Amid economic uncertainty, a global luxury industry slowdown, and conflicts erupting around the world, designers at the Spring/Summer 2025 shows balanced restraint and expression, resulting in collections that sought deeper emotional and intellectual impact. Megabrands scaled back fashion week festivities as they battened down the hatches with budget cuts and streamlined shows.

“I think there's a general caution and a realignment. I think the state of the world is more conducive to reflection than extravagance,” says Tim Blanks, The Business of Fashion’s editor at large.

It was the designers who took creative risks that stood out. At Marni, Francesco Risso created a cinematic spectacle, transforming cotton into expressive designs, emphasising simple beauty amid turmoil. Alessandro Michele made his anticipated debut at Valentino, honoring the legacy of Valentino Garavani while infusing his flair. At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson played with scale, encouraging audiences to rethink aesthetics.

In this episode of The BoF Podcast, Imran Amed sits down with Tim Blanks to unpack the highlights of Fashion Month and discuss how the current global climate is influencing designers and brands.

Key Insights

• In his eagerly awaited debut for Valentino, Alessandro Michele seamlessly integrated his unique creative approach with the storied heritage of the house. Blanks describes the collaboration as “a natural consummation ... like lovers meeting after decades of being apart and that kind of explosion of joy.”

• Sabato De Sarno's recent work at Gucci reflects the complexities of redefining a brand with a rich and influential legacy. While attempting to honor Gucci's heritage, his collections have faced criticism for lacking the distinctive and bold creative direction of his predecessors. Blanks remarks, “the problem is creating a new story for Gucci when the old stories are just so overpowering.”

• At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson pushed boundaries by experimenting with scale and perspective. His designs included oversized hoop skirts that seemed to hover. "He likes to challenge people's points of view," Blanks observes, adding that Anderson provokes thought "by showing them something that makes them wonder, how would I wear that? How would I sit in that?"

• Emerging designer Duran Lantink made a strong impression with his collection featuring extreme shapes refined into wearable forms. “Those clothes are a physical realization of independent thinking. What we need is more independent thought... fashion needs more of that," Blanks says.

• Amed echoes the importance of nurturing new talent, saying, “I think the future of the fashion industry is in good hands with some of these younger designers that haven't necessarily had a big role in a house yet but certainly deserve an opportunity to show what they can do. I think that's part of what we need in the industry—to move away from this lack of risk-taking. Safety and being safe, that's just boring.”

Additional resources

• In Paris, the Boys Can’t Help It!
• Beauty Is Still Defiance
• What Does Pressure Look Like in Milan?

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For decades, department stores were symbols of American retail success, but their shine has long since faded. Overexpansion that began in the 1990s, the growth of e-commerce and the decline of many malls has left a saturated market, with more stores than there is demand. Major department stores have been struggling for decades to adapt to changes in the way their customers shop, with little to show for it.

"These challenges existed ten years ago, but the problem we have today is that it’s getting later and later, and more and more desperate for these department stores. Time is running out, and they still haven’t figured out the solution,” says retail editor Cat Chen.

In this episode of The Debrief, BoF senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young speaks with Chen about why department stores are struggling to stay relevant, how activist investors are complicating the picture, and whether following the approach of European department stores like Selfridges can save this iconic segment of the retail industry.

Key Insights:

• Activist investors have been targeting department stores like Macy’s and Kohl’s, but they are more interested in these companies’ real estate portfolios than retail. Chen highlights the parallels with Sears, where the investor Eddie Lampert spun out Sears’ real estate into a separate entity, ultimately leading to its bankruptcy. “The sentiment in the industry is that if these companies were bought out by activist investors it would not be a good sign for the health of these department stores. There wouldn’t be a long-term strategy for maintaining their health,” she says.

• Nordstrom's strategy for revival includes focusing on experiential retail, enhancing customer service, and possibly going private under the Nordstrom family’s ownership. These moves would allow them to invest in the long-term health of the company without the pressure of quarterly earnings. “The Nordstrom family is really set on making some radical, transformative changes to Nordstrom that they just can't make as a public entity,” Chen explains.

• European department stores are a potential model for American department stores to replicate. “Look at Selfridges or look at Le Bon Marché. People love spending time in those stores — tourists but also locals,” Chen says. Explaining how European stores are treated like flagships, with significant investments in customer experience and meticulous attention to detail, she adds, “these companies invest in the layout of the store — fixtures, carpeting, lighting — all of these details matter, and European department stores have done a great job making it happen.”

Additional Resources:

• Why Nordstrom’s Founding Family Wants to Take the Retailer Private | BoF
• Innovation Won’t Save Department Stores. The Right Products Will. | BoF
• Can Saks, Neiman Marcus and Amazon Save the American Department Store? | BoF

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Alessandro Michele’s whimsical, bold vision as creative director of Gucci revitalised the brand, turning it into a cultural juggernaut. Now, he’s attempting to do the same at Valentino, bringing his signature blend of nostalgia, craftsmanship, and artistic risk-taking to reimagine the Roman couture house.

“This place has such a specific story,” he says. That name, Valentino—it’s a real name, with real life, with real love. … There is always Valentino somewhere with me.”

This week on The BoF Podcast, BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed sits down with Michele to discuss his evolution as a designer, his deep connection to Valentino’s heritage, and the importance of passion and obsession in achieving creative success.

Key insights

• As creative director, Michele said that the weight of Valentino founder Valentino Garavani’s legacy continues to inspire and guide him, even in the smallest details of his work. “When I'm working by myself, with the people of the studio, with Jacopo, there is always Valentino somewhere with me. … There is always an open conversation with him because I can feel the things talking to me, through the dresses, the walls," he said.

• Contemplating the meaning of success, Michele emphasises the importance of remaining true to himself as a designer. “It’s more moving left and right, rather than up and down. … Success is when you are in the right place, when you're free to be yourself,” he said. His approach to fashion is personal and deeply intuitive, and he protects his creativity by concentrating on his own creative fulfilment rather than trying to please everyone. “I don't need to be someone else. I think a big designer or a good designer needs to be himself.”

• Michele approaches his work with a deep understanding that creativity comes with taking risks, both in life and in fashion. He views risk as an essential element of growth and evolution in his designs. "You are taking beautiful risks, but they are risks,” he said. “I like myself also for the things I did wrong. … Now that I’m a big boy, I like the Alessandro who did so many wrong things.”

• For Michele, the magic of fashion and creating a collection lies in the uncertainty. "You put all the ingredients inside, and it’s going to be real only when the first person starts to walk on the catwalk. That’s the magic," he said. “You feel that you were pregnant, but now the baby has a proper life and you can no longer be in control. It's outside and it's gonna walk by himself or herself.”

Additional Resources:

• Alessandro Michele, Michelle Yeoh, Francesca Bellettini, Zac Posen and Angel Reese Are Our BoF 500 Cover Stars
• ‘Hyper Beauty’: Inside Alessandro Michele’s Surprise Valentino Collection | BoF
• The Logic Behind Valentino’s Alessandro Michele Appointment | BoF

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A style renaissance that changed how many men dress – mostly for the better – has congealed into a sea of sameness, at least in the eyes of a growing number of fashion critics and influencers. Too many interchangeable brands take the same approach, blending tailoring with casualwear in neutral-toned collections that are stylish but often fail to inspire. The look is often derided as a menswear “starter pack,” but remains popular with consumers.

This week on The Debrief, Brian Baskin sits down with correspondents Malique Morris and Lei Takanashi to discuss why this “starter pack” approach works for the industry - but at the cost of long-term brand building and customer loyalty. Additionally, they probe what brands must do to recapture consumers' imagination.

“Any brand can make a good product, but what makes a brand good, especially a good menswear brand, is having a great story that's worth telling,” says Takanashi.

Key Insights:

• Menswear brands today are following a familiar formula, leading to a prevalence of “starter pack” lookbooks. “They all do some sort of version of this. Approachability, timeless, stylish and handsome but inoffensive look,” says Morris. This marketing playbook, popularised by brands like Aimé Leon Dore and followed by many others, has led to a lack of creativity and experimentation. As Morris puts it, “everything is good and nothing is great. So if everyone can dress well, then no one is actually cool.”

• What makes brands stand out over decades isn’t radical changes in design, but compelling storytelling and mythmaking. Morris argues consumers may not be loyal to today’s menswear brands in the long term if they're just buying into a trendy and easy to copy aesthetic.

• But Takanashi notes that for certain brands that are seen as authentically embracing this style, their best bet is stick to what’s worked: “I feel like in the case of brands like Aimé Leon Dore and Supreme, the long game for them is becoming a heritage label … they have such a distinct point of view that they will always have a core consumer.” As Morris puts it, “what brands should think about is just being themselves.”

Additional resources:

• Why Menswear Is Getting a Marketing Refresh | BoF
• Can Off-White Get Back on Track? | BoF
• How the Streetwear Customer Is Evolving | BoF

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The renowned grime MC and rapper Skepta knows that there’s no such thing as an overnight success. After the rapper launched his fashion brand, Mains, in 2017, it was put on pause after a split from his manufacturer before making a return to London Fashion Week last year. Progress, he believes, takes time and resilience.

"Like anything in the world, the best way to learn is to do it and fail,” he said. “I know that it’s not a short road … you have to be in it to win. And it could take one pair of shoes. It could take a hat, could take one bag … If you don't carry on trying and failing, you won't get there."

This week on The BoF Podcast, BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed sits down with Skepta to discuss Mains’ revival, his philosophy of perseverance and why he refuses to follow conventional rules in the fashion industry.

Key Insights

• Skepta’s love for fashion was sparked by his passion for underground music and the style he saw at garage events. “I'm getting turned away from clubs… and when I'm getting turned away, I'm looking in the queue and there's people wearing Versace, Moschino, Patrick Cox loafers,” he says. The way that clothes and music felt, tied together to shape his taste. “That was where I really fell in love with fashion. The aspiration of wanting to wear the clothes, but also listening to the music that you listen to when you wear the clothes."

• Skepta’s journey as a fashion customer, with a keen eye for garment construction and detail, led him to launch his own brand. "Years and years of experience of buying clothes and looking at stitches and the inside jackets, the panels, I just felt like I was experienced enough to give the tailoring expertise as well as the love and the true magical passion that's not taught in school. ... Paired with a great designer, Mikey Pearce, and team, it was almost like divine intervention for me to just do it."

• Skepta’s creative process is iterative. "With music, you can actually change the audio after it’s even out, but with clothes you definitely can’t, so until it’s out I'm always changing. I'm always adapting and figuring out,” he says. “I don't like putting boundaries on thought. I think we should always be able to adapt and change.”

• "I'm doing one show a year. Spring, summer or winter altogether. Boys and girls in my show, they're all wearing the same clothes." This creative freedom allows Skepta to fully enjoy the process, believing it's important to not take fashion too seriously. "It should be fun. And I see a lot of people that go into fashion and adhere to the rules that have been set, then they start having a bad time doing something that they love. That’s crazy to me."

Associated Articles:

• In London, Plasticine and Messy Dressing | BoF
• How to Bring a Personal Touch to PR | BoF

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Luxury fashion remains an exclusive club, where leadership positions are often filled from within tight, familiar circles. Despite industry-wide commitments to diversity and inclusion, the sector continues to struggle with gender and racial diversity in its top creative roles. Many luxury companies still operate within networks that favour traditional backgrounds, making it difficult for new, diverse talent to break through.

“It's a role where I think people's unconscious biases really can come into play because whether or not they receive something as good design or bad design is going to be so much influenced by the person who told them that it's good design or bad design,” said BoF’s Luxury Editor Robert Williams.

This week on The Debrief, BoF Senior Correspondent Sheena Butler-Young sat down with Williams to discuss the structural barriers that keep women and minorities from ascending to these coveted positions. They explore how the industry’s patriarchal business models perpetuate these challenges, the influence of consumer expectations in driving change, and how mass brands like Uniqlo are beginning to shift the narrative by appointing creative directors from unconventional backgrounds.

Key Insights:

• The role of the creative director in luxury fashion has traditionally been defined by a singular, authoritative voice that dictates trends and tastes, often imposing what is considered "right" or "wrong" in design. Williams explains that this model, which elevates the creative director as a gatekeeper of style, makes it challenging for those who don't fit the traditional mould of authority in fashion to rise to the top.“The creative director defined in a very traditional sense … is so much about imposing this authority from the top. And while that's not how everyone operates a brand anymore, … when you have that tradition, that makes it harder for people who don't fit the bill of what someone is used to seeing as a person of authority and in power to rise up.”

• Women in creative leadership face unique challenges, needing to prove their creative vision with commercial success. Williams explains, “Women have had to maybe back up their creative contributions with commercial results. And I think when you look at the women at the top of the luxury industry, you have a group of women who really know how to say something on the runway and say something with the brand. But then also really to back that up with products that women will want to buy and wear.” This dual expectation places added pressure on women creative directors, which may not be applied to their male counterparts.

• Luxury fashion remains a highly insular industry, where hiring and promotion often occur within exclusive networks that favour familiar faces and traditional backgrounds. “Many luxury companies still operate within a very exclusive network, which makes it difficult for new, diverse talent to break in,” Williams notes. “It's a very contacts and relationship driven industry, and so reinforcing diversity is quite tricky. If the people in positions of power don't have a really diverse group around them, it's going to be less and less likely that they're going to find out about an interesting talent, someone that they want to kind of cut into the action in terms of their studio.”

Additional Resources:

• Luxury Fashion’s Designer Diversity Problem Persists | BoF
• Do Mass Brands Need Creative Directors? | BoF

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Clare Waight Keller’s career in fashion has been defined by her versatility as a designer and desire to step outside her comfort zone. She started out specialising in knitwear at the Royal College of Art before taking on a role in knitwear at Calvin Klein, before moving on to Ralph Lauren. She returned to Europe to work at Gucci under Tom Ford, and then stepped into creative director roles at Pringle, Chloé and Givenchy. Last week, it was announced that she was becoming the creative director of Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, which is targeted at the masses, not the classes.

Seeing new challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow, has led Clare to make many unexpected decisions from the start of her career.

“Those moments when you are pushed to your boundaries and don't quite know how to navigate… bring a great sense of drive for me. I love the idea of being uncomfortable with what I'm working on because it makes me learn quickly,” she said. “I enjoy the process of change, and I guess that's why I've worked in so many different places.”

This week on The BoF Podcast, BoF founder Imran Amed sits down with Clare to discuss her varied career path and her experience working in American, Italian, British, French and now Japanese fashion companies and how this has shaped her outlook on the industry.

Key Insights

• Growing up in Birmingham, England, Waight Keller was captivated by the vibrant subcultures she encountered. That influence led her towards art school, and eventually, fashion. “I distinctly remember standing at a bus stop, going to college, with punks, skinheads or goths — people who really expressed themselves through fashion and took it to a real sense of identity,” she said. “They just seemed like the most interesting people. I wanted to be part of that.”

• After working for predominantly male creative directors, Clare felt it was time to express her own perspective, leading her to the creative director position at Chloé in 2011. “There's such a sensibility that women have in fashion because you try it on yourself, you wear it, you feel it,” she said. “I'm putting together what I believe to be my point of view of fashion."

• Waight Keller’s move to Uniqlo marked a shift from working in the world of luxury to mass fashion, which has required some adjustment. “Understanding the scale was just extraordinary. In luxury fashion, you work on a much smaller scale, even at big brands,” she said. However, with this came new opportunities. “With that scale comes incredible access to innovation, amazing fabric mills, and quality.”

• Even as her career flourished, Waight Keller came to discover the inherent gender bias women face in the industry. “It's still fairly male-dominated in management and across the business side of fashion ... I had to make my family work around my career because even a season out in fashion can put you back a year, and people look at you differently.” With that, her advice to fellow female designers is not to “be afraid of a challenge and having to learn on the ground."

Additional Resources

• Do Mass Brands Need Creative Directors? | BoF
• The Logic Behind Givenchy's New Designer Appointment | BoF
• Uniqlo Appoints Clare Waight Keller as Creative Director | BoF

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Shein has fundamentally changed the fashion market, challenging fast fashion giants that were not so long ago in the disruptor position themselves. Once the category's upstart, H&M now finds itself struggling to keep pace as Shein redefines consumer expectations with ultra-low prices, endless selection and lightning-fast production. In response, H&M’s new CEO has unveiled a strategy to target the elusive middle market, hoping to position the retailer as more affordable than Zara but higher-quality than Shein.

This week on The BoF Podcast, executive editor Brian Baskin sat down with Senior Sustainability Correspondent Sarah Kent and Retail Correspondent Cat Chen to delve into the contrasting paths of these two retail giants and what it means for the future of fashion.

“H&M has been stuck in the middle with kind of a muddled identity … It's trying to figure out how to differentiate itself,” said Chen. Meanwhile, Shein’s breakneck growth comes with a heavy environmental toll, raising questions about the industry’s efforts to reduce emissions.

“Shein’s growth is phenomenal, but its environmental impact has grown even faster than its sales… now outpacing all other large fashion companies,” Kent said.

Key Insights:

• H&M’s CEO Daniel Ervér is focusing on a strategy to occupy the middle ground between ultra-budget brands like Shein and more premium fast fashion like Zara. The goal is to appeal to both ends of the market with a mix of affordable basics and higher-end pieces, as Ervér explained to Chen in her interview with the CEO. “[Ervér] said they were committed to this position of wanting to offer something to everybody.

• Shein’s rapid growth has turned it into fashion’s biggest polluter, surpassing even Inditex in emissions. The company’s production model, reliance on cheap polyester, and coal-powered manufacturing contribute heavily to its environmental impact. “Over the last three years, their emissions have tripled as their sales have grown hugely,” Kent explained.

• Shein’s rapid growth has turned it into fashion’s biggest polluter, surpassing even Inditex in emissions. The company’s production model, reliance on cheap polyester, and coal-powered manufacturing contribute heavily to its environmental impact. “Over the last three years, their emissions have tripled as their sales have grown hugely,” Kent explained.

• As Shein continues its rapid growth, the company faces increasing scrutiny from regulators and potential investors regarding its environmental and labour practices. But Shein is unlikely to face major restrictions on how it operates anytime soon. “The hand of regulation moves slowly, and so far, most companies are being asked to provide a bit more transparency,” Kent said. “No one's facing any real penalties for being the worst polluter at the moment.”

• Shein’s growth may be peaking, creating opportunities for competitors like H&M. The market is always evolving, allowing established brands to find ways to stand out. “We are at the end of the beginning for Shein and Temu. … And at the end of the day, there will always be new disruptors,” Chen shared.

Additional resources:

• H&M’s Big Bet on Fashion’s Elusive Middle
• Shein Emissions: Fashion’s Biggest Polluter?

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