When Should a Founder Step Back as CEO?

Almost every senior brief I see now asks for AI fluency. Very few boards can tell me what they mean by it. An AI-literate executive isn't the one who talks about AI most fluently. It's the one who can point to a decision, a team or a process they changed because of it, and tell you what it cost and what it returned. In fashion retail and consumer goods, that's a much smaller group than the number of CVs claiming it. Why Has AI Fluency Landed on Every Senior Brief? Over the past year I've watched AI fluency move from a nice-to-have to a line item on almost every brief, from CFO to Chief Customer Officer. Boards are under pressure to show progress, and hiring a leader who “gets AI” feels like progress. The trouble is that ambition is running well ahead of the foundations. Recent industry research shows only 12 per cent of Australian retailers are fully confident their customer and product data is ready for AI. Most businesses don't need a futurist. They need someone who can fix the plumbing. How Do You Tell Real AI Experience From Good Talking Points? I listen for specifics. Strong candidates talk about the forecasting model that cut markdowns in one category, the customer service workflow they rebuilt, or the pilot they shut down because the data wasn't good enough. They know what it cost, and they can tell you what their team does differently now. Weaker candidates talk about transformation and the future of retail, then struggle when you ask what changed on a Monday morning. The most revealing question I ask is a simple one: what did you stop doing because of AI? What Should Boards Put in the Brief Instead? Replace “AI fluency” with the actual problem. If it's fragmented customer data, say so, and hire someone who has consolidated it before. If it's merchandise planning, look for a leader who has put a new forecasting tool into a buying team and got people to trust it. That last part matters most. In my conversations with retail and consumer goods leaders, adoption is rarely a technology problem. It's a people problem, and that's the capability boards should be hiring for. Frequently asked questions Does every senior retail role now need AI experience? No. Every senior leader needs enough understanding to ask good questions and back the right investments. Hands-on delivery experience matters most in roles that own data, customer, planning or operations. Should retailers hire a Chief AI Officer? Rarely, at this stage. For most retail and consumer businesses, AI capability sits better inside existing leadership roles than in a standalone seat with no P&L. How should executives show AI experience on a CV? With outcomes, not tools. One line on a measurable result, such as reduced markdowns or faster forecasting, says more than a list of platforms. Related reading: The Rise of the Chief Customer Officer, on why customer, data and loyalty are coming together under one leader. Chantelle James CEO & Founder, JIVARO

Promoting from within isn't the safe option. It's the one that most needs testing. When a board already has the right person inside the business, most skip the search. That instinct is backwards: an internal promotion is the appointment that most needs testing, not the one that needs it least. Why Does an Internal Appointment Need External Testing? Because conviction and confirmation are not the same thing. David Jones showed how this works well: Chief Commercial Officer Erica Berchtold was promoted straight into the CEO role, becoming the first woman to lead the retailer in its 188-year history, with succession reportedly agreed with the board well ahead of the announcement. That's not a business hedging its bets. It's a business that had already done the work, benchmarking its internal candidate against the market before confirming her as the answer. A board that's confident in its internal candidate should still want to know how that person compares externally: what an outside commercial leader would bring, what gaps a specialist search would surface, whether the instinct holds up against genuine alternatives. Skipping that step doesn't make the decision safer. It just makes it untested. What Does This Mean for Boards Right Now? It means confidential benchmarking has value even when there's a clear internal frontrunner. Across the CEO and executive searches JIVARO has run over eighteen years and six thousand plus executive placements, the appointments that hold up longest are rarely the ones made fastest. They're the ones where the board could point to the process, not just the person. What's the Cost of Skipping It? Not necessarily a worse hire, but a weaker mandate. It gives the incoming leader a role that's been assumed rather than tested, and it leaves the board with no external reference point when a shareholder asks how they knew. Frequently asked questions Does running a search process mean the board doesn't trust its internal candidate? No. It means the board wants evidence to sit alongside instinct. Trust and testing aren't in tension. How long should this kind of benchmarking take? Done confidentially and well, a focused market-mapping and assessment process can run alongside internal deliberations without slowing the timeline down. Does this only apply to CEO appointments? No. The same discipline holds for any senior leadership succession where an internal candidate is the assumed frontrunner. Related reading: The Return of the Commercial Operator — Why Boards Are Looking Beyond Functional Specialists for Their Next CEO Chantelle James CEO & Founder, JIVARO

Why Boards Are Looking Beyond Functional Specialists for Their Next CEO For the past decade, executive teams have become increasingly specialised. More digital leaders. More customer leaders. More transformation leaders. More data leaders. More growth leaders. And that specialisation has been necessary. Businesses have become more complex. Customers are more demanding. Technology has accelerated. Channels have multiplied. Expectations around brand, experience, data and digital capability have all increased. But when I speak with Boards and CEOs about succession, one question still cuts through all of that complexity. Who can actually run the business? That is why I believe we are seeing a return of the commercial operator. Not because specialist expertise matters less. It matters enormously. But at CEO level, the brief changes. The role is no longer about being exceptional in one function. It is about bringing the whole business together. The strongest CEO candidates I meet tend to have one thing in common: they can connect commercial performance, customer strategy, people, operations, brand, digital and growth into one clear direction. They understand the numbers. They understand the customer. They understand how the organisation actually works. And, importantly, they can make decisions when the answer is not obvious. That sounds simple. It is not. A strong functional leader can be outstanding at marketing, digital, operations, finance or customer. A strong commercial operator understands how each of those areas affects the other. They know when margin matters more than volume. They know when growth is real and when it is being bought. They understand where operational complexity is slowing the business down. They can challenge a strategy without losing sight of execution. They know how to build a team around them rather than trying to be the expert in every room. And they are comfortable being accountable for the whole result. That broader commercial capability is becoming increasingly important in retail and consumer businesses. The operating environment is demanding more from leadership teams. Growth is harder won. Customers are more selective. Cost bases are under pressure. Digital investment needs to produce commercial return, not just capability. Boards are asking harder questions around profitability, productivity, capital allocation and execution. In that environment, the next CEO cannot only be a visionary. They need to be an operator. This is also changing the way Boards are looking at succession. Traditionally, the most obvious CEO pathways may have been through a Managing Director, COO or divisional leadership role. Those pathways still matter. But we are now seeing a broader range of executives enter the conversation, particularly where they have built genuine commercial breadth around their core functional expertise. A Chief Customer Officer with P&L accountability. A Chief Marketing Officer who has moved into broader commercial ownership. A COO who has led growth as well as efficiency. A Chief Growth Officer who has operated across channels, markets and business units. A functional title on its own tells you very little. What matters is the scope underneath it. Have they owned a number? Have they led through complexity? Have they made difficult trade-offs? Have they built high-performing teams? Have they grown something? Have they fixed something? Have they been accountable when performance moved in the wrong direction? Those are the questions that tell you whether someone is ready to move from leading a function to leading an enterprise. The other important shift is that Boards are becoming more open-minded about what a future CEO should look like. The best successor is not always the person with the most conventional title. Sometimes the strongest candidate is the executive who has quietly accumulated the broadest operating experience. They may have moved across functions. They may have taken on a difficult turnaround. They may have run a region, a channel or a business unit. They may have spent time close to stores, customers and frontline teams rather than building their entire career within head office. Those experiences matter because CEO roles are rarely clean. They are full of competing priorities. Growth versus margin. Short-term performance versus long-term investment. Customer experience versus operating cost. Speed versus risk. People decisions that cannot be delayed. Commercial operators tend to be comfortable in that tension. They are not waiting for perfect information. They know how to make a call, communicate it clearly and move the business forward. For Boards, that makes CEO succession less about asking “Who is the best functional leader in the business?” and more about asking “Who has demonstrated they can lead the whole enterprise?” That distinction matters. Because the best CEO candidate may already be sitting inside the executive team. But if their title is doing all the talking, you may miss them. The return of the commercial operator is not a move away from specialist leadership. It is the next stage of it. Businesses still need world-class functional experts. But at the top, breadth matters. Judgement matters. Commercial accountability matters. And the leaders who can connect all of those disciplines into one coherent business strategy will continue to stand out. For Boards and CEOs thinking about succession, it is worth looking beyond title and tenure. Look at scope. Look at accountability. Look at decisions. Look at what the person has actually been trusted to run. Because when it comes to choosing the next CEO, the most important question is still the simplest one. Can they run the business?  

Why More Businesses Are Putting the Customer at the Centre of the C-Suite For years, businesses have talked about being customer-first. Now, we are starting to see that reflected in the structure of the executive team. The Chief Customer Officer is becoming an increasingly important leadership role, particularly across retail and consumer businesses. And it is not simply another name for a Chief Marketing Officer. The remit is much broader. Today's customer does not experience a business through one function. They move between stores, websites, apps, social media, customer service, loyalty programs, email, delivery and returns without thinking about which department owns each interaction. Yet internally, those areas have traditionally sat across completely separate teams. Marketing owns acquisition. Digital owns ecommerce. Retail owns stores. Customer service owns complaints. CRM owns retention. Data sits somewhere else entirely. The problem is that the customer sees one brand. And increasingly, businesses are recognising that someone at executive level needs to own that complete relationship. That is where the Chief Customer Officer comes in. The strongest CCO mandates we are seeing bring together customer experience, digital, ecommerce, loyalty, CRM, data, personalisation and growth under one leader. It reflects a much bigger shift in how businesses think about growth. Acquiring a customer is no longer enough. The commercial opportunity lies in understanding them, retaining them, increasing their lifetime value and creating an experience that keeps them coming back. That matters even more in the current retail environment. Australian consumers are becoming more selective and more value-conscious, while loyalty programs are having an increasingly tangible influence on where and how often people shop. McKinsey's latest Australian consumer research found that six in ten consumers say membership in at least one loyalty program has changed their shopping behaviour. At the same time, ecommerce, AI and personalisation are changing how customers discover and choose brands before they ever reach a store or website. The result is that customer strategy can no longer sit neatly inside one department. It has become a whole-of-business growth strategy. And that changes the profile businesses need at the top. The best Chief Customer Officers are not simply customer-experience specialists. They are commercial operators. They understand brand and digital. They understand data. They understand acquisition and retention. They understand how physical and digital channels work together. Most importantly, they can turn customer insight into commercial outcomes. For Boards and CEOs, the question is therefore becoming less: “Do we need a Chief Customer Officer?” And more: “Who genuinely owns the customer across our business?” Because if the answer is five different executives, there may be a bigger structural question worth asking. The businesses that solve that question well will not just create better customer experiences. They will build stronger, more connected and ultimately more valuable businesses.

Slow hiring is not a process failure. It is a leadership decision, and it has a cost. Across fashion, retail and consumer goods, we are seeing executive search timelines stretch well beyond what businesses can afford. A six-week process becomes twelve. A shortlist agreed in principle sits with a hiring committee for a month before anyone picks up the phone. By the time an offer lands, the strongest candidate has already accepted somewhere else. This is not a talent shortage. It is a decision-making one. At the executive level, the best candidates are rarely unemployed and rarely idle. They are weighing multiple conversations, reading the market, and forming a view of your business long before you make an offer. Every additional week of internal debate is a signal, and it is rarely the signal you intend to send. Three patterns show up consistently in the searches that stall. Too many decision-makers, not enough decision. A panel of six stakeholders with six different priorities will always take longer to align than a panel of two with a clear mandate. Interview structure built for internal comfort, not candidate insight. Repeating the same questions across four rounds tells you less about a candidate than it costs you in their patience. No one owns the follow-up. Silence after a strong interview is the fastest way to lose confidence in your business, regardless of how compelling the opportunity actually is. None of this means moving fast at the expense of rigour. It means being deliberate about where the time in your process actually goes, and honest about which stages exist to test the candidate and which exist to manage internal politics. The businesses winning the best executive talent right now are not necessarily paying the most. They are the ones who have removed the friction between a great conversation and a great offer. If your hiring process is costing you candidates before it costs you anything else, it is worth a conversation. Reach out to the JIVARO team to talk through how we move at the speed the market now demands, without cutting corners on rigour.

The fashion consumer has changed, not gradually, but fundamentally.

In 2026, the relationship between brands and consumers is no longer built on loyalty alone. It is shaped by relevance, transparency and alignment. Today’s shoppers are more informed, more selective and more willing to move between brands than ever before. For fashion businesses, this shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity: understanding consumer behaviour now matters just as much as understanding trends.

At the centre of this evolution is a major shift in mindset. Consumers are no longer simply purchasing products. They are buying into a brand’s values, credibility and positioning. Purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by factors that extend far beyond style or price point. Sustainability, ethics, transparency and perceived value now sit at the core of modern consumer expectations.

Consumers Expect More Than Sustainability Claims

Sustainability has moved from being a differentiator to becoming an expectation.

Fashion consumers today want visibility across the entire supply chain, from sourcing and production through to packaging and distribution. However, the modern consumer is also highly aware of greenwashing. Surface level messaging is no longer enough. Brands that fail to back up sustainability claims with genuine action risk losing credibility and consumer trust.

As a result, fashion businesses are being pushed to embed sustainability meaningfully into both operations and brand storytelling. Authenticity has become essential.

The Rise of Circular Fashion

The growth of resale, rental and circular fashion is reshaping traditional retail models.

Consumers are embracing more flexible approaches to ownership, buying, reselling, renting and repurposing fashion in ways that challenge the industry’s long standing consumption patterns. This shift is forcing brands to rethink product lifecycle strategies, pricing models and customer engagement.

For businesses willing to adapt, however, this change also presents significant opportunities for innovation and long term customer retention.

Digital Influence is Accelerating Consumer Change

Social platforms continue to transform the way consumers discover and engage with fashion brands.

Content, community and immediacy now drive purchasing behaviour at an unprecedented speed. Consumers are no longer waiting for seasonal campaigns or traditional trend cycles. Instead, trends are emerging in real time, often led by creators, influencers and online communities rather than fashion houses themselves.

This has shortened the path to purchase considerably, but it has also increased the pressure on brands to remain consistently relevant, agile and responsive.

Consumers Are Balancing Aspiration With Practicality

While consumers continue to seek emotional connection and aspirational brands, price sensitivity remains a defining factor.

Economic conditions have encouraged more considered spending behaviour, with shoppers placing greater emphasis on quality, longevity and value. Consumers are still willing to invest, but they expect purchases to feel justified.

For fashion brands, this creates a more complex dynamic: balancing emotional appeal with tangible value has become critical to maintaining consumer trust and conversion.

What This Means for Fashion Businesses

These evolving behaviours highlight the growing importance of real time consumer insight and agile decision making.

Relying solely on historical data or traditional planning cycles is no longer enough. The brands leading the market are those that can interpret changing consumer behaviour quickly and respond with confidence.

At JIVARO, we are seeing this transformation directly influence hiring trends across the fashion and retail industry. Businesses are increasingly seeking talent that can bridge creativity and commerciality, professionals who understand not only product, but also consumer psychology, data and market dynamics.

Roles across buying, planning, marketing and digital continue to evolve rapidly, with adaptability and strategic thinking becoming more valuable than ever.

The Future Belongs to Brands That Build Capability

The brands that will lead in the future are not necessarily those chasing every trend. They are the businesses investing in capability, building teams that deeply understand the modern consumer and can respond to change with agility and clarity.

In a market defined by constant evolution, that capability is what creates long term relevance.

Looking to build a team that understands the future of fashion retail?

JIVARO partners with leading fashion, retail and consumer brands to connect them with talent that understands evolving consumer behaviour, commercial strategy and market change.

Get in touch with the JIVARO team to discuss your hiring needs.

The biggest challenge facing retail businesses right now isn’t growth. It’s talent.

Across fashion, consumer goods and travel, businesses are continuing to expand, evolve and invest in growth. Yet one challenge continues to slow momentum across the industry: securing and retaining the right people. The competition for top talent has intensified significantly over recent years, but what has shifted most is candidate expectations. Today’s professionals are no longer evaluating opportunities based on salary and title alone. They are assessing leadership, culture, flexibility, progression opportunities and the long term vision of a business before deciding to make a move. As a result, recruitment has become far more strategic than transactional.

Speed Has Become a Competitive Advantage

One of the most common issues businesses face in today’s hiring market is process delays. High performing candidates are often managing multiple opportunities simultaneously, and lengthy interview timelines or slow internal decision making can quickly result in losing exceptional talent to competitors. In many cases, businesses are not losing candidates because of compensation or brand reputation. They are losing them because the hiring experience lacks urgency, structure or clear communication. A streamlined recruitment process is no longer a “nice to have”. It is essential.

Employer Brand Matters More Than Ever

While speed is critical, it must be supported by clarity and consistency. Top candidates want to understand what a business stands for, how leadership operates and what long term opportunities exist within the organisation. Businesses that communicate their culture, vision and values confidently are consistently outperforming those that do not. Employer brand has become a major differentiator in a crowded market. Candidates are not simply choosing roles anymore. They are choosing businesses they feel aligned with.

Retention Starts Earlier Than Most Businesses Think

Retention is also becoming increasingly complex. Professionals are looking for more than financial reward. They want meaningful work, career progression, development opportunities and leaders who invest in their success. What is often overlooked is that retention begins during the recruitment process itself. The way a candidate experiences a business during hiring, the communication, level of engagement and professionalism of the process, shapes their perception of the organisation from day one. A thoughtful recruitment experience builds trust and confidence. A disjointed one creates doubt.

Why Long Term Alignment Matters

At JIVARO, we believe successful recruitment is not simply about filling vacancies. It is about creating long term alignment between businesses and people. By deeply understanding both client objectives and candidate motivations, we help businesses secure talent that not only performs well initially, but remains engaged and invested long term. In today’s competitive retail landscape, talent can no longer be treated as an operational task. It is a strategic priority. The businesses that will continue to outperform are those investing not only in attracting exceptional people, but in creating environments where those people choose to stay.

Looking to strengthen your hiring strategy?

JIVARO partners with leading retail, consumer goods and travel businesses to secure high performing talent and build long term teams that drive growth. Get in touch with our team to learn how we can support your business.

Retail & Consumer Trends  

The retail landscape has entered a new era, one where the consumer holds more power, more information and higher expectations than ever before. In 2026, success is no longer defined by product alone. It is shaped by how well brands understand, anticipate and respond to a rapidly evolving customer mindset. Across fashion, consumer goods and travel, we are seeing a fundamental shift in behaviour, one that is forcing businesses to rethink everything from pricing strategy to talent structures. At the centre of this change is the value-driven consumer. Today’s shopper is more intentional, more informed and more selective. They are not necessarily spending less, but they are spending differently. Quality, longevity and purpose now sit alongside price as key decision drivers. Consumers want to understand what they are buying, who they are buying from and why it matters. This shift is particularly evident in fashion, where brand loyalty is no longer guaranteed. Customers are exploring, comparing and challenging brands in ways we have not seen before. Transparency is expected, not rewarded. And brands that fail to meet these expectations risk losing relevance quickly. At the same time, physical retail is undergoing a quiet but powerful transformation. Stores are no longer just points of sale, they are spaces for experience, connection and storytelling. The most successful retailers are creating environments that bring their brand to life, offering something that cannot be replicated online. This evolution is not just changing store design, but also the type of talent required to deliver these experiences effectively. Overlaying all of this is the continued acceleration of digital. AI-driven personalisation, data-led decision making and seamless omnichannel journeys are now baseline expectations. Consumers move fluidly between platforms, and they expect brands to do the same. The challenge for businesses is not just adopting technology, but integrating it in a way that enhances, rather than complicates, the customer experience. What sits beneath all of these shifts is a deeper, structural change, the need for more agile, commercially minded and future-focused teams. Roles are evolving. Skill sets are expanding. Leadership expectations are increasing. Businesses can no longer rely on traditional hiring models if they want to keep pace with the market. At JIVARO, we see this play out daily across the industries we specialise in. The brands that are performing strongly are those that align their consumer strategy with their talent strategy. They are investing in people who can interpret change, respond quickly and drive innovation from within. Looking ahead, the message is clear. The retailers that will lead in 2026 are not simply reacting to trends, they are building teams capable of anticipating them. If you are reviewing your team structure or planning for growth in 2026, connect with JIVARO to access talent that can future-proof your business.

Why Every Retailer Needs a Chief Product Officer—Especially Now Retail is evolving faster than ever.  The most successful businesses aren’t just reacting to change, they’re innovating, staying ahead of consumer trends, and maximizing profitability.  But with shifting consumer behaviours, supply chain complexities, and tighter budgets, navigating this landscape requires more than just great products—it requires great leadership. The key to thriving in this environment?  𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿 (𝗖𝗣𝗢). A great CPO doesn’t just manage products; they drive profitability, customer loyalty, and long-term growth.  They connect the dots between data, consumer insights, and trends to make smarter, faster, and more strategic product decisions.

• Optimizing assortments – Prioritizing high-margin, best-selling products while reducing slow-moving inventory to improve cash flow and efficiency.
• Understanding value-conscious consumers – Adapting to price-sensitive shopping behaviours with private label expansion, targeted promotions, and seamless omnichannel experiences.
• Driving cross-functional collaboration – Aligning design, merchandising, marketing, and supply chain teams to create an agile, cost-effective, and customer-first strategy.

As the retail landscape shifts, having the right leadership structure in place is what sets thriving businesses apart.  Is your company investing in the right talent to lead its product strategy forward? 

Navigating the fashion industry to secure a high-level position requires more than just talent; it demands strategic planning, insider knowledge, and leveraging the right connections. This article gives you practical advice from JIVARO’s fashion specialist recruiters and insightful tips from world-renowned fashion designers and successful entrepreneurs, especially designed to help you aim for top-tier roles armed with significant experience or a prestigious fashion degree.

Inspiration from fashion industry icons

There’s no better place to start getting ready to position yourself for success in applying for your dream role in fashion than taking in a few insightful tips from globally renowned icons in their field.

Tom Ford

Tom Ford, the visionary behind his eponymous label and former Creative Director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, emphasises the importance of perseverance and innovation. “You must love what you do, and you must be willing to work harder than anyone else,” Ford advises. His success is rooted in his relentless work ethic and ability to push creative boundaries.

Vera Wang

Renowned bridal wear designer Vera Wang highlights the necessity of embracing failure as part of the journey. “Success isn't about the end result, it's about what you learn along the way,” she says. Wang’s path from a figure skater to an editor at Vogue, and eventually to founding her own label, underscores the value of adaptability and continuous learning.

Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren, who transformed a tie business into a global fashion empire, underscores the importance of having a clear vision. “I don't design clothes, I design dreams,” Lauren states. His journey from working in retail to establishing Polo Ralph Lauren demonstrates the power of a distinct brand identity and strategic growth.

Miuccia Prada

Miuccia Prada, the creative force behind Prada, stresses the significance of intellectual curiosity. “Fashion is instant language,” Prada notes. Her academic background in political science and her innovative approach to fashion illustrate how diverse knowledge can lead to groundbreaking design and business strategies.

Alexander McQueen

The late Alexander McQueen, known for his avant-garde designs, believed in the transformative power of fashion. “You’ve got to know the rules to break them,” he famously stated. McQueen’s trajectory from a Savile Row tailor apprentice to a celebrated designer showcases the importance of mastering technical skills before redefining them.

Top 5 must-dos to make it in high end fashion

If you’re serious about landing a dream role in the fashion industry, make sure you tick these boxes before you begin your job seeking journey.

1. Network strategically

In the fashion industry, who you know can be just as important as what you know. Attend high-profile industry events, fashion weeks, and exclusive parties to build connections with key players. Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn to stay in touch with industry professionals and recruiters, like JIVARO, can open big doors to executive roles.

2. Tailor your portfolio

Your portfolio should not only showcase your best work but also reflect your ability to innovate and adapt to different fashion houses' aesthetics. Highlight your contributions to successful collections, leadership roles in projects, and any industry awards or recognitions.

3. Gain global know-how

Fashion is a global industry, and having international knowledge can set you apart. Whether through studying online or overseas, working for or researching international brands, or participating in global fashion weeks, cross border expertise shows your versatility and understanding of diversity.

4. Stay on top of trends

High-level fashion roles require foresight. Engage with trend forecasting resources, attend fashion trade shows, and subscribe to leading fashion publications. Understanding upcoming trends will position you as a forward-thinking leader in your trade.

5. Leverage executive recruiters

Engage with recruiters, like JIVARO, who have consultants specialising in the fashion industry. They have access to unadvertised roles and can provide valuable insights into what top companies are looking for. Recruiters can also coach you through applications and interviews, increasing your chances of landing a coveted position.

Never forget: Fashions dreams to come true

Fashion is such a glamorous, highly sought-after industry to work in, getting your feet into the dressing room door can seem at best a truly daunting task, at worst an impossible feat to achieve. But take it from these world-renowned fashion mega stars; if you want it enough, you can make it happen, no matter how hard the hill seems to climb.

Giorgio Armani

Starting as a window dresser in a department store, Giorgio Armani’s meticulous attention to detail and understanding of fabric led him to become a designer for Nino Cerruti. In 1975, he founded his own company, which revolutionised menswear with its unstructured jackets and sophisticated style.

Diane von Fürstenberg

Diane von Fürstenberg’s iconic wrap dress became a symbol of women’s liberation in the 1970s. Starting with a $30,000 investment, her brand grew exponentially. Von Fürstenberg’s understanding of women’s needs and her ability to create timeless designs were key to her success.

Christian Louboutin

Christian Louboutin began his career designing shoes for Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. His distinctive red-soled shoes, launched in 1991, became a global luxury symbol. Louboutin’s success is rooted in his unique design vision and ability to market exclusivity.

Michael Kors

Michael Kors started designing clothes at the age of 19 and launched his eponymous line in 1981. His journey from a small boutique to a global brand involved understanding the market demand for luxurious yet accessible fashion, leading to his widespread appeal.

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney, after graduating from Central Saint Martins, worked for Chloé before launching her own brand. Known for her commitment to sustainable fashion, McCartney’s success is built on her innovative approach to design and ethical production practices.

Follow the footsteps of high-end fashion players

Whether you see yourself as the next Tom Fiord or Stella McCartney, or you just want to carve out a fruitful fashion career to focus your passion, start off by stitching together these top 5 personal and professional attributes that will give you the power to achieve the best possible outcome.

1. Build a strong personal brand

Create a compelling personal brand that reflects your unique style, vision, and professional achievements. Utilise social media platforms to showcase your portfolio, share industry insights, and engage with the fashion community.

2. Embrace advanced education

Consider enrolling in executive education programs or specialised courses in fashion management, luxury brand management, or global fashion marketing. Continuous learning can provide you with cutting-edge knowledge and enhance your leadership skills.

3. Seek out peer mentorship

Identify and connect with mentors who have achieved success in the fashion industry. Their guidance, feedback, and network will be invaluable as you navigate your career path.

4. Innovate, collaborate & enjoy

Fashion thrives on innovation. Collaborate with other designers, artists, and technologists to create groundbreaking projects. Participating in collaborative endeavours can lead to recognition and new opportunities – plus it’s a fun, rewarding way to develop your own skills faster.

5. Monitor industry movements

Stay informed about major shifts in the industry, such as sustainability trends, digital transformations, and consumer behaviour changes. Understanding these dynamics will help you position yourself as a thought leader and innovator. By following the advice of industry experts, building a strong professional network and continuously learning, you can significantly enhance your chances of landing your dream job in fashion. And by engaging a professional executive recruiter who specialises in the fashion industry, you’ll get the benefits of tailored guidance and access to exclusive confidential opportunities which will ensure you make the most of informed and strategic career moves.