The Business of Fashion Podcast

As conflict between the US, Israel and Iran escalates, the threat to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has pushed energy prices sharply higher. That matters to fashion far beyond the pump: oil and natural gas helps power factories, move goods and produce synthetic fabrics used across the industry. Shayeza Walid and Cathaleen Chen join hosts Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin to explain how the immediate pressure of spiralling oil prices is showing up differently across the supply chain and consumer markets, and why even a short-lived shock can deepen existing strains on manufacturers, retailers and shoppers. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Oil Shock: What Fashion Needs to Know | BoF War in the Gulf Tests Resilience of a Rare Bright Patch for Luxury | BoF When War and Luxury Collide | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Nordstrom — a company that began as a small shoe store in Seattle founded by a Swedish immigrant and has grown into a $16 billion retail juggernaut. At a moment when the American department store sector is under enormous pressure — with bankruptcies, consolidation and changing consumer behaviour reshaping the landscape — Nordstrom has taken a different path. Last year, the Nordstrom family partnered with Mexican retailer Liverpool to take the company private, a move Pete Nordstrom says allows the business to move faster and focus on the long term. Pete began working in the Nordstrom stockroom at age 12 and has held roles across merchandising, buying and store management before becoming co-president alongside his brother Erik. Pete remains sanguine about Nordstrom and the future of department stores: “It's the best mousetrap. We've got the ability to have a curated breadth of offer. We have an online ecosystem that's integrated with the store, an off-price division with a practical exhaust for things that we don't sell at full price, and then there's scale. If you're big enough, you can be the first call for those brands,” he says. “We can create enough scale and leverage to make your digital business profitable. That's how I would pitch our thing: we think we offer a good solution for a modern customer and how they shop.” This week on The BoF Podcast, Pete Nordstrom joins BoF founder Imran Amed to discuss the company’s 125-year history, why he believes the department store model still works and how taking the company private is shaping Nordstrom’s next chapter. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Pete Nordstrom | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Can Department Stores Save Themselves? | The Debrief American Department Stores Have a Beauty Problem Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hip-hop has served as a primary pipeline for fashion’s entry into pop culture for decades, transitioning from organic street-level references to high-stakes global partnerships. Brands have historically leaned on a select group of superstar "style icons" to drive visibility, with A$AP Rocky emerging as the definitive case study for this crossover. However, as Gen Z consumer habits shift and the traditional music-to-market pipeline evolves, the industry faces questions about its over-reliance on a few familiar names. Takanashi joins hosts Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin to discuss the tension between the safety of established stars and the cultural necessity of finding fresh voices. Key Insights: Additional Resources: How Fashion Picks Its Hip-Hop Style Icons Breaking Down Chanel’s A$AP Rocky Partnership What’s Next for Hip-Hop and Fashion Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past two years, press tours for films like Barbie and Wuthering Heights have become strategic fashion narratives — moments that extend a film’s story far beyond the screen. At the centre of that shift is Andrew Mukamal, the stylist for Margot Robbie who has become synonymous with what’s become known as “method dressing” … aligning a film’s character, fashion history and brand partnerships into a cohesive red carpet story. “Method dressing, to me, is really just about putting a bit of extra thought and consideration into what you wear,” says Mukamal. “With modern marketing, the way people consume media and the evolution of the ‘super-press tour’, it’s now one of the options for how to approach this.” This week on The BoF Podcast, Andrew Mukamal joins BoF founder and CEO Imran Ahmed to speak about the rise of the super press tour, the business dynamics between stylists, studios and fashion houses, and how method dressing has reshaped celebrity marketing. Key Insights: Additional Resources: What Makes a Red Carpet Moment in 2024 | BoF Have We Hit Peak Red Carpet? | BoF Case Study | How to Create Cultural Moments on Any Budget | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nearly a year after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs sent shockwaves through the fashion industry, the Supreme Court ruled he did not have authority to impose the sweeping levies. For an industry that imports billions of dollars in clothing, footwear and accessories into the US each year, the decision initially felt like relief. But that optimism narrowed almost immediately as new tariffs were introduced at 10 percent, with Trump indicating they could be raised to 15 percent over the weekend. Key Insights: Additional Resources: The Supreme Court’s Tariff Ruling: What Fashion Needs to Know | BoFUS Supreme Court Overturns Trump’s Emergency Tariffs | BoFWill Prices Come Down With Trump’s Tariffs? It’s Complicated | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve been to a major party in London, Paris or Los Angeles, chances are that Dave Benett was there too. For nearly four decades, Benett has been a constant presence, documenting the evolution of celebrity, society and style in all the spaces and places where culture is happening. From concerts with Madonna and Prince to after-parties with Princess Diana and the rise of fashion as a pillar of culture, Benett has seen it all and become an expert at the art of working a room. “Journalists can miss something [and] be told about it. Photographers can’t,” he says. “Whatever you’re doing, you’ve got to make sure your eyes are everywhere.” This week on The BoF Podcast, Benett joins Amed to talk about what it really takes to cover an event, how party photography has changed in the era of smartphones and Instagram, and why relationships — not just access — are everything. Now he is launching the Dave Benett Agency — a boutique model designed to protect quality, mentor a new generation of photographers and adapt to an era where everyone has a camera, but very few know where to stand. Key Insights: Daily Mirror Additional Resources: The Return of Old-School Celebrity Campaigns | BoFHow Celebrity Image-Makers Capitalise on the Red Carpet | BoF . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After raising prices aggressively during the post-pandemic boom, luxury brands are now confronting slower growth and a shrinking aspirational customer base. According to Bernstein, average luxury price hikes reached 36 percent between 2020 and 2023, with Dior and Chanel raising prices by 51 percent and 59 percent, respectively. Now, as Bain estimates that more than 50 million aspirational shoppers have left the category, both houses are adjusting their pricing architecture and product mix in an attempt to rebuild volume without sacrificing exclusivity. BoF reporter Joan Kennedy joins The Debrief to unpack how Dior and Chanel are recalibrating pricing and product strategy to win back aspirational shoppers. Key Insights: Additional Resources: How Dior and Chanel Are Tackling Fashion’s Pricing Problem | BoFThe Great Fashion Reset | Can Designer Revamps Save Fashion? | BoFReady for Relaunch? Jonathan Anderson’s Dior Challenge | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From a childhood in Sierra Leone to navigating London as a teenage immigrant, Ib Kamara traces the cultural shocks that shaped his creative identity. He recounts hiding his artistic ambitions while studying science, breaking through with a Beyoncé commission in his early 20s, redefining Dazed as a global publication and ultimately stepping into the role of art and image director at Off-White after the death of Virgil Abloh. BoF founder Imran Amed sat down with Ib Kamara in Abu Dhabi during the launch of T Magazine MENA. The conversation spans authorship, responsibility, design versus styling and why young creatives today must reject Eurocentric hierarchies and build with their peers. Key Insights: Dazed Dazed Additional Resources: Ibrahim Kamara | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry How I Became… Senior Fashion Editor-at-Large of i-D Magazine | BoF Ib Kamara: Fashion’s Favourite Renaissance Man | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the Olympics remain one of the world’s biggest sporting stages, they are also one of the most tightly controlled marketing environments. Rules limit how sponsors can interact with athletes and advertise during the Games. As a result, fashion and sportswear brands are finding alternative ways to capitalise on the moment, from outfitting national teams and launching capsule collections to sending squads of influencers to experience the Games. BoF correspondents Haley Crawford and Mike Sykes join Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin on The Debrief to unpack how the winterwear boom is reshaping the Olympic marketing playbook. Key Insights: Additional Resources: How the Winterwear Boom Reshaped Fashion’s Olympic Playbook | BoFWhich Winter Olympians Will Score Beauty Deals? | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Ask Me Anything episode, Imran Amed answers questions submitted by listeners from around the world, spanning luxury’s current downturn, the collapse of major wholesale platforms, the realities facing emerging designers, and how global growth narratives in India and Africa are often misunderstood. The conversation later zooms out to hear Amed’s advice on education and training, fashion journalism, and the skills needed to build a lasting career in an industry undergoing structural change. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Why India Will Not Be The Next China for Luxury | The BoF Podcast The Emerging Designers Pushing Fashion Forward | BoFThe Great Fashion Reset: Can New Designers Still Build a Business? | The Debrief | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Influencer marketing in 2026 is a different beast. Once dominated by follower counts and splashy sponsored posts, the sector is now shaped by richer performance data, new monetisation models and growing consumer scepticism toward overt selling. As BoF publishes a new case study on the creator economy, Pearl joins hosts Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin to unpack how creators and brands are adapting to a more disciplined, competitive and AI-saturated landscape. Key Insights: Additional Resources: From Hype to Discipline: The New World of Influencer Marketing | Case Study Why There Are So Many Influencer Collaborations Right Now | BoF How Creators Can Avoid Being Replaced by AI | BoF Examining 20 Years of Fashion’s Influencer Economy | The BoF Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Editor-at-large, Tim Blanks and editor-in-chief, Imran Amed are back from the Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2026 shows where the biggest moments of the week lived up to all the anticipation. Jonathan Anderson’s debut at Dior reframed couture as a six-month creative lab — a backbone that can feed the entire maison with technique, emotion and ideas. At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy stripped away the obvious codes to put construction, movement and the body first — the kind of couture you only fully understand up close. There was also Valentino’s “panorama” staging and Schiaparelli’s turbocharged push for spectacle — all playing out against a tougher luxury backdrop this year’ “Something that struck me about this season is the energy that everybody was evoking,” Blanks says. “The words people used to describe their feelings — it was Jonathan talking about having a lot of anger he needed to get out, or Mathieu talking about nature, or Alessandro talking about fantasy and fashion, and then Daniel Roseberry talking about turbocharging Schiaparelli.” Key Insights: Additional Resources: Couture Has Entered a New Era. What Does It Mean? | BoF Blazy’s Chanel Couture Was a Slam Dunk! | BoF Exclusive: How Jonathan Anderson Is ‘Rebooting’ Couture at Dior | BoF The Beating Heart of Haute Couture | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Across fashion, companies that once embraced remote or hybrid work are increasingly pushing employees back into the office, with some moving towards four or even five days a week. At the same time, competition for jobs, particularly at entry level, is intensifying amid layoffs, slower industry growth and the rise of AI. On this episode of The Debrief, senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin are joined by BoF Careers’ Sophie Soar to unpack why the power balance has shifted back to employers, how different generations feel about being in the office, and what practical routes still exist for early-career talent trying to get a foot in the door. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Fashion Is Done With Remote Work | BoF How to Get Ahead in Fashion’s Stagnant Job Market | BoFHow Fashion Brands Are Making Remote Work Permanent | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday Jan. 26, Jonathan Anderson debuted his first couture collection for Christian Dior. In December, BoF founder Imran Amed travelled to Paris to meet with Anderson to get a first look and take stock of his journey thus far at the start of a pivotal year where is unveiling his first Dior couture collection while orchestrating a sprawling calendar across men’s, women’s and accessories. Anderson explains how couture went from “irrelevant” in his mind to an emotional, craft-first engine for the house — and why he’s reshaping how Dior makes, shows and shares couture with clients and the public. “Couture is an endangered craft … Houses like Dior are protecting it as a national symbol of making,” says Anderson. In this exclusive interview, Anderson reflects on why this couture exists, how endangered handcraft can be protected and the very human reality of leading a global fashion machine. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Jonathan Anderson | BoF 500 Clothes for Life or Clothes as Costume?Louis Vuitton, Dior and What Luxury Means Today Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaking at the Institut Français de la Mode graduation ceremony in Paris, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed reflected on his own personal journey that led him to create The Business of Fashion, starting with a chance encounter with a stranger in the New Delhi airport. “That moment was the beginning of my search for purpose, to build a life and career with meaning in service of something greater than myself,” he says. “It was during that course that I realised I was living a life built to impress others, not to express myself or use my creative talents.” Fashion is currently in a moment of reckoning: technology is reshaping behaviour, old rules are persisting as the world accelerates, and trust is shifting away from gatekeepers. Amed’s message to graduates: clarity of purpose. Key Insights: Additional Resources: The State of Fashion 2026: When the Rules Change | BoFThe Emerging Designers Pushing Fashion Forward | BoF How Fashion’s Rising Stars Are Surviving the Luxury Slump | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sneakers have driven growth for the sportswear industry for decades, in recent years accelerated by the pandemic and work-from-home culture. However, a recent Bank of America report sparked debate by suggesting the sneaker boom may be nearing an end, including a rare double downgrade of Adidas. On The Debrief, sports correspondent Mike Sykes joins hosts Brian Baskin and Sheena Butler-Young to examine whether slowing growth marks a genuine reversal of casual dressing, or a return to more sustainable demand shaped by price sensitivity, comfort and experimentation rather than hype. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Have Sneaker Sales Finally Peaked? | BoF The Sneakers That Mattered Most in 2025 | BoFSneaker Resale Isn’t the Business It Used To Be | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Willa Bennett is the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen — two of the most influential legacy media brands now being reimagined for a social-first, creator-driven era. Bennett grew up in Los Angeles, trained as a ballerina and studied journalism at Sarah Lawrence before building a standout career at Bustle Digital Group, GQ and Highsnobiety. Along the way, she’s helped redefine how youth culture is covered — not by chasing everything, but by sharpening point of view, taste and authority. “This generation has access to everything,” says Bennett, “which is exactly why there’s a real hunger for curation, real taste and a voice you can trust.” This week on The BoF Podcast, Imran Amed, founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion, sat down with Bennett to talk about what young audiences actually want from media today, why curation matters more than ever and how she’s refocusing Cosmopolitan and Seventeen — creatively, culturally and commercially — for the next generation. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Willa Bennett | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Inside Willa Bennett’s First Issue of ‘Cosmopolitan’ | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saks’ bankruptcy was widely expected, yet still felt like a shock to the fashion system. The department store giant’s Chapter 11 filing outlines $1.75 billion in restructuring finance and $3.4 billion owed to as many as 25,000 creditors – including $136 million to Chanel alone. Who will get paid, and what Saks looks like at the other end of the bankruptcy process, is an open question. Former Neiman Marcus chief Geoffroy van Raemdonck will lead the reset. As BoF’s retail editor Cat Chen puts it, Saks will need to “shrink in order to grow,” curb discounting, and rebuild trust through clienteling and service. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Saks Global Files for Bankruptcy After Monthslong Hunt for Cash | BoFChanel, Gucci and Capri Holdings: The Brands Topping Saks’ Creditor List | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2026 opens with real movement in beauty deals. As first reported by The Business of Beauty, Estée Lauder is exploring a packaged sale of Too Faced, Smashbox and Dr. Jart to free up cash and refocus the portfolio. Who’s next? Colour fatigue is depressing makeup valuations, while fragrance, bodycare and haircare are drawing the most credible buyer interest, particularly from beauty conglomerates. Executive editor of The Business of Beauty, Priya Rao joins Brian Baskin and Sheena Butler-Young to unpack what this year of beauty deals has to offer. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Exclusive: Estée Lauder Companies Has Put Three Brands Up for Sale | BoFPrestige Hair Care’s Shampoo Problem | BoFWhy Fragrance Is the Latest Red Carpet Accessory | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What began as scrappy self-publishing has become a finely tuned industry machine. Influencing is now big business. Four of the industry’s most influential creators came together at BoF VOICES 2025 to take a hard look at what influencing has become — and where it should go in the future. Susanna Lau opens the conversation by ditching the earnest tropes and asking a harder question: how can creators keep their integrity as agencies, briefs and budgets multiply? Bryan Yambao reflects on the pre-iPhone “wild west” — scanning magazines, posting affiliate links from his bedroom in Manila, and the shock of realising that the people he wrote about were suddenly reading him. Camille Charrière charts the shift from “do your thing” freedom to 30-page briefs and layered gatekeepers, arguing that creators must push back to preserve the audience trust that made them valuable in the first place. And through the lens of satire, Gstaad Guy challenges brands to confront what their communities are already saying — before they say it out loud. Together, they interrogate luxury’s malaise — and the need to recalibrate the industry around craft, community and credibility. Key Insights: Additional Resources: Susanna Lau, Bryan Yambao, Camille Charrière and Gstaad Guy: Twenty Years of the Influencer Economy in Fashion | BoF Gstaad Guy | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Camille Charrière | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Bryan Grey Yambao | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.