The Business of Fashion Podcast

• Why Robert Wun Ditched the Wholesale Model for Bespoke Creations

  Soon after sharing his graduate work from the London College of Fashion online, Hong Kong-born Robert Wun was approached by Joyce Boutique to buy his collection. Like many other independent designers, he found navigating the wholesale model challenging and during the pandemic he pivoted to serving clients with one-off, customised designs with couture level pricing. “I realised that, in order for me to have a strong wholesale business model or grow a brand, this is not the time yet,” Wun says. “For me to sacrifice all these years – to leave my family, to come all the way to London, to chase my dream – everything I create needs to have a responsibility, not only for myself but also for the message that I’m trying to relay.”This week on The BoF Podcast, BoF founder Imran Amed sit down with Robert Wun to discuss his path from Hong Kong to London to Paris Couture Week, and how he’s building a client-first business that protects his creativity while staying commercially viable.Key Insights: Hong Kong’s cultural imprint shaped Wun's eye from an early age. Growing up in a city he saw as a creative engine, Wun points to icons like Wong Kar-wai as inspiration, adding that “Hong Kong is almost a symbol of cultural leadership when it comes to Asia.” Wun recalls discovering how deeply global fashion intersected with the city, from Joyce Ma championing new designers to Jean Paul Gaultier creating stage pieces for musicians in Hong Kong. "You always had this idea that creativity was powerful ... but I think what changed was a shift in culture and economic power," he says.When pandemic lockdowns halted the regular fashion calendar, it provided a reset for Wun. Being forced to release his Autumn/Winter 2021 collection with an iPhone shoot done in his studio kitchen, made him prioritise meaning and message. “Everything I create needs to have a responsibility, not only for myself, but also for the message that I’m trying to relay,” he says. That conviction pushed Wun to prioritise work that is no longer “to make money” but rather “to communicate and be honest.” Wun has shifted from wholesale to bespoke orders and selective collaborations. “We are a team of almost twelve now. We’ve turned from not making any profit at all to actually starting to make profit since last year, and we’re almost doubling in terms of turnover by the end of this year,” he says. The core is a loyal private clientele, and demand is anchored in the US — particularly New York and Los Angeles millennials and Asian Americans — plus art collectors and couples seeking modern ceremony wear. “Our average for those couture orders ranges from £45,000 to £60,000,” Wun says, a mix that allows him to protect his creativity while running a commercially successful business.Additional Resources: Robert Wun | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Robert Wun: From Dalston to Place Vendôme | BoFThe Emerging Designers Pushing Fashion Forward | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• The Human Cost of Trump's Tariffs

  In late August, the US doubled duties on Indian goods to 50 percent, in what President Donald Trump described as a punishment for India’s purchases of Russian oil. Brands reacted immediately, postponing or cancelling orders and leaving factories in hubs like Tiruppur and Bengaluru half-filled. With shifts cut and workers laid off, the shock ricocheted through India’s export economy, exposing how little protection garment workers have while relief talks and trade diplomacy drag on.Senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin are joined by BoF reporter Shayeza Walid to trace how trade policy in Washington quickly impacted the lives of India’s garment workers. Key Insights: The tariff that came into place at the end of August led some suppliers to feel “punished for something they didn’t have any hand in,” as Walid puts it. She adds: “That penalty was linked to India’s continued purchases of Russian crude oil,” and “it hit very fast because brands immediately reacted to it once the 50 percent came into place.”The disruption hit export hubs first and hardest. With brands reluctant to absorb the shock, factories have been left to “bear the brunt,” passing the pressure onto the most vulnerable link in the system. The result is workers facing furloughs, layoffs and open-ended uncertainty. “These workers are largely migrant workers who… don't have the power to collectively bargain and kind of demand what they have the right to”, says Walid. As a result, migrant garment workers are bearing the brunt through layoffs, furloughs and lost income. The response from Western brands has been silence and arm’s-length accountability, as most work through layers of sub-contractors in India. Walid says that, despite public rhetoric on labour rights, “in practice, there's not anything in place that would fix … these short-term contracts and brands not knowing where subcontracting factories are connecting with suppliers.” During Covid, watchdog pressure pushed some labels to repay cancelled orders, but “at this moment, that’s not something that we’re seeing,” Walid notes. In the meantime, a few large exporters are temporarily absorbing parts of the tariff to keep relationships alive – an approach suppliers themselves say is unsustainable – while smaller factories shut and workers absorb the shock.Beyond geopolitics, commercial terms and supply-chain opacity push risk onto workers. “It’s really the purchasing practice and the way contracts work in the supply chain. In the exporting industry, that leaves workers in this really helpless condition,” says Walid. Complexity of the system also weakens accountability: “It’s really extraordinarily difficult to get data and direct kind of causality from a particular brand,” and in hubs like Tirupur, “subcontracting factories are essentially the main suppliers to these bigger factories because they just get such large volumes.” Additional Resources:India’s Garment Workers Are Paying the Price for Trump’s Tariffs | BoF Trump’s 50% Tariff Sows Fear Inside Indian Apparel Hub | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Khalifa Bin Braik on Dubai’s Transformation and the MENA Retail Playbook

  Born in Dubai in 1978 when the city was still a modest trading port, Khalifa Bin Braik has witnessed the city’s rapid transformation into a 21st-century global hub – and helped shape its retail landscape as CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management. Majid Al Futtaim is behind the $1.4 billion transformation of Dubai’s second largest mall, The Mall of the Emirates, adding 20,000 sqm of additional retail space and 100 new stores with an enhanced mix of dining, wellness and cultural concepts. This development is in addition to its newest flagship destination, Ghaf Woods Mall: a first-of-its-kind concept merging retail experiences with the natural environment. Bin Braik reflects on Dubai’s’s post‑pandemic acceleration and the company’s move from bricks-and-mortar stores to immersive third places. “In just over four decades, the economy has grown circa 22 times. But what's even more remarkable is the mindset that has fueled this growth,” says Bin Braik. “Dubai gives you the power to dream, plan, and execute flawlessly, all in one lifetime, really. It's a place that teaches you that nothing is too ambitious.” In this conversation with BoF founder Imran Amed, Bin Braik unpacks Dubai’s evolution, the transformation of physical retail, and where growth in the MENA region is coming from next.Key Insights: Post-pandemic, Majid Al Futtaim has shifted retail from pure brick-and-mortar to a fully immersive, experiential destination creator. “Consumers today demand more experiential, more curated spaces, but most importantly, with an intent or a very deep meaning and purpose.” Their formula blends retail with dining, entertainment and, crucially, wellness: “[Our] DNA is curating an immersive lifestyle destination, blending retail with dining, wellness, … entertainment and, most importantly, community.”According to Bin Braik, it’s a misconception that malls across the GCC region are homogeneous or that “only luxury” drives Dubai. “Each country has unique customer dynamics … demographics and cultural nuances,” and the “mid‑market and convenience‑driven segments are equally very, very important.” Physical retail “continues to thrive,” supported by strong tourism and integrated experiences.Egypt is a key region for a next‑wave opportunity. “Today, Egypt’s luxury market is … half of its true potential.” Despite challenges with imports, tariffs and infrastructure, Bin Braik argues that growth can be unlocked through investment and modernisation, with stabilisation “[paving] the way for a more vibrant luxury ecosystem market.” He adds: “I think very soon we'll start seeing investments into the luxury space within the Egyptian market.” To win in the MENA region, Bin Braik’s best advice for global brands is to “strongly lean on localisation and the right partnerships,” and not to underestimate cultural nuance. “Finding the right local partner with similar aspirations is key, but a partner that deeply understands the market and cultural heritage is so important.” This episode of The BoF Podcast is part of a paid partnership with Majid Al Futtaim.Additional Resources:How Dubai Is Defying the Luxury Downturn | BoFInside the Fashion Opportunity in Dubai | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Would You Let AI Shop for You?

  A new wave of AI shopping agents has emerged as Big Tech and start-ups alike vie for dominance of this new market. OpenAI, Google and Perplexity are experimenting with search-to-checkout, while fashion-specific entrants like Vêtir, Phia and Gensmo are learning users' tastes before recommending and purchasing across retailers. But before they get off the ground, trust, accuracy, privacy and simple usefulness remain open questions.Senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and executive editor Brian Baskin are joined by BoF reporter Malique Morris to map the agentic ecommerce landscape. Key Insights: AI shopping agents aim to move beyond static recommendations to truly act on a shopper’s behalf. As Morris explains, “traditional e-commerce has algorithms that recommend items based on what you’ve already browsed or purchased,” whereas “an AI shopping agent is supposed to learn the shopper and can act on their behalf,” handle “very specific prompts” and, ultimately, complete the transaction.Agents are trying to replicate the best in-store experience for the ecommerce space. “They’re supposed to be about replicating the in-store salesperson, surfacing the right piece based on the conversation that you might have,” says Morris. As a result, “it’s not calling for brands to rethink how they’re designing their goods,” but more about tools that “help them sell them better and help them get into the hands of the people who are actually really going to want them.”Early users are avid shoppers who love new technology. Morris doesn’t expect a sudden tipping point, but rather gradual mass adoption. “Agentic commerce is [already] here because the tools are being built and experimentation is happening,” he says. “People are going to be conditioned the same way that they were conditioned when Netflix rolled out their algorithms, the same way TikTok and Instagram have with ‘for you’ pages. It’s here, it’s happening and it’s only going to get more efficient.”While the consumer should benefit from this new suite of AI shopping agents, Morris is blunt about power dynamics: “Outside of ‘the consumer is going to win,’ I think it’s going to be who has the resources to perfect this.” Consolidation is to be expected as many smaller platforms are “probably going to get consumed into an OpenAI or a Google or an Amazon. Those already huge [players] are probably going to be the ultimate winners.”Additional Resources:What It Will Take for Consumers to Let AI Shop For Them | BoF Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Sinéad O’Dwyer: ‘The Glorification of Vulnerability in Fashion Is Really Bizarre’

  Irish designer Sinéad O’Dwyer grew up in a household of creative entrepreneurs. Her father was a silversmith and a sculptor, her mother was a music educator and her grandmother knit and sewed uniforms. Until the age of fourteen, there were no screens in her home, not even a TV. Instead, she was encouraged to read, craft and spend time outdoors. After studying in the Netherlands and a formative stint in the fashion industry, she developed a critical stance on the industry’s narrow body ideals. “I saw quite a lot of models who were visibly ill. This glorification of vulnerability was really bizarre. It felt really insane to me that on the runway they look so pulled together, but then actually behind the scenes, there are so many emotional struggles happening,” she recalls. “When you are wearing a garment, you are actually wearing an imprint of another person's body. ... I don't think people really understand that the fit model for a brand is so important.”This week on The BoF Podcast, Imran Amed sat down with Sinead to discuss her practice which centres on diverse bodies and finding practical, sustainable routes to market through direct to consumer, bespoke clients, and carefully chosen retail partners.Key Insights: As a trainee, O’Dwyer saw the jarring gap between runway images and backstage reality: “I saw quite a lot of models who were visibly ill … this glorification of vulnerability was really bizarre,” she recalls. “It felt really insane to me that on the runway they look so pulled together … but then actually behind the scenes, there are so many emotional struggles happening.” At the RCA, with Zoë Broach’s ethos of fashion as critical practice, she reframed her work toward contribution and change, interrogating fashion’s harmful beauty ideals. O’Dwyer’s MA research used live silicone casts of friends and family to visualise that “when you are wearing a garment, you are actually wearing an imprint of another person’s body.” She critiques reliance on a single fit model and historic blocks, instead creating new blocks “through my own gaze as a woman,” choosing what she finds beautiful and then cutting for that, before generalising across a collection.According to O’Dwyer, luxury brands tend to produce many styles in smaller quantities with fewer sizes. O’Dwyer’s answer to this problem is a mixed‑model delivery: keep wholesale tight, invest margin in made‑to‑order “at the same price as the ready‑to‑wear,” and prioritise pop‑ups and try‑on moments. The aim is fewer but better retail partners and closer relationships. Crucially, the industry-wise fix requires intent: “People have to care. There has to be an investment in the whole industry. Initially you will lose a bit of money because you have to invest in that customer and say, ‘we actually want to cater for you, we respect you’.”Additional Resources:The Emerging Designers Pushing Fashion Forward | BoF The Great Fashion Reset | Is Fashion Failing Emerging Designers? | BoFSinéad O’Dwyer | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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