The Business of Fashion Podcast

McKinsey’s head of retail practises in Central and South America Tracy Francis, luxury analyst Erwan Rambourg and Warby Parker’s SVP of retail Sandy Gilsenan join Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet, to examine the global forces redefining consumer behaviour and circumstances, and the implications on retail habits. BoF assesses how the climate crisis and economic downturns are impacting consumer behaviour and retail practices, before addressing the new centres of wealth and income polarisation on a global scale. In the US, for example, more than 50 percent of American wealth in 2020 was held by Baby Boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1964, while Millennials held less than 10 percent, according to Harvard Business Review. In contrast, young consumers in China are powering an unprecedented level of spending as the first generation to come of age during China’s economic revolution — almost 80 percent of luxury spending in China today is by those under the age of 40. The conversation goes on to analyse younger consumers’ relationship with luxury, and the industry’s evolution in democratising access for such consumers, before considering the strategy behind one direct-to-consumer brand’s post-pandemic brick-and-mortar expansion plan, attuned to the next-gen consumer whose expectations far exceed those of previous generations. Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges the consumer of tomorrow will bring, and how retail’s transformation will impact your business. Brookfield Properties is building marketplaces of the future that meet the needs of the modern shopper. Discover more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Four years ago, writer and activist Sinéad Burke made her debut at BoF VOICES, when she implored the fashion community to start designing for disability, noting that the global spending power of disabled people is more than $1.9 trillion.  Following a series of high-profile appearances after VOICES 2017 — from Davos to the Met Gala — Burke has been honing her sense of mission and purpose, and has come to the conclusion that creating products for disabled people is not enough.  In her return to the BoF VOICES stage in 2021, she said: “If change is only embedded in the present, change will be a moment, not a movement.”  Burke lays out a path for removing abelism from our society. Systemic change, she said, has to happen based around four pillars: people, places, product and promotions, and be jump-started with awareness, allyship and advocacy.  In short this means “nothing about us, without us.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Associate professor Thomas J. Campanella, ‘Godmother of the Metaverse’ Cathy Hackl and Stôur Group co-founders Sonny Gindi and Eden Melloul join Doug Stephens, founder of Retail Prophet, to discuss how physical and virtual consumer landscapes are evolving to meet next-gen consumer demands.  Presented by Brookfield Properties, BoF investigates the consumer of tomorrow — how new fundamentals will shape the lives and behaviours of the next-generation consumer, and the impact on the retail industry today. We begin by examining the redrawing of city life as new lifestyle patterns have propelled a seismic shift in the urban landscape. Globally, cities experienced a mass exodus of residents and commuters as the pandemic popularised remote living and working.  The episode goes on to discuss how retailers are exploring innovative methods and use-cases for physical retail to better engage consumers in-store, such as New York’s Allure Store and its focus on media as the store’s metric for success.  The conversation also illuminates the fast-emerging retail opportunities within the metaverse, discussing luxury fashion and beauty’s initial steps into this space, and the potential in leveraging the likes of NFTs, skins and blockchain technologies. Indeed, BoF and McKinsey & Co.’s State of Fashion Report 2022 cites estimates that the total addressable market for digital fashion is $31 billion. Follow the series to ensure you never miss an episode and discover actionable insights into the opportunities and challenges the consumer of tomorrow will bring, and how retail’s transformation will impact your business. Brookfield Properties is building marketplaces of the future that meet the needs of the modern shopper. Discover more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just four weeks ago, thousands of people have been killed and  more than 10 million people have been displaced. Among those impacted are Julie Pelipas, former fashion director of Vogue Ukraine and founder of fashion upcycling platform Bettter; Lilia Litkovskaya, designer and founder of her namesake brand and Vadim Rogovskiy, chief executive and founder of virtual try-on company 3DLook.  On the latest episode of The BoF Podcast, Pelipas, Litkovskaya and Rogovskiy spoke to BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed to share their personal reflections and experiences, and examined what's next for the Ukrainian fashion industry. Resources to Support the Ukrainian Fashion Community: Bettter Community: https://community.bettter.us/ Help Ukraine Win: https://helpukrainewin.org Lilia Litkovskaya: https://litkovskaya.com/   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcast host and founder of Retail Prophet, Doug Stephens, is joined by 14 global authorities and thought leaders, from fashion and retail executives to futurists and academics, in this second series of Retail Reborn. Guests will share insights on the changing consumer lifestyles and expectations shaping the retail ecosystem, discussing generational expectations as shaped by the pandemic, climate crisis and economic downturns, as well as examining where, how and what next-gen consumers will buy. Retail Reborn Season 2 launches on 28th March 2022. Subscribe now to never miss an episode. 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.

In 2018, Vanessa Kingori joined British Vogue as its first female publisher. Since then, she has become a mother, received an MBE, and stepped into the role of Chief Business Officer of Condé Nast Britain.  At BoF VOICES 2021, Kingori shared her experience and lessons in leadership with purpose coach and founder of 822 Group Mory Fontanez, underscoring the importance of leveraging gut instinct to support data-driven decisions and challenging conformity as the “enemy of progress, creativity and business.”  “Everywhere I've been, I have had to get comfortable with being a bit of an outsider, which often means the decisions I come to — are different to the normal consensus,” said Kingori. “It's OK to be intuitive. It's actually great to lean into your differences rather than try to push to assimilate too much.” Discover leadership opportunities on BoF Careers across more than 300 of the fashion industry’s leading brands, businesses, retailers and media companies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

While the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic manifested in workplaces through budget cuts, layoffs and furlough schemes, the crisis also inspired a widespread re-evaluation of our relationship with work. Amid the so-called “Great Resignation,” Business Insider estimated over 38 million workers quit their jobs in 2021, with many seeking a better balance between life and work, and greater meaning in the work they do. These evolving expectations are having a profound impact on how leaders have to run their businesses. At BoF VOICES 2021, Kevin J. Delaney, co-founder and CEO of media and Charter and former editor-in-chief of Quartz, examined the qualities leaders need to assimilate today. On this week’s episode of The BoF Podcast, Delaney says: “One question I hear often from leaders is how do they find the right balance between a focus on operational performance of their business and these new expectations of their employees?” Explore employment opportunities across more than 350 businesses on BoF Careers,The Global Marketplace for Fashion Talent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.  “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.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. “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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.