Loved this, Georgia! If I can add my two cents, as a fashion corporate worker, I’d say that working in fashion often appears far more glamorous than it truly is. I understand the allure—it’s something I dreamed of since I was a little girl. The reality, however, is that people aren’t always as kind as you might expect, especially compared to other work environments. Professional growth can be challenging, as it's often more based on your ability to network than on your actual talent. And let’s be honest, office life only seems cool until you’re required to attend five days a week, and your real life has to be planned around that. That being said, I’m lucky enough to work for a great fashion company, so I can testify that there are amazing corporate options nowadays too.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the kind words. Yes - I think we're at this interesting inflection point where people have more visibility into what working in fashion *actually looks like. The dream persists, but fashion has become so big and corporate that the dream often looks like something more business-adjacent (often an office-based role). As opposed to a designer, or another role that's more 'purely creative'. And even the people that do want to pursue a more creative role know that 'purely creative' isn't realistic, you have to have business acumen, too.
That being said, when I interviewed TikToker Lyas for the podcast, he mentioned that he feels like brands have forgotten that commercial and creative goals can coexist. Reliance on data and repeating what's worked before has reduced our ability to take risks - despite the fact that risks often pay off, and fashion audiences love novelty. I'm always inspired by Marc Jacobs, both as a legendary designer, but also someone who takes risks, and hands over the reins to creatives he believes in (I'm thinking of Ava Nirui, who spearheaded the Heaven sub brand). The brand has that magnetic zing because of his risk-taking attitude, and it feels like they're having fun.
I totally agree with you, the risk-taking attitude is fully missing. I think with such a shaky economy, and right after COVID, risks needed to be contained. But that's also because at the head of brands we now have business men/women, not creatives anymore. So everything is more business-oriented than anything else, and this corporatization of fashion can only lead to its flattening :(
By the way, you're very welcome! I’m a big fan of your newsletter—even though I discovered it recently, I always adore your insights.
I really enjoyed this (and the diversion to read about sandwiches). Such good insight about the changes to the industry. I was going to add my two cents and then realised I’m doing the business analyst thing 💀, (although I have actually worked in the industry for years).
I’d be interested to know how you think this increased interest in fashion as a career squares with sustainability and whether unis and colleges churning out fashion grads are doing enough to prepare students for this reality. And also, how you feel about the competing priorities of sustainability and creativity+growth. I haven’t seen loads of examples of brands dealing well with this and it’s what I write about so would love your perspective or thoughts on what to read on this.
(Also delighted to discover that 20 min curry Ivo is your brother!)
Hey Georgia (great name), thank you for this! I was writing an answer and it started to morph into an essay - which made me think it would be better to respond as such! So if you're happy to wait, I'll respond with a newsletter essay that covers my thoughts on the topic. (As you probably know from 20 min curry Ivo, the Grahams aren't great with brevity.)
Loved this, Georgia! If I can add my two cents, as a fashion corporate worker, I’d say that working in fashion often appears far more glamorous than it truly is. I understand the allure—it’s something I dreamed of since I was a little girl. The reality, however, is that people aren’t always as kind as you might expect, especially compared to other work environments. Professional growth can be challenging, as it's often more based on your ability to network than on your actual talent. And let’s be honest, office life only seems cool until you’re required to attend five days a week, and your real life has to be planned around that. That being said, I’m lucky enough to work for a great fashion company, so I can testify that there are amazing corporate options nowadays too.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the kind words. Yes - I think we're at this interesting inflection point where people have more visibility into what working in fashion *actually looks like. The dream persists, but fashion has become so big and corporate that the dream often looks like something more business-adjacent (often an office-based role). As opposed to a designer, or another role that's more 'purely creative'. And even the people that do want to pursue a more creative role know that 'purely creative' isn't realistic, you have to have business acumen, too.
That being said, when I interviewed TikToker Lyas for the podcast, he mentioned that he feels like brands have forgotten that commercial and creative goals can coexist. Reliance on data and repeating what's worked before has reduced our ability to take risks - despite the fact that risks often pay off, and fashion audiences love novelty. I'm always inspired by Marc Jacobs, both as a legendary designer, but also someone who takes risks, and hands over the reins to creatives he believes in (I'm thinking of Ava Nirui, who spearheaded the Heaven sub brand). The brand has that magnetic zing because of his risk-taking attitude, and it feels like they're having fun.
I totally agree with you, the risk-taking attitude is fully missing. I think with such a shaky economy, and right after COVID, risks needed to be contained. But that's also because at the head of brands we now have business men/women, not creatives anymore. So everything is more business-oriented than anything else, and this corporatization of fashion can only lead to its flattening :(
By the way, you're very welcome! I’m a big fan of your newsletter—even though I discovered it recently, I always adore your insights.
I really enjoyed this (and the diversion to read about sandwiches). Such good insight about the changes to the industry. I was going to add my two cents and then realised I’m doing the business analyst thing 💀, (although I have actually worked in the industry for years).
I’d be interested to know how you think this increased interest in fashion as a career squares with sustainability and whether unis and colleges churning out fashion grads are doing enough to prepare students for this reality. And also, how you feel about the competing priorities of sustainability and creativity+growth. I haven’t seen loads of examples of brands dealing well with this and it’s what I write about so would love your perspective or thoughts on what to read on this.
(Also delighted to discover that 20 min curry Ivo is your brother!)
Hey Georgia (great name), thank you for this! I was writing an answer and it started to morph into an essay - which made me think it would be better to respond as such! So if you're happy to wait, I'll respond with a newsletter essay that covers my thoughts on the topic. (As you probably know from 20 min curry Ivo, the Grahams aren't great with brevity.)
Love it. That would be amazing.
So fascinated by this “subscription based life” idea - can you elaborate? I feel like in your line of work you must have some interesting insights