Discover the most important industry news and insights for fashion designers, updated monthly to enable you to shine in job interviews, promotion talks or perform better in the workplace by increasing your market awareness and imitate the market leaders.
BoF Careers distills business intelligence from the full breadth of our content – editorials, newsletters, case studies, podcasts and events – to deliver key tips and learnings tailored to your job function, curated alongside a selection of the most exciting live jobs advertised by BoF Career Partners.
Top articles and must-knows for design professionals today:
1. How does a brand like Louis Vuitton choose a new designer?
The most important thing is that candidates are able to create a clear point of view. If they have their own label, they also need to convince recruiters that they have the skills to produce two separate, differentiated visions at the same time, even if they are connected by a basic approach.
Increasingly, a candidate’s personal brand is also a factor. If they have their own following and can bring that following along for the ride, that can be seen as a huge plus. [Virgil] Abloh did this extremely well. Gabriela Hearst, too, has brought the eco-awareness at the core of her personal brand to her work at Chloé with some success (her Nama sneakers, made from low-impact materials, are a bestseller.)
Similar jobs:
Head of Design, Sahara – London, United Kingdom
Head of Concept Design and Styling, Ralph Lauren – New York, United States
Design Manager, Aje – Sydney, Australia
2. Why does Eileen Fisher’s approach to sustainable fashion work?
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Eileen Fisher’s earliest and most important innovation was to take a concept that was making inroads in luxury circles – the minimalist capsule wardrobe – and make it accessible to a wider group of people. Today, brands at every price point tout their tightly curated collections of high-end basics, but Fisher was there on the ground floor.
Fisher [also] had the luxury of devoting so much time to the circular before it had a visible payoff with consumers – and periods of weather where sales were down – mainly because it received no outside investment (the brand, profitable throughout, except for a handful of years since its founding, it has been employee-owned). This is probably why there are about 60 Eileen Fisher stores instead of 600, and why sales reached $500 million instead of $5 billion.
Similar jobs:
Production Manager, Completedworks – London, United Kingdom
Junior Sustainable Packaging Manager, Zalando – Berlin, Germany
Director of Sustainable Design, Trainer – New York, United States
3. Why Hermès’ MetaBirkins lawsuit has high stakes for brands and creators
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of [MetaBirkins] the case is already shaping the way the industry thinks about NFTs from a legal perspective. In his order, the judge made it clear that NFTs, despite being codes that show an image, can qualify as artistic expression, meaning — more importantly — they can be protected as free speech by the first of the US constitution, according to Felicia Boyd. , US head of IP trademarks at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Goods such as mass-produced reprints of works of art do not receive that protection.
court [also] acknowledged that there is a difference between MetaBirkins and a digital wearable. It’s still unclear if any eventual ruling would address whether the law should treat them differently, but the issue isn’t moot when digital creators are making and selling items for use in online spaces from Roblox to The Sandbox, a new world based on blockchain.
Similar jobs:
CAD Assistant, A-Cold-Wall – London, United Kingdom
Digital Art Director, Acne Studios — Stockholm, Sweden
3D Design Assistant, Calvin Klein – New York, United States
4. Eco-Fashion’s next big idea: Turn pollution into products
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Efforts to develop materials from captured emissions are new, in many cases still being developed in the laboratory. Products currently on the market typically contain only a small amount of recycled carbon and face significant financial and structural barriers to scale.
A landmark climate bill signed into law in the US this month could help change that. […] The Inflation Reduction Act is a comprehensive package of legislation that represents the most aggressive climate action ever taken by the US government. It is designed to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into technology that will help the country meet global climate targets, among them carbon capture.
Similar jobs:
Children’s clothing designer, Zara — La Coruña, Spain
Design interns, by Malene Birger – Bredgade, Denmark
Ready-to-wear Design Consultant, Lingua Franca – New York, United States
5. Big fashion show boom
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This year, the biggest luxury brands came out of the blocks, with Dior staging a staggering eight runway shows since January 2022, up from seven in the same period in 2019. Chanel and Louis Vuitton have both walked five this year. While top spenders fly out and sit front row in hopes of dropping six figures on a collection, the content these high-profile clients and other participants create reads far more authentic than content conceived just for the Internet.
However, spectacular fashion shows usually cost millions of euros to produce, so the biggest brands have an advantage. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dior — which generated an estimated $7 billion in sales in 2021, and is thought to be the fastest-growing megalabel over the past 12 months — has hosted the most shows of any other during that period.
Similar jobs:
Design Assistant, Prada Group – Milan, Italy
Designer, Vetements — Zurich, Switzerland
Salon designer, PVH – Amsterdam, Netherlands
6. What designers can learn from Issey Miyake
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[One Issey] The Miyake lesson: letting go of nostalgia. Since founding the Miyake Design Studio in Tokyo in 1970, [the designer] has steadily moved forward, channeling countless advances in construction and fabrication. Firmly rooted in the moment, he continued to look forward rather than back, while still nurturing a keen awareness of past traditions.
Creating clothes that move rather than just look good in a static image – the main curse of contemporary fashion creation – was another key achievement of Miyake’s. The flowing forms and volumes he conceived were meant to float around the body; his silhouettes were never static because movement was always part of his creative process. So was the space between the garment and the body. Miyake’s epic collaboration with Irving Penn was a testament to that.
Similar jobs:
Senior Fashion Designer, Anest Collective – Milan, Italy
Fashion Design Intern, Deity New York – New York, United States
Associate Designer, White House Black Market – Fort Myers, United States
7. Explainer – Why the menswear market is on fire
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The boom in menswear is largely fueled by a renaissance in fashion. The casualization of menswear began long before the pandemic, but the new work-from-home lifestyle that emerged in 2020 has cemented new silhouettes that prioritize comfort.
Lower barriers to entry and the proliferation of social media created opportunities for the launch of new brands. New cult luxury brands such as Aimé Leon Dore have hijacked contemporary menswear, capitalizing on trends like “blockwear” – a viral subculture that celebrates middle-aged men’s style, such as wide-leg jeans, quilted jackets, shirts polo and bucket hats. The blocky hashtag has over 27 million views on TikTok.
Similar jobs:
Head of Menswear, Hugo Boss – Stuttgart, Germany
Accessories Designer, Peter Millar – Los Angeles, United States
Associate Men’s Designer, Fig – Santa Monica, United States
8. How to let buyers know your brand is worth the money
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Despite all the bad economic headlines, consumer spending remains strong in the US and several other major markets. But retailers are worried that their customers will soon start watching their wallets, especially when it comes to non-essential fashion and beauty purchases.
To make the case effectively, labels need to do more than introduce a few new words into their ads. They will need to strengthen their brand narrative, ensure they are marketing truly timeless pieces rather than following trends and be honest in their marketing.
Similar jobs:
Print Designer, Stella McCartney – London, United Kingdom
Atelier Design Intern, Gauge81 – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Associate Ready-to-Wear Designer, Veronica Beard – New York, United States
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