The Business of Fashion Podcast

Episodios

• Carlos Nazario: The Kid From Queens Who Changed Fashion Imagery 29.05.2026 1h 19m

  Carlos Nazario  has helped redefine how fashion media expresses subculture in a luxury context, making history along the way as the first Black editor to style a cover for American Vogue.But he grew up in Queens, New York, in a big Puerto Rican family with no connections to fashion. His grandmother Efna was his earliest influence — a woman who understood, intuitively, the power of how you present yourself to the world and shared a key lesson with him.That lesson has guided his journey as he left for Paris as a teenager, came home, worked his way through internships at W magazine and Love in London, and spent seven years as first assistant to stylist Joe McKenna. When he went out on his own, he built a creative world that looked like the one he'd grown up in — and started making images that put it at the centre of fashion.This week on the BoF Podcast, Imran Amed talks to Nazario about the nightlife scene that shaped his creative identity, what it cost to break into an industry that wasn't built for someone like him, and why the pictures that endure are the ones made with heart.Key Insights:The Insulated Class Barriers of Fashion Publishing: Historically, legacy publications relied heavily on unpaid labor that functioned as a class-based filter. "[It] inherently limits the pool of people who can actually apply for those jobs and sustain them,” Nazario said. The Rigorous Technical Reality of Image-Making: Beyond perceived glamour, corporate styling is an intensive operation demanding physical labour, complex logistics and immense operational precision. People really underestimate the manual labour that's involved,” Nazario says. “You literally are schlepping a rail of clothes up a fucking mountain, or down a beach, or into a dynamic situation where it's 100 degrees or below zero."The Editorial Investment vs. Commercial Reality: Breaking through as an independent creative frequently required substantial personal financial risk and sacrifice. Nazario recalls, "I was making no money. I was doing all these editorials for i-D and for Vogue and flying myself to London and flying myself to Paris... and I was going into severe debt to build a portfolio and to build a name." The Evolution of Modern Media Relevance: The fashion consumers today demand accountability and cultural depth from the publications they follow, rejecting the superficial curation of the past. "We have information at our fingertips, we can see every collection online ... so a magazine can't just be about shopping anymore,” Nazario says. “It has to be about a point of view, it has to be about a narrative, it has to be about a conversation that you're having with the culture." Additional Resources:Carlos Nazario | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry The BoF Podcast | Ib Kamara: ‘Europe Is Not the Centre of Everything. Where You Come From Matters.’The Loudest Met Gala Yet | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Leena Nair and Matthieu Blazy on Creativity and the Power of the Human Hand 22.05.2026 51m

  This week, Chanel reported its annual results for 2025. Revenue rose 2 percent to $19.3 billion, defying a luxury downturn. But the number that caught the industry's attention wasn't the top line — it was the acceleration. In the second half, Chanel's sales grew by high single digits across every category and region, before designs by new artistic director Matthieu Blazy had arrived in stores. The excitement alone changed the trajectory.The momentum has two sources. One is Blazy, whose runway debut last October sparked "Blazymania" — hour-long queues when his first collection landed this spring, instant sell-outs, and a level of excitement Chanel hasn't seen in years. The other is chief executive officer Leena Nair, who has invested heavily in Chanel's retail network, manufacturing and people, building the foundations that helped a creative spark catch fire.All of which sent me back to BoF VOICES in November 2023, when Nair and Blazy appeared on our stage at Soho Farmhouse on successive days, in separate conversations. They weren't there together. Blazy was still leading Bottega Veneta, while Nair was two years into her tenure at Chanel. Listening back now, what strikes me is how clearly each articulated the values that would define their partnership.Nair, an outsider from Unilever, spoke with me about what surprised her most about fashion: the human hand behind everything. The following day, Blazy, in conversation with Tim Blanks, described craft not as tradition, but as something more radical in his work at Bottega Veneta and Margiela.Two leaders arrived at the same conviction: in an industry reshaped by technology and scale, the most valuable thing to protect is the human hand.Key Insights:Nair brought an outsider's clarity to what makes luxury different from mass-market business. Coming from Unilever, where everything is industrialised and scaled for "physical availability and mental availability everywhere," she describes Chanel's opposite logic: preciousness, scarcity, hand work and objects designed to last for generations. That shift from volume to value has shaped her leadership approach.For Nair, responsible leadership means rejecting the "superhero leader" model. She argues that today's complexity makes collective problem-solving essential. "I really feel the days of the superhero leader who has all the answers is way behind us," she says, describing a leadership style built on listening, vulnerability and prioritising people over top-down control.Blazy's creative philosophy centres on addition, not subtraction. Rather than editing collections down to repeated ideas, he describes his instinct to keep adding — 80 looks with 80 different stories, no colour card, characters arriving from different horizons. "I'm not very good at editing in general," he said. "I like to explore more and more and more." It is an approach that prizes abundance over repetition.Craft, for Blazy, is not nostalgia — it is a "timeless technology." He draws a distinction between surface embellishment and technique embedded in the material itself. "I'm not adding a paillette on a silk dress. I'm trying to have the paillettes immediately already made in the fabric," he explains. At Bottega Veneta, this produced the leather trompe l'oeil Oxford shirt and jeans that became some of recent fashion's most talked-about garments.Both leaders share a conviction that the human hand is fashion's most irreplaceable asset. Nair speaks about preserving human creation and relationships in an era of AI. Blazy describes each artisan's hand leaving a different mark — variation that is celebrated, not discarded. Together, their perspectives offer a counterpoint to an industry drawn to technology and automation.Additional Resources:Leena Nair | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion IndustryChanel Returns to Growth as Blazymania Kicks In | BoFMatthieu Blazy | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Inside The Swatch X Audemars Piguet Global Frenzy 20.05.2026 21m

  In May, sleeping bags lined pavements and police barriers went up outside Swatch stores from Times Square to Dubai. The object of this global hysteria was not a piece of high-end mechanical art, but the "Royal Pop" – a $400 pocket watch collaboration between mass-market giant Swatch and watchmaker Audemars Piguet. Based on AP’s iconic Royal Oak, which typically starts at $20,000, the launch divided the insular watch enthusiast community while captivating Gen Z consumers and equity analysts alike. In this episode of The Debrief, senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young is joined by retail editor Cathaleen Chen and luxury editor Mimosa Spencer to evaluate the highs and lows of the  fallout of the viral launch, the operational chaos across retail and whether a plastic pendant can truly serve as a long-term customer recruitment tool.Key Insights:The Strategy of Alternative Formats: By designing the collection as pocket and pendant watches rather than traditional wristwatches, Audemars Piguet aimed to protect the brand equity of its foundational core product while still opening the brand to a younger, accessory-loving Gen Z demographic.An Unequal Value Exchange: While Audemars Piguet is treating the collaboration as an insulated, almost philanthropic “special project,” Swatch Group stands to gain significantly more commercial momentum. Despite some short-term negative sentiment driven by watch purists, the partnership represents a major cultural breakthrough for Swatch as it attempts to reverse recent financial stagnation.The Accessibility Offense: The intense backlash from traditional watch collectors exposes a deeper tension within the luxury value proposition. For an industry built on status signaling and rigid gatekeeping, the mass participation of everyday consumers is often viewed by insiders not as democratization, but as a dilution of exclusivity in luxury watchmaking.The PR Stunt Demerit: While market traffic and mainstream cultural buzz reached unprecedented stratospheres, the operational execution – which resulted in store closures and aggressive crowds – inflicted real in-person emotional damage. For legacy luxury institutions, headlines detailing retail chaos and police barricades run directly counter to the controlled, pristine environment that high-net-worth clients expect.Entering the Cultural Conversation: The collaboration underscores a broader challenge facing the luxury sector: building cultural relevance and household-name recognition among younger consumers who may currently be priced out of $25,000 mechanical timepieces, while planting the seed for future customer loyalty. Additional Resources:How Swatch and Audemars Piguet Defied Collaboration Fatigue | BoF Professional Pete Nordstrom on the Enduring Power of Retail’s ‘Best Mousetrap’ | The BoF Podcast Can Department Stores Save Themselves? | The Debrief Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• What's Really Happening in Luxury Right Now 15.05.2026 1h 15m

  For the global luxury industry, the last two years have been defined by a prolonged period of meagre growth, macro-uncertainty, and a slow recovery in the critical Chinese market. But as we move further into 2026, the strategic imperative has shifted. It is no longer enough to simply wait for the cycle to turn; leadership now requires navigating a rapidly-changing environment where geopolitical volatility and technological disruption have become the baseline.In this episode of The BoF Podcast, Jonathan Wingfield, editor-in-chief of System Magazine joins Imran Amed and Luca Solca, managing director and global head of luxury goods at Bernstein, for their regular seasonal conversation on the state of the industry.  They analyse this new industry paradigm through two distinct lenses: the clinical, data-driven reality of the equity markets, and the visceral, creative pulse of culture. They examining the collapse of the old narrative within luxury, why brand heat has become a lazy currency, and why the real threat of AI isn't the technology itself, but the professionals who master it first.Key Insights:The luxury recovery of early 2026 has been derailed by yet another geopolitical shock. The first months of the year saw cautious improvement, but the Third Gulf War stopped it cold — LVMH reported Q1 revenues down six percent, with the conflict costing a full percentage point of organic growth. As Amed notes, these disruptions used to come once a decade. Now they arrive in rapid succession, making "grand narratives" about industry trajectory almost meaningless.AI is quietly transforming fashion's cost base. Brands are using AI to generate ecommerce imagery at a fraction of historical costs, but almost no company will confirm its savings on the record. Gucci faced backlash for AI imagery ahead of Demna's debut; Prada took a different approach, using AI as a creative augmentation tool. Solca broadens the frame, arguing that AI's impact on white-collar work will mirror globalisation's impact on blue-collar labour.The attention economy has become dangerous for luxury brands. Both Amed and Solca warn that the industry's addiction to metrics like earned media value conflates noise with commercial traction. The Louis Vuitton ship-shaped pop-up in Shanghai worked because it drove real footfall and purchases; most earned media value is just visibility that never converts.The designer resets at Chanel and Dior are generating early positive signals, but Gucci's transformation remains a work in progress. Matthieu Blazy's first Chanel products triggered a genuine retail frenzy, amplified by a shrewd rollout timed to fashion week. Bernstein's traffic data showed Chanel and Dior far ahead of competitors in Chinese mall visits. But Amed left Demna's Gucci debut "feeling more confused," questioning whether the return to overt sexiness is a fashion agenda the industry will follow.The independent designer economy is in structural crisis, but alternative models are emerging. The collapse of multibrand retail and the capital required to compete with mega-brands have made launching an independent label harder than ever. Amed's advice is blunt: spend five to seven years inside established houses first.Prada's acquisition of Versace represents one of luxury's biggest untapped opportunities — and biggest risks. The market punished Prada's share price, citing a poor M&A track record. But Amed sees an opening: with no dominant "sexy" brand in luxury right now, Versace is "one of the most underleveraged names in the entire industry" — if Pieter Mulier can reinterpret that identity compellingly.Additional Resources:Dispatches From Shanghai: Inside China’s New Luxury Landscape | BoFThe State of Fashion 2026: When the Rules Change | BoFFewer, Bigger, Better: How Luxury Brands Are Optimising Their Stores | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Why Are So Many Brands Faking Scandals? 13.05.2026 20m

  The beauty industry is currently contending with marketing saturation, compounded by an overcrowded content ecosystem in which traditional metrics like follower counts and comments are often distorted by bots. To combat this, brands are turning to "rage bait"— content designed to trigger shock, anger or confusion and meant to drive shares and saves, which are now seen as more authentic indicators of engagement. From Lancôme’s "misdirected" PR mailers to ColourPop’s fake apology squares, the strategy bets that a negative or confused reaction is more valuable than no reaction at all in a world where attention is the ultimate currency.In this episode, BoF’s Sheena Butler-Young talks to Business of Beauty Executive Editor Priya Rao, and Senior Editorial Associate Rachael Griffiths about whether these high-risk stunts build genuine brand equity or simply erode long-term consumer trust.Key Insights:The Engagement-Sales Gap: While rage bait excels at awareness and can grab people’s attention, there is no direct, proven line to immediate sales. Success is currently measured through the "halo effect" on other posts and metrics like shares and saves rather than conversion.The "Boy Who Cried Wolf" Risk: Brands face a significant limitation in that this strategy is often a one-time lever. If a brand issues a fake apology for marketing, it risks losing all credibility when a genuine corporate blunder occurs.Suitability by Segment: Chaotic creator" style may work best for indie or playful brands like ColourPop and Dieux. Heritage or luxury brands — particularly those focused on medical-grade efficacy or high price points — risk alienating customers who expect a serious relationship with the brand.The Confusion Trap: Stunts that cross the line from cheeky to genuine misinformation, such as Schick’s ambiguous partnership with Nick Jonas, can leave consumers feeling annoyed and disappointed rather than entertained.Additional Resources:Why Are So Many Beauty Brands Faking Scandals? | BoFPlaybook | Beauty Retail in the Age of Connected Commerce | BoFHow to ‘Un-Cancel’ a Beauty Product | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Inside Saks Global's Four-Month Bankruptcy Sprint 12.05.2026 1h 4m

  Earlier today, BoF published an exclusive in-depth interview with Saks Global CEO Geoffroy Van Raemdonck, examining the company’s strategy as it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy next month. For over a century, Saks Fifth Avenue represented a manifestation of American aspiration—a luxury icon whose flagship on New York’s Fifth Avenue served as a vital crossroads for the global fashion industry. But even the most storied institutions are not infallible. On January 13th, the newly formed Saks Global — parent company of Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman — filed for court-supervised restructuring.Saks Global’s crisis was largely self-inflicted. The acquisition of Neiman Marcus, coupled with slow payments to vendors resulted in a deepening inventory crisis. As debt obligations mounted and cash reserves dwindled, Saks fell further behind on vendor payments, prompting suppliers to freeze shipments. Without new merchandise to sell, revenue plummeted, trapping the retailer in a terminal liquidity crunch. It was caught up in a downward spiral that left its industry reputation in tatters.Now, just four months into Chapter 11, the company’s new CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck is leading a turnaround effort to salvage its reputation and restore trust with its customers and the wider industry.In this special episode of The BoF Podcast, BoF’s retail editor Cathaleen Chen and Imran Amed sit down with van Raemdonck to unpack his plans for a big turnaround.Key Insights: The Four-Month Sprint: Since filing for a court-supervised restructuring on January 13th, the company has prioritised velocity to get products back on its shelves. Van Raemdonck notes that speed was essential to stabilising the business: "We moved fast because we focused on liquidity and trust ... we secured $1.7 billion in new liquidity and implemented a critical vendor programme to ensure our brand partners were paid."Ending the Real Estate "Straddle": The restructuring allowed the business to separate its high-performing retail operations from non-core ventures, such as in real estate. “We were paying $55 million of rent every year for Lord and Taylor stores that were closed and had no hope to reopen because that business was liquidated. So you carry costs that really have no impact and value to the customer,” van Raemdonck says, effectively ending the “straddle” of a retail business combined with a real estate business.The Case for Three Banners: Van Reaemdonck says Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman will remain distinct, as data suggests they serve unique customer profiles. “In markets like Beverly Hills, the overlap between our banners is only 11 to 15 percent,” he notes. US Market Resilience: While the global luxury market faces headwinds, internal metrics show that the top-tier American consumer remains a reliable growth engine. van Raemdonck says: "The US market is strong and resilient. I think the the high-end luxury customers are very much influenced by their wealth and the stock market much more than by the GDP and the employment level. 76 percent of our customers tell us they feel optimistic about their personal finances."Additional Resources: Unpacking Saks Global’s Post-Bankruptcy Plan | BoFBondholders Approve Saks Global’s Five-Year Business Plan | BoFSaks Global Files for Bankruptcy After Monthslong Hunt for Cash | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• A Tribute to the Enduring Legacy of Mrs. B 08.05.2026 41m

  In fashion, the word "legend" is often used as a convenient shorthand for longevity. But Joan Burstein — affectionately known in the fashion world as Mrs. B — was a legend in the truest sense of the word. When she opened Browns on South Molton Street in 1970, she didn't just open a boutique; she established a portal for the radical avant-garde fashion designers that would fundamentally shift our  industry’s tectonic plates.Mrs. B also possessed a legendary eye for talent. She was the one who plucked John Galliano’s graduate collection out of obscurity, provided the first British home for Rei Kawakubo’s Comme Des Garçons and Giorgio Armani, while  also giving American designers  like Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan an entry portal to the European market. Following the recent passing of Joan Burstein at the age of 100, we find ourselves at a moment of profound reflection for the industry and Mrs. B’s immense legacy. Joining Imran Amed this week to reflect on this special history is Mandi Lennard, who worked closely with Mrs. B as a buyer during the 1980s and 90s, London fashion’s most fertile era. As the founder of her own creative consultancy — Mandi’s Basement — Mandi  has spent decades at the heart of London’s fashion scene, applying the sharp, instinctive eye she honed under Mrs. B’s mentorship. But first, we asked some of the people who witnessed Joan Burstein’s magic firsthand to share their favourite memories with us.Key Insights: The Instinctive Edit: Mrs. B prioritised staying power over viral trends, operating on a philosophy of patient observation. Her strategy involved "watching" a designer for several seasons to ensure their signature was robust enough to survive the commercial pressures of the global value chain. As Lennard notes, Mrs. B was looking for longevity: "She’d watch someone for three seasons, to see if they’ve got staying power ... She wasn’t looking for what was ‘in.’ She was looking for what was ‘next.’"The Boutique as a Cultural Bridge: Browns acted as a critical laboratory where American commercialism met European avant garde. By placing Ralph Lauren alongside Comme des Garçons, Mrs. B forced a cross-cultural dialogue that redefined modern luxury retail. "She brought the Americans to Europe. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan ... But then you’d have the radical disruptors like Rei Kawakubo and Comme des Garçons.” reflects Lennard. “It was a portal. She brought the world to London."Counter-Cyclical Loyalty: Mrs. B was known to place  orders for designers having a "difficult" season. She viewed the retailer-designer relationship as a long-term investment in talent rather than a quarterly metric. "If a designer had a bad season, she wouldn’t drop them. She’d actually buy more.” Lennard recalls. “She’d say, ‘They need us now more than ever.’ It was about the relationship, not just the sell-through." Radical Hospitality: The Browns experience was defined by a service model where staff acted as curators, guiding customers through a challenging and highly aspirational environment. This high-touch approach created a unique retail atmosphere that felt like a sanctuary for the fashion-obsessed. "It was very old school in the sense of the service,” explains Lennard. “You were treated with as much respect if you were buying a pair of Katherine Hamnett jeans as if you were buying the whole shop. It was about making people feel part of that world.”Additional Resources: Joan Burstein, Retail Pioneer, Dies at 100 | BoF Joan Burstein, Queen B | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Why People Hate AI 06.05.2026 30m

  Since the earliest days of tools like ChatGPT and Claude, industry conversations have been marked by a tension between excitement around speed and efficiency alongside deep-seated fears of job loss, creative dilution and concerns about its environmental footprint. What once played out in theory is now unfolding in practice – as a broader rejection of what AI represents — particularly as more consumers view AI-generated content as a cost-cutting measure that erodes fashion’s human touch,In this episode, The Debrief host Sheena Butler-Young discusses with BoF correspondents Marc Bain and Haley Crawford why the backlash is intensifying and how consumer sentiment against brands using AI-generated imagery is forcing a reckoning. They explore whether fashion can actually embrace these tools without losing the care and time that confers luxury status.Key Insights:Consumers are moving past passive skepticism around AI and increasingly displaying a more visceral negative reaction to AI visuals.In an industry built on originality and attribution, AI is often perceived as shortcutting the creative process — or worse, borrowing from artists without credit. For many, it raises uncomfortable questions about what constitutes real creative ownership.At the same time, there is growing concern that AI could erode both the craft and the pipeline behind fashion creativity, threatening entry-level roles and the time, care and human touch that underpin luxury’s value.Additional Resources:Why People Hate AI The Fashion Marketer’s Guide to AI Why Revolve Can’t Stop Talking About AI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Inside Dries Van Noten’s Venice Manifesto 30.04.2026 44m

  For four decades, Dries Van Noten defined a singular path in global fashion with a universe rooted in intellectual rigour, exquisite craftsmanship and independence. When he stepped back  from his eponymous brand last year, it wasn't a retreat into a quiet retirement. Instead, Van Noten has embarked on a profound transition—moving from the relentless, dictated rhythm of fashion to a new life as a custodian of culture in Venice.Van Noten has established a new foundation at the Palazzo Pisani Moretta, a space dedicated to the beauty of craftsmanship and the belief that in a world marked by global uncertainty, the act of making something beautiful is the ultimate form of protest. “I think everybody knows that it’s ugly times,” says Van Noten. “When we say ‘protest,’ you protest against something—so I think it’s quite clear when we say ‘the only true protest is beauty’ that people know what we mean.”In this special episode of The BoF Podcast, our editor-at-large Tim Blanks speaks to Dries Van Noten about this remarkable transition to becoming a custodian of beauty.Key Insights: The Post-Runway Pivot: Reclaiming the Creative Rhythm: Van Noten discusses the liberation of moving away from the "dictated rhythm" of the global fashion calendar. “We didn't retire to have an easy life and just relax," Van Noten states. “Fashion dictates the rhythm. Here, nobody dictates us with what I'm doing now. It’s a different life, a different rhythm, but still busy.” For Van Noten, this transition is not a withdrawal, but a strategic refocusing on projects that prioritise human intuition over commercial pressure.The Palazzo as a Living Lab: Custodianship of History: His Venice headquarters, the 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta, serves as a living laboratory where the focus shifts from product to process. Van Noten views his role not as an owner, but as a temporary guardian of the space's cultural and physical history. “I really feel that we are custodians now of something which is so special... It’s a palazzo built to impress, but there is also a very strong human factor in it.” he notes. Beauty as Engagement: The Radical Act of Aesthetics: In a world marked by macro-uncertainty and conflict, Van Noten posits that creating beauty is a provocative, active form of protest rather than a passive escape. He argues that aesthetics can be a healing, grounding force in an increasingly "ugly" global landscape. “In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty,” says Van Noten. “For me, it's impossible just to sit there and to complain… I always look to the future, and I think [for] the future you have to protest, you have to have hope. Protest for me also gives hope.” Rejecting fashion hierarchies: A core pillar of the new foundation is the rejection of traditional fashion hierarchies. Dries places the work of avant-garde masters like Rei Kawakubo on the same plane as local artisans and emerging designers from conflict zones, centering the "soul" of the object over its brand equity. ‘I meet such different people... Last week I was still standing here with a person in Venice who makes books, a bookbinder... I think he's 87. I had tears in my eyes. He was so happy and so proud to show me the book covers that he made.’ Van Noten expresses Additional Resources: The BoF 500: Dries Van Noten | BoFDries Van Noten and Julian Klausner: How to Make a Designer Transition Work |BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Why Some Retailers are Ignoring the Internet 29.04.2026 25m

  For years, the fashion industry operated under the assumption that digital scale was the right path. However, the "growth-at-all-costs" model is currently fracturing as luxury giants grapple with soaring customer acquisition costs and a logistical crisis fueled by high return rates. In response, a quiet counter-culture is emerging, with stores like Ven. Space and Dot Reeder thriving by intentionally limiting their digital footprints. In this episode, executive editor Brian Baskin and senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young discuss with BoF correspondent Austin Kim how these analogue retailers are using hyper-local intimacy and intelligent curation to build a more resilient business model that values brand equity over infinite reach. Key Insights: The Rejection of Digital Friction: Store owners like Chris Green of Ven. Space are intentionally limiting their digital footprints to avoid the "grind" of high customer acquisition costs. Austin Kim notes that for these owners, "these small businesses are people doing what they love and what they don't love is e-commerce and they have no interest in it".The "Sit and Fit" Financial Advantage: Analyst Simeon Siegel posits that the in-store customer is the superior economic unit because they absorb the costs of fulfillment. As Kim explains, "In the store, the customer takes the pair of jeans off the rack, walks it over to the cash register, and then takes it home to themselves," whereas online, a brand must pay for picking, packaging, and the high probability of returns.Product Curation as a Moat: Success for these boutiques relies on a "mythic" assortment of brands that creates a level of trust an algorithm cannot replicate. Kim highlights that the draw is the owner's perspective: "Chris Green is almost like a Mr. Rogers if he wore Dries van Noten ... that perspective is exactly what I think customers connect with".Analogue Marketing and the "Third Space": To cut through digital exhaustion, retailers like Outline are pivoting to high-quality print catalogs. Co-founder Margaret Austin describes e-commerce as "unsexy," preferring a strategy where receiving something at your door acts as "an amazing strategy" to cut through the noise of social media.The Scalability Paradox: The "secret sauce" of these stores is often the owner-operator’s deep local roots, which is difficult for corporate entities to mimic. Kim warns that "you lose the soul of a business really quickly as you scale, especially on e-commerce," because you begin buying for an international audience rather than maintaining a specific, connected perspective. Additional Resources:Meet the Retailers Succeeding by Ignoring the Internet | BoFThe State of Fashion 2026: When the Rules Change | BoFThe BoF Podcast | Pete Nordstrom on the Enduring Power of Retail’s ‘Best Mousetrap’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Britt Moran on Why Atmosphere Is a Real Luxury Product 24.04.2026 43m

  For the global luxury industry, Salone del Mobile in Milan has become a moment where brands look beyond the runway to expand into the broader "lifestyle" economy. At the centre of this intersection is Dimore Studio, co-founded by Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci — a studio that has defined the aesthetic language for luxury hospitality, retail and private residential projects worldwide.Moran is originally from a small town in North Carolina. He moved to Italy over 30 years ago, initially intending to take a gap year before applying to medical school. He never went back. Together with Salci — his former romantic partner and now business partner of over 25 years — he has built Dimore into a multi-faceted brand spanning interior design, two furniture collections, a textile line, and a newly opened gallery in a former bank in central Milan.As luxury conglomerates increasingly pursue the "home" and hospitality categories to drive long-term growth, Moran offers an insider's perspective on why credibility in this space can't be bought — it has to be built.“I think you just have to completely trust your instinct, nurture the passion, do it only for the passion not thinking that you're going to become incredibly wealthy doing it,” says Moran.“Emiliano always tells me, we're not doing this for the money. We're only doing it because it's something that we love.”This week on The BoF Podcast, Britt Moran joins Imran Amed in Milan to discuss the business of building an "atmosphere," his unlikely path from the American South to the centre of Italian design, and why fashion's rush into the home category requires more than just marketing.Key Insights: Atmosphere is the product, not furniture. Moran frames Dimore's core offering not as chairs or tables but as the complete sensory experience of a space — scent, music, lighting, feeling. This is what clients are paying for and what sets Dimore apart from conventional design studios. As he puts it, the studio began with the idea of "setting up atmospheres," and the furniture collections emerged later, almost as by-products of the environments they were creating for clients.Italy's manufacturing ecosystem remains a competitive advantage. Moran highlights the strategic importance of proximity to Brianza, the furniture manufacturing district outside Milan where major producers like Cassina and Poltrona Frau work alongside independent artisans. Having done projects in the US, France and the Middle East, Moran is categorical that the quality-to-price ratio in Italy has no equivalent elsewhere — a claim with real implications for any brand considering where to source its home and lifestyle products.Most fashion brands are getting the design crossover wrong. While fashion houses are flooding Salone del Mobile with installations and activations, Moran draws a sharp line between those using Design Week as a marketing platform and those — like Loro Piana — that are leveraging genuine material expertise to create credible home products. The distinction matters: consumers and the design community can tell the difference between a brand that understands three-dimensional design and one that's dressing up a booth.The Dimore partnership works because of creative tension. Moran describes himself as "much more classic, much more conventional, maybe much more traditional" while Salci is "very forward thinking" with an "urban edge." This creative polarity — not shared taste — is what gives Dimore its distinctive aesthetic. The fact that they began as romantic partners and successfully transitioned into a purely business relationship adds an unusual dimension to a studio that has now endured for over two decades.Additional Resources:Britt Moran | BoF 500 ProfileWhy Salone Del Mobile is Irresistible for Luxury Brands | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Why Luxury Still Can’t Find Its Way Out of the Slump 22.04.2026 36m

  Luxury entered 2026 with hopes that new creative directors and signs of stabilisation would finally help the sector turn a corner. Instead, the latest round of earnings has raised bigger questions about what growth now looks like for the industry. While brands including Dior, Gucci and Chanel are generating renewed interest, that excitement has not yet translated into a meaningful sales rebound. From the slowing Chinese market to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, luxury conglomerates are facing a complex web of challenges that creative hype alone cannot solve.On the episode, BoF luxury editors Mimosa Spencer and Robert Williams explain why China remains such a critical missing piece, why Louis Vuitton is under closer scrutiny than usual, and why jewellery continues to outperform the rest of luxury.Key Insights:One of the clearest messages from this earnings season is that new designers can lift mood and momentum internally, but that alone is not enough to restart the industry. Williams says the latest results confirmed that the impact of all these creative resets is “pretty limited, especially in isolation”. As he puts it, “the result of that is more like treading water or stabilising versus actually reigniting growth.” Spencer adds that the disappointment was sharper because there had been so much excitement around these debuts that “a lot of investors were expecting some earlier results.”Both Spencer and Williams point to China as the market hanging over the entire sector. Even where sentiment improved at the end of last year, investors were still looking for signs that Chinese demand might return in a meaningful way. Spencer says the bigger issue now is not just timing but structure: “The question is whether the kind of growth we saw in the past will actually come back.” She adds: “It seems like it takes a lot more work for a luxury brand to actually get good results in China.” LVMH still wants the market to see Dior as the manageable turnaround story, but Williams suggests the real anxiety now sits around Louis Vuitton. The brand has held up better than many peers, but investors are increasingly asking where its next phase of growth will come from. Williams points out that the bigger concern is not short-term performance, but what comes next. “No one can really see where the growth is going to come from,” he says. “Is this still a growth industry? What will the industry look like and how will it operate if it's not growing anymore?” If the industry’s strongest player cannot clearly define its next phase of growth, it raises deeper questions about the trajectory of luxury as a whole.Despite the broader slowdown across luxury, Spencer argues that jewellery’s outperformance is not just about demand for hard luxury, but about how consumers now judge value. Handbag prices have climbed so sharply that jewellery, by comparison, can feel like a more rational indulgence. “Jewellery prices haven’t gone up in the same way that handbag prices have gone up,” she says. At the same time, jewellery still carries a perception of durability and investment value, whether or not that always holds in practice.Luxury brands may be making more progress with their established high-spending clients than with the broader aspirational base they once relied on for volume. Williams notes that some houses are succeeding in pulling core customers back into stores, even if that is not yet translating into a wider recovery. At Chanel, for example, he points to renewed momentum among “well-to-do women with big executive jobs in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s,” while Louis Vuitton’s monogram anniversary campaign has helped refocus attention on its most iconic products.Additional Resources:The Luxury Rebound Gets a Reality Check | BoF Kering’s Strategy Reveal, Examined | BoF  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• What Luxury's Winners Are Getting Right 17.04.2026 36m

  The global fashion industry is a $2.5 trillion economic engine, and yet in the corridors of Washington and high finance, it's often treated as a sideshow. This week I was in DC at Semafor World Economy, listening to conversations about AI and genomics and energy — and arguing that fashion is actually one of the best barometers we have for where the global consumer is heading.Because the luxury landscape is being reshaped in real time. This week LVMH reported that its fashion and leather goods division contracted by 2 percent in the first quarter. Kering's group revenues were also flat, with Gucci down 8 percent. Meanwhile Ralph Lauren has raised its guidance three times in the past year, with revenue up 12 percent in the most recent quarter. And Zegna's flagship brand grew more than 7 percent in the fourth quarter.So what are these winners doing differently? In this episode I sit down with three leaders who, from very different starting points, offer a remarkably consistent answer — one that has little to do with logos, scarcity or hype, and everything to do with substance, inclusion and a clear sense of what customers are willing to pay for.First, Ermenegildo Zegna, group executive chairman of the Zegna Group, on why he chose this moment to step back as chief executive and hand the reins to his sons. We talk about vertical integration as a hedge against inflation and the formula he’s giving the next generation to run by.Ermenegildo Zegna: "Think slow but act fast. These to me are the most important criteria for being successful." Then, I’m joined by Patrice Louvet, president and chief executive of Ralph Lauren, and Noah Horowitz, chief executive of Art Basel — two leaders whose businesses keep growing while the rest of the market softens. We unpack why Patrice thinks the industry is working from a “lazy definition” of luxury, and ask why — in a world of frictionless, AI-powered shopping — the most valuable thing a brand can offer is a reason to show up in person.Patrice Louvet: "We're not in the apparel business. We're in the dreams business." Three leaders. Three businesses. One consistent answer about what luxury looks like now.Key Insights: The Next-Gen Handover: Ermenegildo Zegna stepped back from the CEO role at age 70, appointing his sons to lead the Zegna Group. He emphasises that in times of change, leaders must "think slow but act fast" and remain true to core values.Vertical Integration as Resilience: A key differentiator for Zegna is its "sheep to shop" model. By owning 60 percent of its supply chain, the group maintains quality control and a compelling value perception that justifies its luxury pricing in an inflationary market.The Experience Economy: Both Ralph Lauren and Art Basel are leaning into "experientialisation". Patrice Louvet argues Ralph Lauren is in the "dreams business," comparing Ralph Lauren's creative process to a movie director rather than a traditional designer.Inclusive vs. Exclusive Luxury: Ralph Lauren differentiates itself through "inclusive luxury," welcoming customers into stores styled as "homes" and offering products ranging from $12 socks to $320,000 watches. This contrasts with retail peers who use security guards and create long queues.Art as a Human Market: Noah Horowitz notes a "flight to safety" in the art world, where collectors are moving away from speculative contemporary trends toward well-priced masterworks and global discovery. He defines the market as "confidence-driven," relying on community and connectivity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Nike’s Reality Check 15.04.2026 26m

  When Elliot Hill returned to Nike as chief executive in October 2024, he was tasked with reversing one of the most significant slumps in the company’s history. The business had lost momentum with both investors and consumers and his strategy has focused on restoring wholesale relationships, rebuilding key categories like running and trying to stabilise the brand’s broader narrative. But Nike’s latest earnings and weak outlook have intensified doubts about whether the recovery is moving quickly enough. In a fragmented marketplace where heat has moved toward niche competitors and rejuvenated legacy rivals, Nike is struggling to convince a skeptical public and an impatient Wall Street that its next chapter has truly begun.On the episode, Sykes joins hosts Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin to unpack why Nike’s comeback still feels unfinished, what the brand is getting right, and what it would take for the market to believe again.Key Insights:Sykes argues that the sharp reaction to Nike’s latest earnings was less about one bad quarter than a broader loss of patience. Hill has spent more than a year telling investors that the comeback is taking shape, but the numbers still do not show enough momentum to support that story. “Investors are just sort of running thin on patience with Elliott Hill,” Sykes says. That problem is compounded by Nike’s own guidance. As Sykes puts it, “you can’t really get ringing endorsements from people” when the company is already warning that the next quarter will still be down.The sportswear landscape of 2026 is fundamentally different from the one Nike dominated a decade ago. Whilst Nike is still a big player in sportswear, its dominance does not necessarily mean the same thing it once did. With the market fragmented, heat is now distributed across brands like Hoka, New Balance and Adidas, and attention moves quickly between rivals. “Nike is still bigger than every other sportswear brand out there right now,” he says. “But when Nike is at its best, it is not participating in the conversation, it is controlling the conversation.” The issue is not that Nike has become irrelevant. It is that the market no longer seems to operate in a way that allows one brand to command the same singular hold it once did. Nike now requires a more versatile approach to global regions like China and sub-brands like Converse, which currently act as a drag on overall productivity.  Sykes is clear that Nike is not doing everything wrong. He points to genuine progress in North America, improved wholesale relationships and real traction in running. But those wins have not yet added up to the kind of breakthrough moment that changes the narrative. Nike is trying new products and categories, yet none of them has become the catalyst investors and consumers are looking for. “There are things there that I would say are definitely more positive than I thought they would be,” Sykes says. But he also notes that “there just seems to be still a bit of disconnect between what the brand thinks about its product and what consumers think about its products.” Sykes argues that the company has to rebuild the basics before it can deliver the kind of defining cultural or product hit that resets perception. “You have to hit the singles before you can hit a grand slam,” he says. That may be true operationally, but the problem is that Nike is a company judged not just on steady execution, but on its ability to create category-shaping moments. Until one of those arrives, the sense of drift is likely to continue.Additional Resources:Can the World Cup Solve Nike’s Problems? | BoF The Public Isn’t Buying What Nike Is Selling. Can That Change?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Ask Imran Anything: On Boring Fashion, the Meaning of Luxury and Building Outside the System 10.04.2026 51m

  In this second Ask Me Anything episode, Imran Amed responds to questions submitted by listeners around the world, offering a wide-ranging reflection on where fashion stands now — creatively, commercially and culturally. The conversation moves from personal encounters with figures such as designer Yohji Yamamoto and Gentle Monster founder Hankook Kim to broader questions about whether the industry has lost its sense of excitement, what luxury means today and how emerging brands can still find a path to market.“Sometimes big-brand fashion can feel a bit boring and corporatised and cookie-cutter. But there are so many independent, young, exciting brands out there doing really, really interesting things,” says Amed. “I’m starting to feel excited about fashion again.”Later in the episode, the discussion turns to AI, fashion education and entrepreneurship. Amed makes the case for engaging early with new technologies rather than resisting them, calls on educators to stay connected to the realities of the industry, and reflects on the early failure that ultimately led him to build BoF.Key Insights: The creative energy in fashion is returning, driven by a wave of new creative director appointments. After a period where the industry felt productised and corporatised, recent moves — Mathieu Blazy at Chanel, Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Meryl Rogge at Marni, Duran Lantink at Jean-Paul Gaultier — have injected a sense of excitement Imran says he hasn’t felt in years. The lesson: pay attention to independent and emerging brands too, where some of the most thoughtful work is happening away from the spotlight.The old gatekeeper model for launching a fashion brand is over. When Amed wrote his “Business of Fashion Basics” series in 2007, the only path to market for young designers ran through department store buyers, glossy magazine editors, publicists and showrooms. Today, brands can reach customers directly through social media and content — though some may still benefit from selective engagement with the traditional system.BoF’s global editorial perspective has been present from day one, but global coverage requires active effort. Rather than seeing international storytelling as a matter of geographic inclusion, Amed frames it as a responsibility to understand how different markets connect through shared challenges. “The struggles a designer in Brazil is facing are often similar to the struggles, questions and challenges a designer in Dubai is facing,” he says. “You only really realise that when you start going around the world and people are asking you the same questions.”On AI, the biggest risk is inaction. Drawing a parallel to his first experience with email and the internet in 1994, Amed argues that AI represents the same kind of transformational shift — and that professionals who reflexively reject it will fall behind, just as those who dismissed bloggers and influencers did a decade ago.When the world feels uncertain, focus on what you can control. Amed’s advice to designers and business leaders navigating geopolitical instability: you can’t control tariffs, wars or macro uncertainty. You can control the quality of your work, the environment you create for your teams, and your cost base. Beauty and creativity, he argues, are a uniting force — and sometimes the best response to turbulence.The failure that led to BoF: focus on the problem, not the solution. Before launching BoF, Amed tried to build a fashion incubator modelled on Silicon Valley. After eight months, he couldn’t sign a single designer. But because he’d identified the right problem — bridging the gap between creativity and business — the failure pointed him toward a different solution. “If your first solution doesn’t work, try another solution, keep iterating,” he says. “I did.”Additional Resources:The Emerging Designers Pushing Fashion Forward | BoFThe Great Fashion Reset | Is Fashion Failing Emerging Designers? | BoF Why Revolve Can’t Stop Talking About AI | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Can H&M Prove Sustainability is a Growth Engine? 08.04.2026 27m

  In March, H&M released financial results alongside its annual sustainability report, presenting two seemingly contrasting narratives. The company reported a 34.6 percent reduction in emissions from 2019 levels and also noted that 91 percent of its materials are now sustainably sourced. However, this environmental progress occurred alongside a 1 percent dip in sales, raising questions about the commercial viability of its green strategy.While many industry peers are backing away from environmental messaging to focus on the bottom line, H&M is arguing that sustainability is not in tension with profit, but is rather a "core driver of future growth". On The Debrief, we examine whether this decoupling of growth from environmental impact can truly resonate with consumers, or if it remains a purely internal metric.Key Insights: As a fast fashion brand, H&M understands that sustainability alone is not going to win back shoppers. Instead, Walid says the company is trying to translate its recent efforts into something more tangible at the point of purchase. The pitch is not that consumers care about emissions reporting in itself, but that sustainability can function as a marker of quality. As Leyla Ertur, H&M’s Head of Sustainability, told Walid during their conversation, “Our customers don’t care about our Scope 3 emissions going down. What they care about is what they’re buying.”Walid suggests that one of H&M’s biggest challenges is the disconnect between how the company sees itself and how customers perceive it. “When we say H&M, I think people are thinking of H&M, the brand … But when H&M talks about itself, they’re talking [about] the whole conglomerate,” she says, pointing to brands like COS and Weekday, which occupy a more elevated position. While those labels may successfully compete with higher-end high street players, that distinction is largely invisible to consumers, who still associate H&M with “fast fashion … something cheap for an occasion.” As a result, while the group may understand how to build more premium propositions across its portfolio, Walid argues that the core H&M brand itself has not yet meaningfully shifted perception.  For all the company’s investments and emissions reductions, the core contradiction remains that H&M is still producing and selling huge volumes of clothing. Waleed is explicit about that limitation: “They’re not addressing the overconsumption and overproduction problem in fashion.” At the same time, she notes that H&M is one of the few large players still investing at scale in decarbonisation, water reduction and supply chain upgrades.H&M is investing across sustainability, brand elevation and new channels like resale, but Waleed cautions that it is still too early to judge whether these efforts are working. “They use all these different levers that don’t come into one … There needs to be a way to bring that together,” she says. Initiatives like fashion week shows, collaborations and younger-facing campaigns are designed to re-engage consumers, but “I don’t think people have caught traction … just yet.” For now, the strategy remains a long-term bet rather than a proven turnaround.Additional Resources:Exclusive: H&M Says Sustainability Is Good for Business. Can It Get Shoppers to Care?BoF Analysis: The Rise of Ultra-Fast Fashion PlayersThe Game of ‘Selling’ Sustainability Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Faye McLeod on Luxury World-Building, One Window at a Time 03.04.2026 52m

  Faye McLeod has built a body of work that sits at the intersection of retail, image-making and brand building. During her 16-year tenure at Louis Vuitton, she created some of the luxury industry’s most visible physical expressions – from windows and façades to fashion show sets. In that time, she helped define how the house translated its image from the runway and the archive into public-facing experiences around the world.“I love the fact that the windows are a democratic space. You’re talking to the people on pavements – people can love it or not, and that’s okay,” she says. “You can’t retouch or hide anything. You’ve just got to be authentically you. And I think that’s what I’m really good at – being just me.” Now in a new phase of her career, McLeod is building her studio, Closer, bringing her special mix of emotion, world-building and collaboration to other  brands and clients.On this week’s episode of BoF Podcast, McLeod joins BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed to discuss her path into window design, the emotional logic behind her creative process, and why she decided this was the right moment to strike out on her own.Key Insights: Windows are where luxury meets the street. McLeod describes window design not as a decorative retail function but as one of fashion’s most public-facing forms of communication — a place where a brand has to earn attention in real time. What draws her to the medium is precisely that lack of control. “I love the fact that the windows are a democratic space,” she says. “You’re talking to the people on pavements.” Her instinct for contained spaces comes from somewhere deeper than design training. McLeod links her creative process to a traumatic childhood accident. At the age of five, she fell down a deep hole in the desert in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates and spent hours trapped in what she describes as a concrete box, using imagination and inner resolve to survive. She now sees that experience as formative. “I had to go inside myself to survive. I had to use my imagination,” she says. “I’m good at designing in a contained space.” The audience feedback completes the work. McLeod returns to the idea that creative concepts only fully come alive when people respond in ways you could not have planned. “What I love about what we do is watching the crowd sing back,” she says. “It’s something you cannot control with creative. You just put it out into the universe and see what happens.” In Chengdu, people queued with scissors to cut off pieces of the tail and take them home as souvenirs.Her work is built collectively, not individually. Despite the scale and visibility of the projects she discusses, McLeod is emphatic that none of them are authored alone. “It’s not just about one person, it’s about everybody,” she says. “It’s an orchestra and you just find your place.” Her philosophy is simple: pour love into the work. Looking back on her career, she says what she wishes she had known earlier was not a strategic lesson but an emotional one: to trust herself more, let anxiety matter less and commit fully to what she was making. “I wish I knew you just had to pour love into everything you do,” she says. “I just get a big jar of love and I pour it right on top of everything.” Additional Resources:Faye McLeod | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion IndustryRole Call | Faye McLeod, Visual Image Director | BoF  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• The Retailer That’s Obsessed With AI 01.04.2026 22m

  For years, Revolve was fashion retail’s byword for influencer marketing, particularly around its over-the-top Coachella event. But as the Instagram aesthetic matures and the cost of human-led marketing rises, the company is pivoting. The new mandate? To become as much an AI powerhouse as it is a party-hosting fashion giant. In a recent conversation with Retail Editor Cathaleen Chen, Revolve founders Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas argued that AI isn't just a buzzword for the board; it’s the engine that will sustain their multi-billion dollar dominance.Chen joined The Debrief to talk about how Revolve is pushing the limits of how AI can be used in retail, and whether its strategy is working. Key Insights:Revolve was founded by software engineers who viewed fashion as an e-commerce "white space,” setting it apart from rivals that invested in new technologies only after establishing themselves in the marketplace. "While Revolve looks like a Shopbop or a Net-a-Porter... Revolve is actually built like a data science company." said retail editor Cathaleen Chen.Revolve differentiates itself by building its own tools where possible, rather than buying off-the-shelf software, including the product search on its website. Using AI, Revolve has moved beyond literal keyword matching to a system that understands the vibe or occasion a customer is shopping for. By analyzing image attributes, the site can surface the perfect "party dress" even if that specific tag doesn't exist, explains Chen. "What their AI tool is able to do is pull up anything that is sequined... or textured... it is anticipating the desire."Revolve fosters a "bottom-up" environment where every employee is encouraged to experiment with AI. They aren't just looking for "moonshots"; they value any application that moves the needle even slightly. "Eeven if something improves efficiency or output by just 1%, that's considered a success,” said Chen.Additional Resources:Why Revolve Can’t Stop Talking About AI | BoFWhy Fashion Doesn’t Talk About How It Uses AI | BoFWhy Revolve Is Embracing Brick-and-Mortar | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• Is Your $3,000 Handbag Worth It? Tanner Leatherstein Has the Answer. 27.03.2026 47m

  Volkan Yilmaz — known to his millions of followers as Tanner Leatherstein — grew up in his family's tannery in Turkey, learning to convert raw animal hides into finished leather from the age of eleven. That foundation took him through an improbable journey: a failed business venture in Turkmenistan, a green card lottery win, years driving trucks and cabs across New Jersey and Chicago, an MBA, a brief stint in management consulting he couldn't stand, an Etsy shop he built from scratch — and eventually, almost by accident, a viral video that changed everything.He started cutting luxury bags open. Applying acetone to test the finish. Burning the leather to verify tanning claims. Scratching the hardware to see what's underneath. And asking, what are you really paying for?“At upwards of $500, they’re not selling you a leather bag, they’re selling you a signal of status loaded on, hopefully, a good leather bag,” he says. “If I’m a customer of this brand paying $3,000, I know I’m buying a status signal, but at least I deserve the best quality of materials and craftsmanship.”Leatherstein joined BoF founder Imran Amed at our London offices to discuss what he's found inside some of the world's most famous handbags, what it tells us about the relationship between price and quality in luxury, and what he believes comes next for an industry under growing pressure from consumers who are no longer willing to take marketing at face value.The tannery is where his authority comes from. Yilmaz grew up in his father's Turkish tannery, learning to select raw skins and work through the chemistry of tanning from the age of eleven. That early immersion — sensory, unglamorous, technical — is what allows him to read a bag's construction in ways most consumers cannot. "I was so fascinated how this smelly dirty bloody trash turns into a luxury fabric at the end of that process," he recalls. "Like alchemy."The path to the camera was as unlikely as the path to leather. Before building a following of millions, Yilmaz had to overcome a conviction that he was ill-suited for on-screen performance. The shift came while filming a charitable appeal — nervous, voice shaking, but he got through it. "I realised this is just a decision I made and I could change it," he says. The inner voice that tells us what we can't do, he argues, is often just a choice we forgot we made.His methodology is deceptively simple. Every review follows the same sequence: an acetone test to strip the finish and reveal the base material underneath, a hardware scratch test, a flame test to verify tanning claims, and a cost-of-goods estimate to calculate the retail multiplier. "The finish is the makeup on the bag," he explains. "I'm trying to see how much makeup is on it." At the luxury tier, he says a multiplier of fifteen to twenty times is not atypical.Status signalling is real — but it comes with obligations. Yilmaz doesn't dismiss luxury pricing as a con. If status is what the customer is paying for, that's a legitimate transaction. But it's not a blank cheque. "If I'm a customer paying $3,000, I know I'm buying a status signal — but at least I deserve the best quality of materials and craftsmanship," he says. "What surprised me in these dissections is that sometimes I couldn't even find that."Luxury isn't ending, but it needs to become something else. Challenger brands have proven that very good leather goods are achievable at the $500–600 price point, and Yilmaz believes that will pull consumers away from the traditional luxury tier. The brands that survive will be those that find a new reason to be desired — beyond logo recognition and price inflation alone. "I don't think it's the end of luxury," he says. "It's just an evolution."Additional Resources:From Critic to Craftsman: Tanner Leatherstein’s Next Chapter | BoF Volkan Yilmaz | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
• What European Luxury Can Learn From American Fashion 25.03.2026 24m

  For years, European luxury brands set the pace in fashion, while American labels were often dismissed as overly commercial and too broadly distributed to compete at the highest end of the market. But that balance is shifting. As many European luxury houses struggle with slowing demand, price resistance and creative inconsistency, a group of American brands is seeing renewed momentum. On the episode, Diana Pearl joins Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin to unpack what those brands are getting right, and why their recent success may offer a useful playbook for the rest of the industry.Key Insights:Pearl argues that part of the shift comes down to timing. American brands like Coach, Ralph Lauren and Tory Burch went through their overexposure phase years ago and were forced to correct course, while European luxury brands are only now grappling with the consequences of aggressive growth. “European brands maybe got a little cocky,” she says. “They raised prices too much and maybe let the creative slide a little. I think as those businesses have grown, it just became more about sales and less about focusing on the core of the business.” By contrast, American brands “really had to recalibrate, pull back, think about who is our core customer and laser in on that message.”Pearl presents Coach as the clearest example of how this American reset has worked. Instead of chasing quick expansion, the brand spent years refining its identity, sharpening its offer and building around a defined consumer. “They want to be that first luxury bag purchase that someone makes when they’re in high school, when they get their first job and save up to buy a nice bag,” she says. That focus shapes everything from product to casting to marketing tone. Just as importantly, Coach stopped cycling through products too quickly. Rather than dropping a hit bag and moving on, “when they see these silhouettes start to pop off, they find ways to iterate them,” Pearl says, pointing to the Tabby and the Brooklyn as examples.Pearl says European luxury’s current problems are not just about price, but about value and treatment. Consumers have become more sensitive to whether products feel worth the money and whether the shopping experience feels inviting. “People don’t want to spend their money at a place where they feel like they’re being mistreated,” she says, referring to growing frustration with intimidating store environments, long queues and rigid service hierarchies. She also argues that “cachet can only get you so far,” especially when shoppers no longer feel that the biggest European brands are producing the most desirable or practical items.Another theme in Pearl’s reporting is consistency. Several American brands now doing well are still shaped by founder-led or founder-adjacent creative visions, and she suggests that stability matters. “Even if consumers don’t necessarily know that creative directors are changing, they see it in how a brand feels inconsistent from season to season,” she says. With Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren and Khaite, the creative point of view feels legible and sustained. That makes it easier to build a coherent world around the brand and evolve it gradually, rather than asking consumers to reset every few years with a new designer era.Additional Resources:What European Luxury Can Learn From American Fashion | BoF The Great Fashion Reset | How to Fix Luxury’s Trust Issues | BoF The Great Fashion Reset: Can Designer Debuts Revive Luxury? | The Debrief | BoF  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.