The State of Fashion 2025: Challenges at every turn | McKinsey

Although hard to predict, even in the best of times, the fashion industry is in for a particularly tumultuous and uncertain 2025. A long-feared cyclical slowdown has arrived. Consumers, affected by the recent period of high inflation, are increasingly price sensitive. There is also the surprising rise of dupes, the acceleration of climate change, and the continued reshuffling of global trade. Regional differences, which came into focus in 2024, will become even starker in the coming year. In short, the negative environment predicted by many in the fashion industry this time a year ago has now materialized. There is still growth to be found, but economic uncertainty, geographic disparities, as well as shifting customer behavior and preferences mean seizing it will require navigating a maze of compounding challenges at every turn. Consequently, 2025 is likely to be a time of reckoning for many brands. Judged purely by the top line, the fashion industry’s outlook for 2025 appears to be a

saved by

• Ying Ge