What does it mean to be a fashion designer today?

Since the end of the 20th century, the fashion calendar and ensuing overproduction have accelerated at an unprecedented rate. We churn through clothes — and the people who dream them up — faster than ever, leaving little room for lasting success.?

Meanwhile, the system that supported the great designers of the past is barely recognisable today. Before the pandemic, wholesale retailers were already struggling to maintain their bricks-and-mortar posts, but now, the e-commerce bubble has also burst, leaving many independent brands with unpaid invoices, decimated consumer relationships and businesses hanging by a thread.?

Then, there’s the wider issues at play: a cost of living crisis, Brexit, geopolitical tensions, inflation, an energy crisis, a climate crisis and raw material shortages.

So what does it mean to be a designer today?

Last year, Vogue Business surveyed over 600 fashion professionals, in order to unpack the issues facing the wider industry, culminating in the first instalment of our ‘Debunking the Dream’ series.

We went back to those fashion professionals for ‘Debunking the Dream: Part Two’, creating a springboard for the industry to unpack the ‘star designer’ trope and rebalance its expectations, future-proofing the talent pipeline.

Here’s what we found.

Is it time to rethink the ‘star designer’ system?

Fashion designers are perceived as the pinnacle of the industry’s dream-making machine. They’re the ‘backstage’ fashion workers with the most potential to become household names. Star designers — whether creative directors of long-standing brands or successful independent talents — are presented as singular creative geniuses, their fame boosting the allure of their designs.

But in an exclusive survey of 300 anonymous fashion designers and over 30 on-record interviews with renowned designers and prominent industry figures, Vogue Business found that the dominance of star designers may be problematic for the long-term health of the fashion industry — as well as the designers themselves.

“In the beginning, you became a designer because you wanted to learn about dressmaking and it was very technical,” says designer Edward Buchanan. He believes that the obsessive media spotlight on fashion designers has “invited people into the creative space who weren’t necessarily designers but wanted to do something creative — maybe they liked shopping, or they were good on camera — and it made them famous.” His conclusion is bleak: “Now, I see this desire to be a celebrity designer [in students and young designers]. Only a small percentage are really interested in the trade.”

Our research found that the ‘dream’ many fashion designers enter the industry to pursue — that of becoming a ‘star designer’ — is holding them back, as well as the industry itself.?

What do designers actually need from prizes and programmes?

Prizes and incubator schemes represent important opportunities for independent fashion designers, but they do not guarantee success. Take the top three fashion prizes — the LVMH Prize, the Andam Prize and the International Woolmark Prize. Since they began, they have collectively produced over 100 winners and hundreds more finalists. How many of these award winners have built stable businesses??

“If you try to think about the winners of past contests or if you ask someone who the winner was five years ago, they don’t even remember,” says talent scout Sara Sozzani Maino, who is also creative director of Fondazione Sozzani and Milan Fashion Week’s international new talent and brands ambassador.

So what ecosystem of support is available to fashion designers, and how could these schemes be improved to help talent in the long term?

What does it take to run an independent fashion brand today?

“This is probably the most challenging moment for fashion brands, especially emerging designers, in the 15 years I have been in this role,” says Stavros Karelis, founder and buying director of London-based concept store Machine-A. “There are a lot of global factors affecting the market that are out of our control, but [it’s] also a failure of the fashion system. In every step, there was a push for more, which pushed people into extreme fatigue and a situation where the quality or uniqueness of products wasn’t reflected in the ever-higher prices. The solution is crazy non-stop discounting, and there’s no profitability in that. It is unmanageable and unsustainable as a business model.”

With all the challenges the market is facing, how can independent designers rethink running a business??

How can fashion design graduates get a job?

The fashion industry has too many design graduates and not enough roles for them to progress into.

A possible solution? Championing behind-the-scenes jobs.

Gestures aside, design teams remain widely unrecognised. Now, Vogue Business survey respondents who work in-house are calling for a shift in attitude. “Support and shine a light on the team behind the creative directors,” says one survey respondent. “Show the people actually doing and executing the work every season.”

Here, we explore the career pathways for designers beyond stardom, and how the industry can recognise and champion the hundreds of other hands that hold the industry — and the star designer vision — up.

Elsewhere in the industry this week:

• Who’s sitting in your front row? Inspiring your upcoming collection? Celebrities wield great power and influence in fashion today — getting the right ones in your camp is a big coup.
• After years of fits and starts, some brands and materials startups are taking partnerships to the next level. Here, we break down the highlights.
• In a new public exhibition in Mumbai, Vogue India will showcase the work of 40 local designers. We speak to four of those participating about the challenges and opportunities they face.
• The East and Gulf Coast port strike exposed risks in fashion’s supply chain as well as sustainability concerns over air freight alternatives. How vulnerable is the fashion supply chain?