The influencer landscape has shifted dramatically over the last decade. While the image of influencers posting flawless selfies on exotic, brand-sponsored trips still resonates, the reality has become far more complex. Influencers now host live shoppable streams, publish newsletters on Substack and engage in intimate group chats. Their goal is not just to build a following and wait for brands to come calling, but to establish multiple sources of income through affiliate links, brand deals, and subscription models.
“Influencers and creators have realised that they need to diversify and be on multiple platforms. They need to be connecting with their followers in multiple ways and have a deeper relationship with their followers,” says Diana Pearl, senior news and features editor. “Even five years ago, there were people who didn't really take this industry very seriously and didn't realise the difference they could make for their brand. Now it is impossible to ignore.”
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For decades, department stores were symbols of American retail success, but their shine has long since faded. Overexpansion that began in the 1990s, the growth of e-commerce and the decline of many malls has left a saturated market, with more stores than there is demand. Major department stores have been struggling for decades to adapt to changes in the way their customers shop, with little to show for it.
"These challenges existed ten years ago, but the problem we have today is that it’s getting later and later, and more and more desperate for these department stores. Time is running out, and they still haven’t figured out the solution,” says retail editor Cat Chen.
In this episode of The Debrief, BoF senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young speaks with Chen about why department stores are struggling to stay relevant, how activist investors are complicating the picture, and whether following the approach of European department stores like Selfridges can save this iconic segment of the retail industry.
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A style renaissance that changed how many men dress – mostly for the better – has congealed into a sea of sameness, at least in the eyes of a growing number of fashion critics and influencers. Too many interchangeable brands take the same approach, blending tailoring with casualwear in neutral-toned collections that are stylish but often fail to inspire. The look is often derided as a menswear “starter pack,” but remains popular with consumers.
This week on The Debrief, Brian Baskin sits down with correspondents Malique Morris and Lei Takanashi to discuss why this “starter pack” approach works for the industry - but at the cost of long-term brand building and customer loyalty. Additionally, they probe what brands must do to recapture consumers' imagination.
“Any brand can make a good product, but what makes a brand good, especially a good menswear brand, is having a great story that's worth telling,” says Takanashi.
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Luxury fashion remains an exclusive club, where leadership positions are often filled from within tight, familiar circles. Despite industry-wide commitments to diversity and inclusion, the sector continues to struggle with gender and racial diversity in its top creative roles. Many luxury companies still operate within networks that favour traditional backgrounds, making it difficult for new, diverse talent to break through.
“It's a role where I think people's unconscious biases really can come into play because whether or not they receive something as good design or bad design is going to be so much influenced by the person who told them that it's good design or bad design,” said BoF’s Luxury Editor Robert Williams.
This week on The Debrief, BoF Senior Correspondent Sheena Butler-Young sat down with Williams to discuss the structural barriers that keep women and minorities from ascending to these coveted positions. They explore how the industry’s patriarchal business models perpetuate these challenges, the influence of consumer expectations in driving change, and how mass brands like Uniqlo are beginning to shift the narrative by appointing creative directors from unconventional backgrounds.
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Shein has fundamentally changed the fashion market, challenging fast fashion giants that were not so long ago in the disruptor position themselves. Once the category's upstart, H&M now finds itself struggling to keep pace as Shein redefines consumer expectations with ultra-low prices, endless selection and lightning-fast production. In response, H&M’s new CEO has unveiled a strategy to target the elusive middle market, hoping to position the retailer as more affordable than Zara but higher-quality than Shein.
This week on The BoF Podcast, executive editor Brian Baskin sat down with Senior Sustainability Correspondent Sarah Kent and Retail Correspondent Cat Chen to delve into the contrasting paths of these two retail giants and what it means for the future of fashion.
“H&M has been stuck in the middle with kind of a muddled identity … It's trying to figure out how to differentiate itself,” said Chen. Meanwhile, Shein’s breakneck growth comes with a heavy environmental toll, raising questions about the industry’s efforts to reduce emissions.
“Shein’s growth is phenomenal, but its environmental impact has grown even faster than its sales… now outpacing all other large fashion companies,” Kent said.
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Nike’s streak as the undisputed leader in the activewear category spans generations, but the brand is facing its most significant hurdles in decades. However, recent shifts in leadership, oversupply issues and a botched direct-to-consumer strategy have chipped away at its once-untouchable brand image. As challengers like Hoka and On gain ground, and archrival Adidas surges, Nike faces mounting pressure to innovate and reconnect with consumers.
“Nike remains a behemoth, … but all is not well,” says Miller. “The brand is on course for its worst financial performance in over a quarter of a century, and unfortunately for Nike, trouble is happening everywhere, all over the brand.”
This week on The Debrief, BoF executive editor Brian Baskin and senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young sit down with sports correspondent Daniel-Yaw Miller to explore how Nike fell off track and the strategic moves it’s making to reclaim its market dominance.
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As the first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris’s every move is closely watched — from her policy decisions to her wardrobe. With Harris now leading the Democratic ticket in the 2024 presidential election, her style and beauty choices — from her for her sleek silk press hairstyle to her endless variety of pantsuits — have sparked renewed discussion.
“She is communicating something, even if it's not remarkable,” said BoF senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young. “No one truly opts out of signalling something with how they present themselves.”
This week on The Debrief, BoF executive editor Brian Baskin sat down with Butler-Young and editorial apprentice Yola Mzizi to explore how Harris’s beauty and fashion choices are being interpreted by different audiences across the political spectrum, and what that means for the future of political style.
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2024 has brought forth the arrival of the “Sephora tweens,” which refers to members of Gen Alpha (roughly defined as those born between 2010 and 2024) who have enthusiastically taken to buying up skincare and makeup. This phenomenon, driven largely by beauty-related chatter on social media, has resulted in a new wave of brands catering specifically to this younger demographic.
“There are now teen brands, tween brands, 20-something brands, 30-something brands. … I think we can thank the DTC movement and everything that happened from 2014 on for this kind of innovation,” Rao says. “There's been a total disruption in beauty overall with challenger brands like Glossier that have come and really taken market share away from the big conglomerates and companies … that have been household names for a really long time.”
This week on The BoF Podcast, senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin sat down with Priya Rao, executive editor at The Business of Beauty at BoF, to delve into how tweens have taken over the beauty aisle and what this means for the future of the industry.
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Many of fashion’s largest manufacturing hubs, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, are increasingly at risk of dangerous, record-breaking heatwaves. As extreme heat becomes more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting, what is the cost to industry and how will we adapt to the growing climate risks?
Senior correspondent, Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor, Brian Baskin sat down with BoF sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent to understand what rising global temperatures means for the future of garment production.
“We have to assume that it's the new norm and or at least a new baseline. It’s not like every year will necessarily be as bad, but consistently over time, the expectation is things are going to get hotter for longer,” says Kent. “We both have to take steps to mitigate and prevent things getting worse, and we have to accept that we have not done enough to stop things getting this bad - and so we have to adapt as well.”
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Occasionwear’s late-pandemic comeback may have felt like a reactionary fluke, but retailers and designers are betting it’s more than a trend.
Background:
Post-pandemic, occasionwear has been booming. During the second half of 2022 US and UK retailers introduced nearly twice as many dresses embellished with sequins, beads and jewels compared to 2019, according to retail intelligence firm Edited,. Over the same period, sequined dresses sold out 52 percent more compared to 2019, while high-heel shoes sold out 121 percent more. Retailers and designers don’t think the trend will slow any time soon as bold looks continue to flood runways and shop floors.
“It's natural that now that the world is even more open compared to last year when we had just gotten vaccinated, that there's this desire for a little bit of escapism,” said Cathaleen Chen, BoF retail correspondent.
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Priya Rao, executive editor, Business of Beauty, joins Lauren Sherman to unpack how the singer’s lifestyle label has managed to build a loyal fan base — without his direct involvement.
Background:
Harry Styles has managed to pull off a feat that has eluded countless celebrities, despite their many attempts: Building a popular beauty brand. He’s managed to do so even while taking a backseat when it comes to running Pleasing, his lifestyle line which predominantly sells nail polish as well as skin care and sweatshirts. Since launching in November 2022, Styles has not talked much about Pleasing publicly or on social media. But, the brand, created in partnership with his stylist Harry Lambert and creative director Molly Hawkins, has generated a plugged-in community of loyalists nonetheless.
“[Celebrities] are coming out with these really full lines that have nothing to do with what they’ve been about before. Pleasing really feels like Harry … like you’re getting a piece of Harry when you buy [products],” said Priya Rao, executive editor, Business of Beauty.
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