In December, Teodora Nicolae, a seasoned advertising govt, most just lately at a style commerce present group, took to LinkedIn to share a preferred year-end chorus: “Right this moment is my final day … I’m concurrently very excited to step into a brand new chapter.”
The brand new yr typically prompts self-reflection, life planning and resolutions — and careers aren’t any totally different. However Nicolae’s new chapter — launching a platform that gives advisory providers and sources to “huge dreamers” in style, tech, design and leisure — wasn’t simply the results of asking herself, “What do I wish to do?”
It was pushed by a extra urgent query she believes many within the trade are grappling with: “The place is style going?”
“It appears like this level the place the trade is on shaky footing,” stated Nicolae. “There’s not a single a part of style I’d say is simply killing it and thriving and desires no modifications.”
A wave of disruption — from the fast rise of extremely quick style to a downturn within the as soon as untouchable luxury sector — has many in style questioning their profession paths. The New Yr is more likely to deliver extra uncertainty: Donald Trump is promising tariffs and a rollback of range and sustainability initiatives when he returns to workplace. TikTok is staring down a Jan. 19 deadline to be bought or banned within the US.
For these seeking to speed up their style careers, softer abilities like agility, mental curiosity and a capability to work throughout departments and classes might be essential in 2025, consultants say. The best leaders will prioritise breaking down silos of their companies, whereas expertise might want to showcase industrial savvy and a transparent hyperlink between their experience and firm profitability.
Success would require enjoying the lengthy recreation and leaders should keep away from putting innovation on the again burner in a tricky financial local weather — as a substitute focussing on sustainable progress past quarterly targets.
“[Fashion] wants individuals who could be cross-functional consultants and take a look at the enterprise holistically in any position they’re in,” stated Lisa Butkus, managing associate of the retail and luxurious items follow at CAA Government Search. “We’re listening to extra [about] agility … and the ability set to have the ability to navigate an unsure financial system, work out the way you add worth … and assist a enterprise shift and focus their priorities.”
The Abilities You’ll Want
The trade’s pattern of prioritising mushy abilities like agility, curiosity, essential considering and creativity will persist into 2025, consultants say. In different phrases, enterprise is difficult throughout even probably the most resilient sectors — and expertise who can adapt shortly and assist manufacturers discover options will fare finest.
“If an space is declining at present, finally it is going to once more be on the rise,” stated Kyle Rudy, a senior consumer associate at Kirk Palmer Associates. “Waft and be capable of work either side of the pattern with out altering who you’re.”
Within the luxurious sector, the place gross sales have slowed considerably for main gamers, “industrial savvy” might be important within the yr forward, together with sensible abilities equivalent to stock administration, Butkus stated.
Throughout retail, Rudy expects an emphasis on roles tied on to driving income, equivalent to chief income officer or head of progress.
“[It’s a person] who takes a sensible view of exterior developments which can be going to impression the enterprise and has the flexibility to coalesce varied teams round options to these developments,” he stated. “They’re data-focussed but have imaginative and prescient.”
Equally, Butkus stated style corporations will prioritise expertise with experience in “model technique or advertising technique” and the flexibility to assume proactively — anticipating shopper developments and planning for issues like class growth.
“[The question is] how do you faucet into a brand new shopper? As a substitute of merely reacting to what different manufacturers are doing — it’s about being a frontrunner within the area,” she stated.
As manufacturers in luxurious and within the out of doors and athletic sectors grapple with shopper fatigue and a scarcity of product innovation, extra corporations will look to nominate new chief product officers or rent one for the primary time, Rudy stated.
“Firms are looking for model warmth — product is king and so is differentiation for those who’re going to have the ability to defend your market share on this very aggressive panorama,” he stated.
The place Is Vogue Going?
All instructed, the yr forward might be each complicated and pivotal for style professionals largely as a result of the trade’s subsequent huge factor hasn’t come to the floor but.
Even so, probably the most profitable expertise and leaders will press forward with significant innovation and progress in areas like AI and tech, DEI and ESG, and the convergence of style with arts, tradition and sports activities, consultants say.
In follow, this implies taking a extra proactive strategy to know-how, together with generative AI — recognising that “AI doesn’t start and finish with ChatGPT”— and creating bespoke options tailor-made to the style trade, stated Karen Harvey, founder and CEO of the enterprise consultancy Karen Harvey Consulting Group.
“[Innovation] means not speaking to ourselves on a regular basis,” she stated. “The rationale individuals are shifting away from style … is as a result of they don’t really feel like there’s actually room inside style to query issues.”
Manufacturers might want to push the boundaries of style extra aggressively by collaborating deeply with different sectors like artwork, sports activities and leisure, as youthful shoppers more and more count on the trade to supply extra than simply clothes, Harvey stated.
Giant style homes have been leaning closely on this route for a number of years — LVMH most notably sponsored the 2024 Summer time Olympics, whereas manufacturers like Gucci, Hublot and Cartier generated buzz with activations throughout Miami Artwork Week at Artwork Basel in December.
However collaboration is trending throughout classes and model sizes. As an illustration, in August, indie style label LoveShackFancy teamed up with Gen-Z favorite drinkware model Stanley, whereas denim maker Levi’s launched a System 1 assortment with luxurious automotive model McLaren.
One of many first corporations Nicolae’s platform, The Dreamers, will collaborate with in 2025 is Auroboros, a self-described luxurious tech style home that “lives on the crossroads of style and know-how.” As Nicolae sees it, corporations like Auroboros are “future-focussed” and fewer constrained by the trade’s survival-driven mindset.
“We’re nonetheless speaking about lots of the identical issues we had been speaking about 15 years in the past, and haven’t actually solved for them,” Nicolae stated.
Trying forward, corporations are more likely to proceed to merge features like DEI, ESG and human sources, stated Butkus. Nevertheless, style corporations that quickly dissolve these features will possible face critical penalties down the road, Rudy stated.
“DEI in 2025 will stay a essential enterprise technique — not a advertising marketing campaign,” Rudy stated. “The businesses planning to steer 10 or 20 years from now, not simply by the subsequent quarterly earnings name, are those that may proceed to embrace DEI — nevertheless they select to label it.”
