Who or what is generating the greatest influence in fashion today?
Greatest, I’m not sure. But I’m intrigued by the growing influence of end clients. Some of the newest voices to join the fashion conversation are VICs turned influencers.
There seems to be more overlap between fashion and beauty with entertainment/sports than ever. Thoughts?
Fashion’s deepening link to sport is particularly interesting. Sport is both wonderfully universal (even more so in a time of political polarisation) and highly aspirational (especially as health and wellness become the ultimate status symbol) and, of course, the industry’s biggest labels need to continue to grow their reach beyond fashion fans. At the same time, athletes have tuned into the power of fashion to cultivate their personal brands.
AI will continue to disrupt and impact how we live and work. What excites you and what concerns you?
AI will help with key business challenges like better aligning supply and demand, a perennial problem in trend-driven industries. On the creative side, I think we’ll see a lot of innovation as designers, photographers, stylists and others experiment with generative AI. But for every action, there is a reaction (not sure if it’s equal and opposite). The rise of globalization generated increased localisation, even tribalism; the ascent of Instagram and Spotify generated newfound love for film cameras and vinyl records. We shall see.
Do trends still matter?
Undoubtedly, but they can come from anywhere, spread at the speed of social media and have an unpredictable lifespan.
Who are your fashion heroes?
The one and only Tim Blanks.
What is one reason to be optimistic about the state of fashion going forward?
People say fashion is dying. That depends on how you define fashion. There’s a malaise in the market for clothes and handbags. But the other way of seeing it is: fashion is expanding because it’s converging with other verticals, from home to travel. It’s all becoming fashion in the sense that it has the power to signal who you are and how you fit into the world to people beyond your immediate circle, in part due to Instagram.
Tell us something surprising about how you got to where you are today?
I first met Imran in the comments section of BoF back in 2008!
This interview has been lightly edited.
