What Fashion Designers Need to Know Today
Discover the most relevant industry news and insights for fashion designers, updated each month to enable you to excel in job interviews, promotion conversations or perform better in the workplace by increasing your market awareness and emulating market leaders.
BoF Careers distils business intelligence from across the breadth of our content — editorial briefings, newsletters, case studies, podcasts and events — to deliver key takeaways and learnings tailored to your job function, listed alongside a selection of the most exciting live jobs advertised by BoF Careers partners.
Key articles and need-to-know insights for fashion designers today:
1. How Prada Is Defying the Downturn
Prada Group continues to defy luxury’s downturn, reporting nine-month net revenues up 18 percent year-on-year. Growth was powered by Miu Miu, whose wonky yet wearable designs wrapped in a message of empowered girlishness for all ages fuelled rapid growth. Retail sales more than doubled in the third quarter, rising 105 percent year-on-year. Prada’s third-quarter retail sales rose 2 percent year-on-year, slower than analysts had expected but more than offset by the rapid growth at Miu Miu (whose growth beat consensus expectations by nearly 44 percentage points).
In a call with investors, chief executive officer Andrea Guerra underscored the group’s “polyhedric brand equity,” referring to multi-faceted marketing activities that range from fashion shows to literary talks, art installations and partnerships with A-list stars from cinema and music, as well as nearly three decades of sports marketing through its sponsorship of the Luna Rossa sailing team that represents Italy in the America’s Cup.
Related Jobs:
Design Intern, Sister Jane — London, United Kingdom
Jewellery Designer, Gucci — Milan, Italy
Senior Print Designer, Coach — New York, United States
2. Case Study | The Strategy That Brought Adidas Back From the Brink
In interviews with The Business of Fashion at Adidas’ global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, chief executive Bjørn Gulden and other members of Adidas leadership revealed the secrets and strategies behind the company’s unlikely comeback. They included making faster decisions, leveraging the power of athletes to market products and inspire consumers, and allowing internal teams freedom to focus on the quality of their output without fear of falling short of commercial objectives. While the company had some tailwinds at its back, like resurging consumer interest in its Samba and terrace sneakers, it had to make the right moves to capitalise on its opportunities.
“Turning around a company has three components: It’s luck, it’s timing and it’s effort,” Gulden said. “I don’t know how much of each of these things contributed at any point in time, but it was obvious to me [from day one] we had good things bubbling that people hadn’t realised.”
Analysts and insiders attribute much of the turnaround to Gulden — a former pro footballer who had previously worked at Adidas in the 1990s, became chief executive of rival Puma in 2013 and ultimately took the top job at Adidas in January 2023. They cite his genuine love for sports and his approach to Adidas’ business, which varies starkly at moments from that of his predecessor.
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Shoe Designer, House of CB — London, United Kingdom
Senior Running Apparel Designer, On — Zurich, Switzerland
Womenswear Head of Design, Hugo Boss — Metzingen, Germany
3. Jacquemus Is Seeking a Minority Investor
Simon Porte Jacquemus, the charismatic French designer known for his sun-soaked, pop minimalist aesthetic, is seeking a minority investor to support his brand’s expansion, the company confirmed Thursday. In a luxury market dominated by corporate mega-brands, the designer has decided he needs additional funding to take his business to the next level, notably by opening new stores.
“I value my independence, I want to pass down this company to my children, but I have to break through the glass ceiling by finding the right partner, who would only have a minority,” Jacquemus told French newspaper Le Figaro. […] The brand has grown exponentially since the pandemic, with sales topping €270 million ($290 million) in 2023.
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Collection Development Manager, Gucci — Milan, Italy
Assistant Handbag Designer, Tommy Hilfiger — New York, United States
Design Associate, Ralph Lauren — New York, United States
4. Why Fashion Is Maxing Out on Minimalism
Quiet luxury’s moment in the zeitgeist may be over, but the trend left in its wake a thriving market for chic, minimalist clothes with just the right amount of design. No brand has capitalised more on that desire than Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row, which last month raised a funding round that valued the brand at over $1 billion. The Row, along with Khaite, the New York luxury label, and the fast-growing contemporary brand Toteme, form something of a holy trinity. The Row’s annual revenues are estimated above $250 million; Khaite and Toteme have both surpassed $100 million.
For those who can’t afford a $1,500 cashmere sweater from The Row or Khaite, there’s Posse, Leset, Roucha and The Frankie Shop which offer knitwear for about a fifth of the price. Others, including Australian brand St. Agni, Los Angeles-born Co, New York-based labels Kallmeyer, Nili Lotan, Attersee and TWP fall somewhere in between those price points. The list goes on. Some of these up-and-coming brands are breaking through – TWP is on track to double sales to around $30 million this year. Still, the proliferation of minimalist labels does beg the question: How many more brands can find success with their spin on the perfect pair of jeans, beige sweaters or a classic black blazer?
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Senior Knitwear Designer, Me + Em — London, United Kingdom
Jersey & Fleece Designer, Acne Studios — Stockholm, Sweden
Designer, Vetements — Zurich, Switzerland
5. Inside Luxury’s Slowdown
Soaring prices for familiar designs — such as the Lady Dior bag, which now retails for €5,900 ($6,500) or 76 percent higher than in 2019 — combined with macroeconomic headwinds in key regions have put significant strain on the luxury sector in recent months. Dior-owner LVMH is no exception. The French luxury conglomerate’s third-quarter results, announced after market on 15 October, were expected to be grim.
After gradually cooling off from post-pandemic highs, the global luxury market has slipped into a proper downturn, which could be both longer and more severe than initially forecast. What began as consumer fatigue with heavily logoed products and slowing sales to less-wealthy “aspirational” clients has since spread across price points and aesthetics. Sector leader LVMH saw sales fall 1 percent in the first half; Gucci owner Kering reported a 20 percent drop.
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Collection Coordinator, Moncler — Milan, Italy
Freelance Illustrator Specialist/Designer, Iris Van Herpen — Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Assistant Technical Designer, Kate Spade — New York, United States
6. Fashion Brands Are Capitalising on Baseball’s Biggest World Series in Decades
The World Series this year is set to be baseball’s biggest championship in decades, pitting the Dodgers against the New York Yankees, two teams with a historic rivalry.
“This World Series is a dream scenario for many reasons. It’s the two biggest teams, they’re coastal and there’s some real healthy competition going on there,” said Mark Maidment, New Era’s senior vice president of brand and marketing for North America. “In terms of that big resonance across the country and globally, it doesn’t really get bigger than the Yankees and the Dodgers.”
With teams from two fashion capitals set to compete in a high-profile showdown, brands have been racing to take advantage. Polo Ralph Lauren and Madhappy were among those fortunate enough to release official Yankees collaborations during postseason games in October, but other brands are finding unique ways to create merch and marketing moments even without being official team partners.
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Senior Designer, 16 Arlington — London, United Kingdom
Senior Product Developer, Burberry — London, United Kingdom
Assistant, Designer, Chico’s — Fort Myers, United States
7. The Start-Up Turning AI Designs Into Real Products
Accessories start-up Arcade launched its AI product creation platform in September with the promise to “turn your thoughts into things.” Customers are able to generate jewellery designs as if they were using an AI tool like Midjourney or Dall-E — except in this case they can choose different options for sizing and materials, such as sterling silver or 14k yellow gold, get a price for their item and actually have it made. Depending on the piece, it takes about two weeks, according to co-founder Mariam Naficy. “Once I started seeing Midjourney and Dall-E images come out, I thought people are going to want to own those things.”
The company has raised $17 million from investors including Reid Hoffman and Brit Morin of Offline Ventures, Ashton Kutcher’s Sound Ventures, Karlie Kloss, Colin Kaepernick and others. But while Arcade’s premise sounds simple, making it work wasn’t. It shows both the potential in AI-generated products and how much labour is required behind the scenes to build an AI platform shoppers can use. A strength of generative AI is that it can allow anyone to easily produce realistic imagery, for example, but that imagery might also defy the laws of reality.
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Head of Production, Cos — London, United Kingdom
Footwear Technical Production, Tempe — Alicante, Spain
Menswear Designer, Hugo Boss — Metzingen, Germany
8. Diotima’s Rachel Scott, Willy Chavarria Take Home CFDA Fashion Awards
Rachel Scott, the designer behind Diotima, was named American Womenswear Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s annual awards Monday evening. Luar’s Raul Lopez received the Accessory Designer of the Year Award, and Willy Chavarria was named Menswear Designer of the Year for the second year in a row. Henry Zankov was Shop with Google American Emerging Designer of the Year.
The event, held at the American Museum of Natural History, was hosted by theatre and film star Cynthia Erivo, with Marc Jacobs, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Blake Lively among the presenters. While the focus remained squarely on the past, present and future of American fashion, the looming US election couldn’t be ignored. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, opened the evening, and CFDA president Thom Browne called on the industry to stay engaged in his opening remarks: “With one week to go until the election, let’s continue to commit to shape the future with our words, actions and ideas,” Browne said.
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Designer, Neo Concept — Barcelona, Spain
Women’s Senior RTW Designer, Citizens of Humanity — Los Angeles, United States
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