From Eileen Fisher and Lively to Gap and Under Armour, top executives at numerous clothing brands have resigned over the past two months.
Some have been peaceful, long-planned transitions, like Eileen Fisher stepping down after running her eponymous brand since the 1980s. Others have been more unexpected, like the sudden departure of Sonia Syngal from Gap and Julie Wainwright from RealReal. Either way, the massive changes in the industry caused by the pandemic, recession, crises around diversity and racial justice, and the growing threat of climate change have made the industry ripe for new blood to take over as brands look to cloud. The solutions.
For Fisher, who founded her brand in 1984 and announced she was leaving in August, the environment has always been at the forefront of her mind. Her brand was influential in embracing many of the sustainability programs that brands are adding now, years before they became popular, like taking in second-hand clothes. She cited climate change, Covid and the move towards more diversity and inclusion as indicators that the industry is in a state of extreme flux.
“I have always tried to stay on the pulse of what is needed now, [and] to ask myself where I contribute best and where we need more knowledge and different ways,” said Fisher. “Perhaps this is a hallmark of the founder. It’s about seeing the forest for the trees, without ego, to identify what is needed now to support the health of the company and the well-being of the community.”
Fisher said stepping down now, with a solid plan focused on sustainability and a replacement she feels confident understands the brand’s core values, was the right thing to do. Lisa Williams, who replaces Fisher after previously serving as chief product officer at Patagonia, has been working with Fisher for the past month to ensure a smooth transition.
“Bringing in a CEO now is the right moment for me and for [the brand] as a community and is a key ingredient in my responsible transition,” said Fisher. “We need a leader with deep and shared values to carry my vision forward and develop it in the most important and positive ways for a new era.”
Smooth transition is something Michelle Cordeiro Grant, founder of US-based DTC underwear brand Lively, is also aiming for as she steps down from her role as CEO. She will stay on until March 2023 as an adviser and will continue to act as Lively’s public face while her replacement, Kristin DiCunzolo, eases into her new role.
For Cordeiro Grant, the move was motivated by the need for someone with marketing experience who could help Lively grow internationally. The brand was acquired by the intimate company Wacoal America in 2019, where DiCunzolo was director of marketing.
Cordeiro Grant is an experienced spokesperson for new and growing companies who has built Lively since 2015. She said Lively was built by her going out on the road and making the case personally to investors and the press. Now that Lively is established and has new leadership, she said she will turn her attention to starting new ventures, particularly in the Web3 space.
“What I’m working on is forcing myself to have a seat at the web3 table,” Cordeiro Grant said. “At web2, there were so few female founders. But there’s an opportunity now at the start of web3 to do it differently.”
The rest of 2022 will continue to see major apparel brands lose their leaders. Adidas CEO Kaspar Rorsted will leave early next year, and PVH Corp executives including Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, as well as Stitch Fix and Unbound Group executives, will leave before then. Even non-brand fashion entities are losing their heads – British Fashion Council chairwoman Stephanie Phair is set to step down this week.
“It’s really a new era,” Fisher said. “In some respects, it is an overdue and strong time to move forward together with heightened awareness and commitment. In other ways, a very challenging time to build sustainable business models that live in harmony with the changing realities of the supply chain.”
