The Business of Fashion Podcast

• Beauty Is in Its Flop Era

  The beauty sector historically thrived during economic downturns, earning a recession-proof reputation encapsulated in the “lipstick index.” However, recent earnings from major beauty conglomerates like Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, Coty and Shiseido indicate that beauty’s resilience is being tested. Sales are declining, layoffs are coming and consumer habits appear to be shifting dramatically. BoF Senior Beauty Correspondent Daniela Morosini joins Brian Baskin and Sheena Butler-Young on The Debrief to examine what's driving this slowdown and how the industry is adapting.Key Insights: Traditionally, small luxury purchases like beauty products thrived during economic pressure. But the landscape has changed. “Prices have really, really grown, and there's just so much more to choose from,” says Morosini. The combination of escalating prices, excessive market saturation, and a shift to online platforms like Amazon and TikTok has diluted the impact of small luxury indulgences. "It's really hard to get seen. So even if you have a more affordable product that more people can afford, you still have to get people to come and look at you and come and interact with you," she adds.Brands once benefited from consistent replenishment and customer loyalty. Today, consumers are more transient, constantly seeking newness. “Customers seem to have this insatiable appetite for more products and more newness,” Morosini notes. But after years of heavy consumption, shoppers are starting to tire of new for the sake of new. “Something that’s really starting to come into focus is that, specifically, American middle-class shoppers are starting to buy fewer beauty products – and that’s having a big knock-on effect.”As consumers become more price-sensitive, brands need to redefine value beyond just pricing. Morosini suggests brands return to basics, emphasising their core strengths and fostering loyalty through consistent, quality products rather than frequent launches. "People are really, really attuned to perceptions of value," says Morosini.Additional Resources:The Beauty Slowdown, Explained | BoFThe End of the Lipstick Index | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Inside The Great Luxury Reset

  Instead of his usual place in the host’s seat, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed appears this week as a guest in an interview with Jonathan Wingfield, editor-in-chief of System Magazine, alongside Luca Solca, senior research analyst at Bernstein – as featured in the debut issue of System Collections.This conversation was recorded on March 14, about two weeks before Donald Trump’s shock announcement of so-called reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world, most notably China.Together, Amed and Solca explore major shifts in the global luxury market, the growing fatigue with high prices and mass production, and why creativity, innovation and strategic alignment between business and creative leadership are more crucial than ever.“These companies are run by human beings, and if you don't give people incentives to change, they will kill you. If you see that you're making as much money as you like, and the business is as good as it ever was, then you probably will not change very much,” says Solca. “Adjusting to a more normal environment is causing a lot of soul-searching and getting these companies back in line.”Amed adds: “Where brands work best is where there is that impeccable alignment between the creative leadership and the business leadership. Many creative directors feel like a lot of decision-making and creativity is being dictated to them rather than being in conversation with them."Key Insights:Excessive price hikes and product ubiquity are causing consumer pushback. Amed says, "When customers look at a €10,000 bag that used to cost half of that, there's real pressure because the value proposition no longer adds up." Solca stresses, "If people need to pay these prices, they must be excited; they need to feel they haven’t seen these products yet, and that they desire them." Amed adds, "Brands need to inject new creative energy to get customers excited again."In a stagnant market, luxury brands can no longer rely on organic demand and must compete aggressively for market share. "In order to grow now, brands need to actively win market share from competitors," says Amed. This shift has forced operational changes. "Fashion shows are getting smaller, not just for intimacy, but also to cut costs." Solca agrees: "A lot of the costs in this industry are fixed ... When sales decline by as much as 20 percent, you really need to cut the fixed portion of your costs."Maintaining exclusivity remains essential. Solca notes, "The nature of the industry is that you need to sell exclusivity or perceived exclusivity." He warns high visibility can backfire: "Smaller brands hit gold, but at one point, they succumb to that very success because they become too visible and people move elsewhere. They tend to face a glass ceiling around €2 to 3 billion."Effective luxury strategies hinge on strong creative-business collaboration. As Amed explains, "Where brands work best is where there is that impeccable alignment between the creative leadership and the business leadership."Additional Resources:System Launches New Bi-Annual ‘System Collections’ | BoF Inside Luxury’s Slowdown | BoF The State of Fashion: Luxury | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• How Fashion Brands Build Community in 2025

  As inflation bites and politics polarise, the fashion industry in 2025 is facing unprecedented pressure to hold onto its customers. Brands are looking to community as a deeper and more emotional form of engagement. But building true community takes more than buzzwords. In this episode, BoF correspondent Lei Takanashi joins hosts Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin to unpack his case study on what it really means to cultivate community in fashion and how brands are navigating the pitfalls.Key Insights: In a time when consumers are thinking hard about every purchase, community offers a sense of connection and meaning that goes beyond the product itself. "When I'm shopping today, I'm thinking more about what eggs I'm going to buy this week than the latest release from a brand," says Takanashi. "What really now drives me to make a purchase is like, what does this brand represent? What are its values? How has it improved my life beyond just something I wear?"Different communities serve different purposes, each demanding a unique approach. Takanashi outlines three community types: activity-based, personality-driven and values-driven. Activity-based communities are rooted in shared interests or habits, such as running, where engagement happens naturally through events or clubs. Personality-driven communities hinge on a founder’s charisma and relatability: "People have to see that founder story and kind of see themselves in their shoes." Values-driven communities connect through shared beliefs and causes, but those values must be dynamic. “Your definition of a value can’t be rigid,” says Takanashi. “You have to adapt to how consumers perceive these things.”As brands grow, scaling community takes local focus to remain authentic. "As long as you stay committed to a localized approach and understand that it’s not one size fits all," Takanashi says, pointing to Arc'teryx and Supreme as examples of brands that scale through local relevance and hiring. In addition to staying local, real-world interaction matters and brands shouldn’t rely solely on digital engagement. “You should really be there in person at pop-ups, shake hands with people, talk to the customer... Every brand I spoke about in this case study made some effort to show up in real life."Additional Resources:Case Study | How Brands Build Genuine Communities | BoFWhat Makes a True Community Brand? | BoFHow Brands Make Community More Than a Buzzword | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Redefining "Made in Africa"

  Africa is experiencing an exciting shift, creatively and commercially, with growing global attention on its rapidly expanding middle-class population. Yet, local fashion entrepreneurs must navigate unique operational challenges and misconceptions about the quality and reputation of "Made in Africa."Pink Mango’s Maryse Mbonyumutwa entered apparel manufacturing in Rwanda to address both economic and social sustainability. "[Africa] is sustainable by nature, as we've not fully industrialised yet," he says. Laduma Ngxokolo, founder of South African luxury knitwear brand MaXhosa Africa, drew inspiration from his culture's traditional designs: "How do we take local traditional aesthetics and modernise them?" he asked. To celebrate African creativity, Reni Folawiyo founded the concept store Alara in Nigeria. "I started Alara from a very emotional place to elevate African creators, both on the continent and the diaspora," Folawiyo says. "The idea of elevating but also empowering remains in everything we do."On this episode of The BoF Podcast, an illuminating conversation unfolds on stage at BoF CROSSROADS 2025, where Mbonyumutwa, Ngxokolo, and Folawiyo, alongside Sudanese-British writer Rozan Ahmed, discussed Africa's unique contributions to fashion, the opportunities in sustainable manufacturing, and how they are redefining what it means to produce, create and sell in Africa.Key Insights: Africa's potential lies in sustainable manufacturing and social responsibility. Mbonyumutwa explains, "Africa is here to offer social sustainability ... to make sure that now when we talk about environmental sustainability and social sustainability they are aligned."Local retail can powerfully celebrate and elevate global African creativity. Folawiyo's vision for Alara was clear. "I started Alara in a very emotional place. I wanted to celebrate African creators, both on the continent and in the diaspora. I wanted to elevate their work, because I hadn't seen it done anywhere else," she says. “It was a self-empowerment, self-determination moment and I wanted it to be celebratory.” "Made in Africa" must represent prestige, not affordability. Ngxokolo says, "It's not cheap, yet there's a perception that anything that is made in Africa should be reasonably priced or cheap. We put in our heart and souls into our work and present it to the world so that it sits next to their level of brands.”Additional Resources:BoF CROSSROADS 2025: How to Tap into Fashion’s Future Growth MarketsDesigned, Made and Sold in Africa | BoF CROSSROADS 2025 | Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Bonus: The Trade War’s Off, For Now. What's Next for Fashion?

  On May 12, the US and China reached a deal to temporarily reduce tariffs for 90 days, offering a breather from an escalating trade war. Stocks surged on the news, but experts warn this relief might not fully resolve deeper industry uncertainties or consumer anxieties. BoF retail editor Cathleen Chen and technology correspondent Marc Bain join hosts Brian Baskin and Sheena Butler-Young to unpack the ramifications of the tariff pause and what the fashion industry can expect moving forward.Key Insights: Tariffs have reduced, but costs still remain high. The Trump administration’s initial 145 percent tariff effectively banned imports from China, a situation now alleviated but not fully resolved. "Lowering that to 30% is a different situation," Bain explains. "It's saying, go ahead, import your stuff, but it's gonna still be expensive."The tariff pause offers temporary clarity, but major production hubs like Vietnam and Cambodia face continuing uncertainty. "Depending on what happens with those negotiations, the whole landscape could shift," Bain notes, as retailers remain cautious about long-term production decisions.Tariffs are not the industry's only concern as consumer sentiment will significantly shape demand. "Beyond what's going to happen with tariffs with dozens of countries, there's also the issue of consumer confidence and sentiment and whether there will be demand to drive sales for the products that do end up in the U.S.," Chen highlights, questioning the robustness of future sales.Despite an easing in the tariff rate for small shipments from platforms like Shein and Temu, the overall uncertainty around the future of the “de minimis” loophole might dampen consumer enthusiasm. "All the news about Shein and Temu has been enough to just keep that customer away," Chen suggests. "I feel like there might be this attitude of, we had a good run of really cheap stuff for a couple of years and maybe you've had enough of it now."Brands should focus on diversifying their supply chains and strengthening industry partnerships. Bain advises brands to "have some redundancy built in. So if one location becomes untenable, you can shift to another spot." Meanwhile, Chen emphasises the importance of collaboration: "Now is a really great time to forge stronger ties to your suppliers, your vendors, even your retail partners," ensuring shared responsibility and minimised impact on consumers.Additional Resources:With the Trade War on Pause, Here’s What’s Next for Fashion | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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