The Debrief | Fashion CEOs Explain Why This Downturn Is Different

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Fashion is bracing itself for a 2023 filled with uncertainty. An impending recession hangs in the background of executives’ conversations about the year ahead. Leaders will have to strike a balance between safeguarding their companies (which, may inevitably will include layoffs) while continuing to fuel growth and retaining crucial employees.” There’s this mindshift shift that’s happened that people truly aren’t disposable… a lot of things that would have typically happened [during a recession] are now a last resort,” said BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young.

• In the coming months, fashion executives will inevitably start pulling recession-reaction levers, including doing hiring pauses and layoffs, reorganising responsibilities across teams and reigning in focus on experimental spaces like the metaverse.
• But, market conditions are different now compared to prior recessions, and the industry has changed drastically.
• Because of the labour shortage, CEOs are first and foremost focused on keeping workers happy.
• Teams that were once considered “nice-to-haves” and “first-to-gos” — including sustainability and diversity and inclusion — have become crucial to business function for fashion companies in the past few years.