations and experience, is being looked to as a key driver of future competitive advantage. Lees meer
Indeed, the luxury service revolution is now rooted in creating a single customer view, enabling businesses to guide an individual consumer to the products and services it offers that match their specific needs. An opportunity that stems from significant shifts in generational attitudes towards data sharing and its use.
Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges a redefined industry will bring and how luxury’s transformation will impact your business.
Sign up for BoF’s Daily Digest newsletter.
For comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail: podcast@businessoffashion.com.
For all sponsorship enquiries, it’s: advertising@businessoffashion.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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How Is Luxury Customer Service Evolving? | Transforming Luxury
27 september 2021 · 37 min
In recent decades, the race to attract and retain customers saw dizzying amounts of money spent on clienteling — the industry term for building a 1 on 1 relationship with customers. Today, for major players of scale with the resources to invest in it, successfully digitising personalised in store service, which generates much high conversion rates through recommendations and experience, is being looked to as a key driver of future competitive advantage. Lees meer
Indeed, the luxury service revolution is now rooted in creating a single customer view, enabling businesses to guide an individual consumer to the products and services it offers that match their specific needs. An opportunity that stems from significant shifts in generational attitudes towards data sharing and its use.
To discover what this means for the future of the luxury goods industry, BoF spoke with three global authorities to share their insights.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski is the CEO and co-founder of Klarna. In 15 years, Siemiatkowski has grown Klarna into one of Europe’s largest financial institutions, which provides alternative payment services to over 90 million shoppers, partnering with over 250,000 retailers globally and its own direct-to-consumer shopping app.
“The whole purpose of digitalisation is utilising data to create value. It’s the information that allows us to create richer experiences. If you sit down and have a [...] conversation with a consumer and you say, ‘yes, you are in control of what data is being shared and you have full transparency, and if you then would be willing to share some specific aspects of your data in order to get a better experience, a better price, a better whatever it might be,’ then the answer is always going to be yes.”
Holli Rogers is chair of renowned concept store Browns and chief brand officer of its parent company, Farfetch. Rogers quadrupled Browns’ business while CEO between 2015 and 2021. Previously, Rogers held roles at Chanel and Neiman Marcus before jo…
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Li Edelkoort’s ‘Anti-Fashion’ Manifesto
24 september 2021 · 23 min
The fashion system has been broken for some time, said trend forecaster Li Edelkoort at VOICES 2016. But, it can still regain its cultural cachet, and fix its exploitative practices. Lees meer
When trend forecaster Li Edelkoort first published a manifesto called “Anti-Fashion” in 2015, people across the fashion industry told her that her critique had finally put how they felt into words.
“Fashion is old-fashioned,” said Edelkoort. But she believes the system can evolve to fit today’s reality and regain the cultural value it has lost over the years.
On the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, we revisit Edelkoort’s talk on the BoF VOICES stage in 2016. Her prescient ideas have only become more urgent and applicable in 2021 as the world emerges from a pandemic that forced the industry to further reevaluate its systems, values and place in society.
Fashion’s tendency towards individualism, which sees the industry place near-exclusive focus on the creator, doesn’t fit with today’s society, which is “hungry for consensus and altruism,” said Edelkoort. The problem stems in part from fashion schools, which, for the most part, have not updated their curriculum to reflect the current issues plaguing the industry.
The race to the bottom regarding prices is destroying fashion’s cultural value as well as harming garment workers. “How can a product that needs to be sewn, grown, harvested, combed, spun, knitted, cut and stitched, finished, printed, labeled, packaged and transported cost a couple of euros? It’s impossible,” said Edelkoort. As a starting point, she suggested implementing legislation on minimum prices.
The retail experience also needs to be reinvented to be more focused and better presented to consumers. Edelkoort points to Dover Street Market, whose curated approach sets it apart from traditional department stores. “Everything we do is from the 20th century. Even concept stores and online commerce were from the last moments of the 20th century,” said Edelkoort.
Related…
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What Defines a Luxury Product Today? | Transforming Luxury
20 september 2021 · 38 min
In Episode 2 of Transforming Luxury, BoF’s new podcast presented by Klarna, we investigate what will inform the luxury product mix of the future. Lees meer
Indeed, the definition of a luxury good has expanded dramatically in recent years to now include a host of disruptive new categories, from the luxury sneakerhead culture that dominated the past decade, to collectibles, curios, NFTs and even some mass produced products capturing attention in the luxury market.
Evolving consumer sentiment is also increasingly influencing luxury’s manufacturing process. Today, customers demand brands and businesses authentically represent global cultures in a way that serves the communities themselves and not the industry’s shareholders. They also hold brands accountable for the impact of their supply chains and production processes. Yet, workers’ rights was among the worst-performing categories in BoF’s Sustainability Index.
To discover what this means for the future of the luxury goods industry, BoF assembled four global authorities to share their insight.
Aaron Levant is an entrepreneur working at the intersection of fashion, culture, events and media. Levant co-founded streetwear and music festival ComplexCon, and streetwear trade show Agenda Today, Levant is CEO of NTWRK, a mobile-first video shopping platform — backed by Drake and LeBron James — that hosts events and exclusive, limited-edition product drops available to purchase immediately within its app.
“For the last hundred years, luxury was easily defined as European couture — fashion houses who own the luxury space — and now, seemingly newer brands not only create luxury in their own right, but then collaborate with true luxury brands. I think the definition around luxury is ever evolving as for who fits in that category.”
Zerina Akers is an American fashion stylist and costume designer. She is the founder of the self-funded e-commerce site Black Owned Everything and has worked as Beyoncé Knowles Carter‘s stylist, as well a…
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The Green Global Age of the Information Revolution
17 september 2021 · 20 min
The world is in the middle of an information revolution, and it’s a situation, economist Carlota Perez says, we’ve been in before. Capitalism resets every few decades, and follows a familiar pattern: An investment frenzy boosts new technologies that change how people live and interact, but when that craze eventually collapses, it leaves behind social upheaval and resentment. Lees meer
To stop that cycle, this time, Perez says on the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, we need to deliberately disassemble society’s most harmful systems and ingrained beliefs so that every country and every person is included in the sustainable future of the earth.
“We can shape the Information Revolution into a green golden age,” said Perez. She added that the fashion industry has a huge role to play, saying, “It’s up to you to reinvent what we understand by fashion… and it’s up to you to rethink, reinvent, redesign.”
That reinvention and redesigning means interrogating what wealth, well-being, and pleasure are — and untethering those ideas from physical things. Perez joined Imran Amed last year at VOICES, BoF’s annual gathering for big thinkers, to discuss what needs to happen to harness the information revolution to become more sustainable and inclusive.
Globalisation is happening, but it needs to be reworked to include all people and nations. Until now, globalisation has seen businesses chasing lower costs, and has been concentrated in Asia. “We need to discover what each area of the world, what each country can do, and re-invent, but with consensus — not just with government deciding but working together with business to re-conceptualise each bit of territory, each city,” says Perez.
Both individual lifestyle changes as well as government action are required to create a greener, more sustainable future — which benefits businesses and the whole of society, not just the one percent. “We need to work together… Every golden age has been a win-win... with the government staging the game,” sa…
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How Did 2020 Impact Luxury? | Transforming Luxury
13 september 2021 · 28 min
Critic Robin Givhan, analyst Luca Solca, author Dana Thomas and Métier founder Melissa Morris discuss how luxury became a winners-take-all market and how growing consumer scrutiny is driving change. Lees meer
BoF is investigating how market disruption, new technology and increasing consumer scrutiny are driving transformative change in the $300 billion luxury goods market, in an exclusive new podcast series presented by Klarna.
As the extraordinary events of 2020 — from the global pandemic, lockdowns and economic downturns to the accelerating climate crisis and social justice movements — impacted the luxury industry, scale-driven advantages widened the performance gap between the industry’s super winners and the rest of the market. In 2020, BoF reported that 75 percent of companies did not generate enough economic profit to cover the cost of their capital. Yet, the leading mega brands and conglomerates reported record sales.
However, a growing dissonance is emerging between luxury’s traditional values of scarcity and exclusivity, and the emergence of a more inclusive, egalitarian and sustainable global consumer culture, making the luxury industry vulnerable to shifting consumer sentiment. Today, businesses must respond to growing consumer scrutiny around the sociological and ecological impact of how they operate and what they produce.
Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges a redefined industry will bring and how luxury’s transformation will impact your business.
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For comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail: podcast@businessoffashion.com.
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Chasing the Holy Grail of Circularity
10 september 2021 · 26 min
The modern, fast-paced fashion industry feeds a culture of waste that results in millions of tonnes of textiles burned or sent to landfill every year. Brands are acknowledging the problem, increasingly labelling products with buzzwords like “circular” and marketing bags made from recycled fishing nets or shoes crafted from plastic bottles. But the industry still needs to find scalable solutions to its waste problem. Lees meer
This week on The BoF Podcast, chief correspondent Lauren Sherman speaks with chief executive of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), Edwin Keh, about ways fashion can tackle the waste challenge.
Recycling innovations that could turn old clothes back into new materials are on the horizon. But alongside investments to scale up new technologies, fashion must rethink its approach to design, Keh said. “We make stuff, we use it and we want it to go away, and we take new material and we repeat that process,” says Keh. “But not built into that process is circularity and the design intent for it to be recycled.”
New recycling technologies must also have a compelling business case to be able to compete with established ways of doing business, says Keh. “If you solve the science problem and you don’t make the business case for it or you don’t create the logistics for it, then you have sort of like a half-baked solution that makes you feel good, works well in the lab, but doesn’t have a real-world application.”
The fashion industry also needs to get smarter about data analytics to understand consumer trends and manage production accordingly, Keh says. “There’s a lot of opportunity to work on more intelligent ways to do analytics and… not to make [overproduction mistakes] in the first place,” he adds.
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Chasing The Holy Grail of Circular Fashion
A More Circular Fashion Industry Will Require a Collective Effort
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Welcome to Transforming Luxury
6 september 2021 · 3 min
In a new series from The Business of Fashion, BoF speaks to 22 experts from the worlds of business, technology and science, creative leaders and renowned ecologists, to investigate the forces driving transformative change in the luxury goods market. The six-part series, created in partnership with Klarna, explores the future of the $300 billion industry, from new consumer behaviour to the next-gen technology and the urgent need to create a more sustainable industry. Subscribe now to never miss an episode. Lees meer
The Transforming Luxury Podcast launches on 13th September. Subscribe now to never miss an episode.
Sign up for BoF’s Daily Digest newsletter.
For comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail: podcast@businessoffashion.com.
For all sponsorship enquiries, it’s: advertising@businessoffashion.com.
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Misa Hylton’s Enduring Impact On Fashion
3 september 2021 · 44 min
American stylist and fashion designer Misa Hylton rose to prominence in the ‘90s for her work with hip-hop and R&B legends such as Lil’ Kim and Mary J. Blige. She played a major role in bridging fashion and hip-hop. But in the past, Hylton didn’t received due credit for her lasting impact on fashion trends — and even contributing to the financial success of select fashion companies — according to BoF columnist Jason Campbell. This week on The BoF Podcast, Campbell is joined by Hylton and Nick Nelson, an adjunct professor at The New School who teaches a course on fashion styling, to discuss Hylton’s life and work, as well as the enduring significance of hip-hop culture in fashion. Lees meer
Hylton’s family emphasised traditional academic subjects, like science and math, during her childhood. Style was a way for her to channel her more creative side; she changed up to five times a day based on her mood at the moment. “That was the first place that I got to work with image … the energy would change, and I’m like, ‘OK, time to change my clothes — wardrobe change,’” says Hylton.
In styling, Hylton ditched the ball gowns to dress her clients in looks that were true to who they were, increasing representation for a group that had been left out of pop-culture conversations. “So many young girls related to it in the inner city and in the hoods. And it was really powerful because of that, because we were now able to see ourselves and see our style in the forefront on TV,” says Hylton.
When the looks Hylton styled for the likes of Blige and Lil’ Kim gained popularity, brands quickly followed, replicating them for the mainstream and leaving Hylton, and the other originators out. “I was not ever asked until recently to come into any luxury fashion house and create, or any photo shoot that was in a high end fashion magazine,” she says. “I wasn’t invited to style it, but our style was being emulated.” Nelson adds that “to know the history was behind that ... is incredibly important for …
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Building Loyalty through Brick-and-Mortar Retail
27 augustus 2021 · 28 min
A panel of experts discussed strategies for making physical retail a strong service touchpoint that builds brand loyalty. Lees meer
Shopping is evolving. Consumers now experience brands across channels: they may be introduced to a brand on social media, try on its products at a store, and then make a purchase online. Or, they may browse online and then pick-up an item in-person. For retailers, that means a sale can happen anywhere, at any time.
This week on The BoF Podcast, our retail correspondent Cathaleen Chen is joined by Adam Levene, founder of digital customer service platform Hero; Elyse Walker, boutique and concept store owner; and Dan Schoening, Nordstrom’s vice president of business strategy and operations to discuss how retailers can service customers in a way that creates a seamless, individualised experience across retail channels.
Beyond conversions, a strong digital strategy can serve as a way to get customers into a store and foster further engagement, according to Levene. “It’s all about giving that customer that comfort, and that desire and reason to actually head into store, having that confidence knowing the item will be there, it’s going to be in their size, and they can be greeted by the stylists they connected with online,” says Levene.
Convenience can actually drive business efficiency. Nordstrom links inventory across all markets, so that “customers have access to all that product, way more choice, and way more control around how they get it,” says Schoening. Then, the company provides easy access points for pick-up and returns, which, in turn, allows Nordstrom to get merchandise back into its ecosystem to sell again.
Building a lasting relationship with customers is essential to success. To do so, retailers should have store associates focus on building trust with kindness and authenticity. “If you pressure your sales team to hit certain numbers and it’s not authentic and it’s not organic, you might have a good day, but that hurts the long-term…
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Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing on Authentic Representation
20 augustus 2021 · 45 min
The designer speaks with Tim Blanks about his journey to find his birth parents and the power of breaking boundaries in fashion. Lees meer
Olivier Rousteing was named Balmain’s creative director ten years ago, when he was still only in his mid-twenties. But Rousteing — who was adopted as a child and grew up believing he was of mixed-race parentage — says he always felt like he was performing a role to fit in amongst the French fashion elite. Recently, he decided to try and find his birth parents to give him a greater understanding of his identity, and allowed a documentary crew to film the process. In the process, Rousteing discovered his Somalian and Ethiopian heritage. The resulting film, “Wonder Boy,” came out last year, and arrived on Netflix in June.
The experience has made him want to be more open about his identity. “You knew the designer for many years and now you are going to know the human being behind that,” he says.
This week on The BoF Podcast, BoF’s editor-at-large Tim Blanks speaks with Rousteing about connecting with his personal history, the power of community and why timelessness in fashion is vital today.
Rousteing said he hopes his personal journey will help provide inspiration for young creatives from diverse backgrounds hoping to make it in fashion. “I think I am the new France,” says Rousteing. “I think this is the message that I am delivering to people… This is my mission to give some hope in breaking boundaries.”
In his decade at the helm, Rousting has brought a new approach to Balmain’s customers, too. “What I wanted to do during this decade is to make sure that there was awareness of the brand,” said Rousteing. “So, my first step was to create a strong community of people listening to the name of Balmain.”
The pandemic has made Rousteing rethink his approach to design. “I think what is trendy is not cool anymore,” said Rousteing. “You want to buy values and you want to buy timeless [products] and you want to feel that what you get is somethin…
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Unpacking Fashion’s Role in Slowing Global Warming
13 augustus 2021 · 29 min
The fashion industry is one of the world’s worst polluters, and this week’s grim report from the UN’s IPCC made clear that change needs to come quickly. Lees meer
This week, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report from the world’s top climate scientists, warning that global temperatures will rise 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040 and underscoring that human influence is “unequivocally” responsible for global warming since the late 19th century.
The fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be between 4 and 10 percent of the global total. “In the last two years, many of the industry’s biggest brands have taken steps to address emissions within their own supply chains,” says BoF deputy editor Brian Baskin. “It can be hard to tell how effective the industry’s efforts have been and what else needs to be done to address climate change.”
On this week’s BoF Podcast, Baskin is joined by Michael Sadowski, a sustainability advisor and former vice president of sustainability at Nike; Laila Petrie, chief executive of sustainability consultancy 2050, which works with the Fashion Pact; and Hannah Phang, head of marketing and advocacy at sustainability consultancy Futerra to unpack fashion’s role in slowing global warming.
Real action on emissions will require collaboration across the industry and cooperation with investors, financial institutions and policymakers. “Fundamentally, this is a problem which no individual company can solve on its own,” says Petrie. “We have all sorts of intractable issues around infrastructure, around incentives, around policy and no one actor can really operate within that system without being affected by it.”
The industry often offers carbon offsets as a climate change solution. But according to Sadowski, planting a tree or donating a dollar is not a path to achieving meaningful change. “The focus should be on reducing emissions. That’s what the science says, that’s what the NGOs work in the scien…
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How Retailers Can Use Data to Improve Customer Experience
6 augustus 2021 · 31 min
Retail futurist Doug Stephens is joined by a panel of experts to tackle the tricky business of collecting, understanding and using data to improve retail. Lees meer
In retail, data can be a powerful tool to help brands understand their customers and how they engage with products. But just as retail itself has changed dramatically over the past few years, so have a retailer’s most important metrics of success — it’s no longer just about sales. As highlighted in the BoF Professional Summit: What’s a Store For?, it’s not sufficient for retailers to solely measure variables related to purchase — such as sales per square foot, or average footfall. But while there is no shortage of data that retailers can capture (and hundreds of ways to do it), not all data is worth paying attention to. Knowing what data is worth paying attention to can be tricky.
“Simply because you can measure something, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should or it doesn’t necessarily make it important,” said Doug Stephens, retail futurist and BoF columnist.
This week on the BoF Podcast, Stephens is joined by Brittany Hicks and Jessica Couch of Fayetteville Road, a consulting firm which helps retailers understand niche markets and women of colour, as well as Alexei Agratchev, co-founder and chief executive of in-store analytics firm RetailNext to discuss how retailers should be using retail data.
Retailers have access to an overwhelming amount of information: what percentage of passersby enter a store, how much time those visitors spend inside, what merchandise they interact with and how many times they return to the space, as well as demographic details like age and gender. “The most important thing that stores can do to be great is to constantly invest in tools and processes to listen and respond to their customers,” said Agratchev.
Retailers need to be agile and translate the information they gather into actionable strategies for trying out new formats, layouts and sales associate engagement tactics. …
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Marni's Francesco Risso on Fashion After Isolation
30 juli 2021 · 51 min
Marni’s creative director reflects on the changes that must endure post-pandemic and the importance of emotion. Lees meer
In retrospect, Francesco Risso’s January 2020 menswear show for Marni seems prophetic. The collection took inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death,” which tells a story of plague and societal excess. These themes continue to resonate with the designer after 16 months living with the pandemic.
On this week’s episode of the BoF Podcast, Risso tells BoF’s editor-at-large Tim Blanks why fashion’s habits of over-production and lavish runways are now “redundant” and where he believes the industry should go from here.
Risso has always looked back at brand archives for inspiration, but now he sees an opportunity to extend that habit to create more timeless designs. “Every season we take stuff from the old archives… and it’s become Marni’s prerogative, so every collection we have those heirlooms,” says Risso. “I’m very a big fan of trying to be responsible with design in that sense.”
Risso reflects on the importance of simplicity. Refocusing on creating connections and celebrating the small things over the past year has been a key focus at Marni. “I think it really forced us to focus on the authenticity of our ideas and also to celebrate them at a certain point… we [celebrated] in a very light and primitive kind of way,” he says.
Changes to runway shows during the pandemic must not be overturned, according to Risso, who calls for more permanent change to the industry’s schedule by reducing the number of collections in a year. “I would love that whatever we have learnt right now is not just thrown off,” says Risso.
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The End of the (Fashion) World as We Know It
At Marni, Hybrids of the Past
A New Urgency at Marni
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How to Integrate Immersive Experiences into Physical Stores
23 juli 2021 · 25 min
Ssense’s Krishna Nikhil and 2PM’s Web Smith talk strategies for making physical retail exciting at The BoF Professional Summit: What’s a Store For? Lees meer
The role of physical retail has changed drastically over the past few years — particularly amid the pandemic — as customers turned to digital channels and brands sharpened their focus on e-commerce. But, physical stores remain an important touchpoint. During this month’s BoF Professional Summit “What’s a Store For?” Krishna Nikhil, chief merchandising officer & chief marketing officer of Ssense, and Web Smith, founder of 2PM, unpacked the different ways brands are transforming their stores to be more than just a place to conduct transactions. That means thinking about a physical retail space as a means to provide experiences and entertainment that are relevant to their audiences and continue to prioritise service.
“It’s so important to think about how you create something that is meaningful for the customer,” says Nikhil. “For us, that really started with this idea of ‘how do we reinvent how commerce takes place in the store?’”
Nikhil and Web Smith, founder of retail media company 2PM, join BoF’s founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed for a discussion about making stores a grounds for immersive experiences without diluting their purpose of obtaining customers.
Ssense has streamlined the trying-and-buying process to be more efficient by introducing an appointment service so that customers can spend their time in-store engaging with the cultural programming and the “big moments” the retailer orchestrates — like Virgil Abloh’s 2018 “Cutting Room Floor” exhibition, which recreated his studio in the space. “What we are doing is giving both a great experience with product, but also giving time back to that customer… That time back, is about immersion in all the other experiences that we create in the store,” said Nikhil.
Pointing to direct-to-consumer start-up Rowing Blazers, which used only about 30 to 40 percent of the…
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Photographer Mert Alas’ New Venture
16 juli 2021 · 27 min
BoF’s Tim Blanks speaks with one half of the renowned duo Mert and Marcus about finding new creative avenues. Lees meer
Renowned fashion photographer Mert Alas — one half of the renowned duo Mert and Marcus — has spent the last four years immersed in the world of gin. While pandemic pivots to new creative ventures have become commonplace, Alas was looking for a new creative outlet long before the current crisis. In crafting his new aromatic gin — named Seventy One after the number of nights it takes to rest the spirit in oak casks — he found many parallels with fashion’s creative challenges. Just like in fashion, gin making has suffered from a focus on speed over quality. True craft requires patience and time, Alas says.
On this week’s BoF Podcast, Alas speaks with Tim Blanks about finding new creative avenues and resisting the pressure to produce more and more and more stuff.
Alas approached his new gin like any other creative project as a “relentless journey for perfection.” He immersed himself in the process, learning about every step, from the drink’s perfume basis to how many days were required to settle the alcohol. “It became this like a domino effect of ideas and in reality, an experience,” he says.
As Alas thought about how he wanted to position his new brand, he spent a lot of time reflecting on the “selfish” nature of the fashion industry. During lockdown, he wanted to create “some kind of an artistic give back,” using Instagram to connect with young creative followers and give them feedback.
Creatives should hold on to the time they had during the pandemic to focus on their craft, Alas says. “I was very much on a go, go, go [mentality] for the past 30 years… What I realised [during] the pandemic was that we also never stopped... I was doing a lot of quantity, but now I realise I missed craft.”
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Selfridges’ Andrew Keith on Post-Pandemic Retail
9 juli 2021 · 28 min
Andrew Keith, managing director of Selfridges, discusses the future of the British department store at The BoF Professional Summit: What’s a Store For? Lees meer
The purpose of the store has shifted dramatically in the past few years. But while other department stores struggle to keep up with these changes, Selfridges has established itself as an outlier by doubling down on its physical retail strategy, as highlighted in BoF’s newest Case Study, “Can Selfridges Future-Proof the Department Store?” The British chain has transformed its storefronts into experiential hubs, decked out with pop-ups, restaurants, art installations and even a skateboarding bowl, to try to get as many consumers as possible to spend as much time as possible within store walls.
“What we’re creating within the Selfridges stores is a destination,” said Andrew Keith, managing director of Selfridges.”It’s about being able to create a space people want to go to for the day.”
On this week’s BoF Podcast, Keith joins BoF’s Imran Amed at Selfridges’ Oxford Street flagship during The BoF Professional Summit “What’s a Store For?” The two chat about how the pandemic has affected the retailer’s face-to-face focus, how the company — rumoured to be in discussions about a £4 billion ($5.6 billion) sale to an unknown buyer — is shoring up its e-commerce channels and what he sees for the fused future of digital and physical retail.
The pandemic decimated London tourism, which made Selfridges think more locally about its retail strategy, and in turn, built market share with domestic customers. From Birmingham to Manchester, Selfridges works with local creatives to make every store distinct in a way that engages with the particular place’s needs and aesthetics. “Each of these communities has its own diversity, it has its own entrepreneurial environment around it,” said Keith. “It’s important for us to be able to reflect that.”
The retailer may be investing in digital, but it is maintaining its focus on the curated an…
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Karen Walker on Shedding Excess and Renewing Purpose
2 juli 2021 · 34 min
When the Covid-19 crisis struck, Karen Walker — known for her offbeat designs that have been worn by the likes of Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama, and carried by retailers such as Barneys and Harvey Nichols — found that she was propelled to shift the way she thought about her business, her mission as a designer and her community. Walker’s home country, New Zealand, battled the Covid-19 pandemic with a swift hand — its citizens saw only five weeks of lockdowns before the virus disappeared from within its borders. Despite the relative brevity of the country’s lockdowns, business owners and brands were still faced with the same existential crises and questions as the rest of the world. Now that people within the country have returned to something close to normal life (just without tourists), Walker notes several shifts in attitude: people want to treat themselves, but they also want to support the nation and local businesses that supported them. More generally, consumers have come out of lockdown more interested in buying products aligned with what they stand for. Lees meer
On this week’s BoF Podcast, Walker joins Tim Blanks in a conversation about dealing with change, defining desire and life on the other side of the Covid crisis.
When New Zealand’s prime minister announced the country would go into lockdown in March, Walker had just finalised the next year’s budget. Instead of being able to sit back and do business as usual, she was forced to rethink everything and ask existential questions about her business that would go on to have a lasting impact. “If this goes on for six months or a year, and I really have to fight for this, what am I fighting for? What will my audience miss? What’s at stake? Why should I go into battle for this?” she said.
After going through what Walker calls nature’s “forced contemplation,” she stopped thinking of herself as primarily a designer, but rather, a retailer who serves the needs of her community. As part of that mindset shift, Walker ab…
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Vanessa Kingori on the Reinvention of British Vogue
25 juni 2021 · 30 min
British Vogue’s editorial transformation over the past four years has been widely documented, but changes on the business side are equally noteworthy. Vanessa Kingori, British Vogue’s first female publisher (who works alongside editor-in-chief Edward Enninful), has taken more of a consultative role with advertising clients, focusing on the health of their brands, not just reach and impressions. Today, brands are more interested in how they can create human connections and innovate through Vogue’s channels, rather than just buying space on the printed page. Lees meer
On the latest edition of The BoF Podcast, Kingori talks with BoF’s Imran Amed about the publication’s new business strategy, and how it ties in with the magazine’s focus on diversity, inclusion and sustainability.
Cover launches still matter, but Kingori and Enninful are focusing on reflecting the multifaceted lives of their readers. With that, has come a change in how the magazine highlights and thinks about women. “The big shift here is [Edward] is taking the magazine from being about these beautiful dresses, to being about the woman in the dress,” said Kingori. “She wants beautiful things, but she also has a lifestyle. She has a career. She has other aspirations, she wants to accessorise a dress.”
Though everyone seems to be ringing the alarm bells, according to Kingori, print is not dead. “There is no digital marketing that you could do that would be more effective. Our print magazine is our biggest marketing tool, and our social media platforms are our biggest agents,” she said.
The title hasn’t shied away from making brands feel uncomfortable by bringing up societal issues, and it’s actually been of commercial benefit to British Vogue. “The reality is, we have increased our sales revenue and our digital audience in every single way, in every single metric since we started. Audiences are ready for those difficult conversations,” said Kingori.
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Aspesi’s Lawrence Steele on Making the Most of this Fashion Moment
18 juni 2021 · 42 min
The Milan-based, American designer speaks with Tim Blanks about how he plans to introducing the cult brand’s enduring values to a new global audience. Lees meer
When Lawrence Steele was named creative director at Aspesi in November, it was a home-coming of sorts. The American designer consulted for the Milan-based label for 13 years before departing in March 2017 to join Marni as associate creative director. Now, he’s been tasked with introducing the cult label founded in 1969 by Alberto Aspesi to a new global audience, while remaining true to its distinctive identity and ethos which Steele says are suited for this moment of reflection and reset.
On this week’s episode of The BoF Podcast, Lawrence Steele speaks with editor-at-large Tim Blanks as he debuts his first collection for Aspesi:
Steele is looking to technology to help Aspesi get big international traction, while retaining its niche insider vibe. The brand debuted on WeChat and Weibo in April, and expects to launch on Tmall in September. “I think today with the world, how it’s opened up so vastly through technology, there’s something quaint about [Aspesi] being a small brand, but there’s something very exciting about taking the values of the brand out into the world.”
When it comes to fashion, retaining an authentic brand identity can’t mean standing still; it’s a constant balance to honour traditions and remain relevant. “It’s very easy if you step back and you think about the long run to see what lasts and to gauge what’s happening,” said Steele. “But you have to have the culture of being able to look at it from above and not being caught up in the world of what fashion really is, which is change, because fashion by nature is change, it’s the fashion of the moment.”
Steele sees the pandemic as an opportunity to reset the fashion industry and do away with wasteful season cycles and excessive production. “My hope is that what we draw from this is that we have found other creative ways of communicating, of reachi…
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Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli and Craig Green on Creative Collaboration
11 juni 2021 · 38 min
The Valentino creative director and London menswear designer discuss their process reimagining the Roman brand’s signature rockstud. Lees meer
The Valentino rockstud has become a brand icon. To mark its tenth anniversary, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli teamed up with British menswear designer Craig Green to create a sneaker adorned with the Valentino symbol. It was a collaboration forged over Zoom during the pandemic, with Piccioli based in Rome and Green in East London. On this week’s episode of The BoF Podcast, editor-at-large Tim Blanks speaks with Piccioli and Green about creative collaboration and reimagining design icons.
When collaborating, designers’ differences can often offer the best source of creative inspiration, says Green. “A collaboration works best when it’s from two separate worlds coming together and seeing what can be born out of that.”
Shifting meaning while upholding tradition has been Piccioli’s mantra. The new sneaker aims to honour Valentino’s heritage and traditions, but also find the power in reinterpreting an established symbol. “I want to use the same objects, the same signs, but I want to give them a different meaning,” says Piccioli.
Above all, collaboration is an education. “I think with every collaboration and with every person that you work with, especially working with someone like Pierpaolo, you learn a lot,” says Green. “You kind of inevitably change in the future what you plan to do.”
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What’s the Role of an Office in a Post-Covid World?
4 juni 2021 · 39 min
Jane Clay, strategic director at workplace design consultancy Gensler talks to BoF’s Imran Amed about how offices of the future will play a critical role in creating a sense of culture, community and belonging. Lees meer
Almost overnight, the pandemic fundamentally altered the way we work, forcing both employers and employees to embrace the idea of working from home. But now, as vaccination rates rise, offices re-open and employee expectations around flexible working models grow, business leaders everywhere are asking the same question: what’s the role of an office in a post-Covid world?
This week on the BoF Podcast, Jane Clay, strategic director at workplace design consultancy Gensler, joins editor-in-chief Imran Amed to discuss why offices are more than just functional workplaces. Office spaces are crucial for young employees to benefit from mentoring and guidance through shadowing their more experienced colleagues. “If you have a lot of people in your organisation who are quite young and may need a lot of mentoring and a lot of looking after, in the sense of their growth and learning, then it might not be such a great idea to not have them around you [in an office],” said Clay.
Clay recommends taking a more holistic view, establishing how shared spaces can creating a sense of culture, community and belonging. “Whether you are in fashion, whether you are in art and design, whether you are in fintech, and actually whether you are legal, I think no matter what arena of work you are in the office will be that totem for culture and connection.”
As organisation leaders plan to redesign their office, Clay said sustainability must be factored into decision-making from the start. “There is something in the idea of how do we reposition real estate? Why build something new when you can reposition something old?” she said. “There is a relevance in the old that also has a great story when it comes to sustainability.”
While Zoom calls have been democratising during the pandemic, t…
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Camilla Lowther on Building a Career as a Fashion Creative
28 mei 2021 · 44 min
The highly respected talent agent talks to BoF’s Tim Blanks about how young creatives can develop their careers and have meaningful impact. Lees meer
CLM is one of the most influential management agencies in the industry. But after 35 years representing the likes of Juergen Teller and Tim Walker, last year’s upheaval reminded Camilla Lowther of how she got started: working at a small agency and building new networks. This year, she launched Fire, a creative talent agency focused on the new generation of talent.
This week on The BoF Podcast, Lowther and editor-at-large Tim Blanks discuss opportunities to learn from and with young generations and why being true to yourself is still fundamental to a successful career as a creative.
“Believe in what you do. Don’t try and do what you think other people want you to do, because, you know, the truth is really important. Even if it takes longer to get there, if you really believe in it, then other people will believe in it,” says Lowther.
Creativity is best served when you’re open to sharing and learning, whatever stage of your career you’re at. “I think the one thing that’s really important for all of us who’ve been in the business for possibly a long time is to impart our knowledge and our narrative to [young people],” says Lowther. “And then then it’s up to them to take what they want to and also to teach us something new.”
Lowther reflects on how persistence is an important quality in anyone starting out in their career and how remaining true to your vision is critical. “Don’t try and do what you think other people want,” she says. “Even if it takes longer to get there, if you really believe in it, then other people will believe in it.”
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The End of an Era at Missoni
21 mei 2021 · 51 min
Creative director Angela Missoni reflects on life beyond Missoni as she steps down after 24 years in the role. Lees meer
Angela Missoni is stepping back from her role as creative director of Missoni. While she’ll stay on as president, the company will now be led by chief executive Livio Proli, who was appointed after the brand took on private equity funding from FSI Mid-Market Growth Equity Fund in 2018.
This week on The BoF Podcast, Angela reflects on the family heritage and craftsmanship that still sit at the Italian luxury brand’s core in conversation with editor-at-large Tim Blanks.
At its heart, Missoni has been a family business, drawing on the creative flare of three generations. “I think my parents invented a style,” said Missoni. “They invented a new language in fashion and then I think in the past 25 years I was able to expand the lexicon of this language.”
The brand’s signature stripes are partly the result of technological limits when Missoni’s parents began creating knitwear; stripes were the only thing the machine they had could knit. “Missoni evolved through the evolution of technology, but the hand was always more relevant,” said Missoni. “People were asking my father if he designed on a computer. No, my father was designing on a little square of white paper.”
The brand is well placed to move forward as Missoni steps back, the creative director said. “I will always give my support, [but] I’m confident in leaving the collections in the hands of my team… [Missoni is] perfectly fit to go forward in this moment.”
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