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THE CEO’S AGENDA
 2026

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THE CEO’S AGENDA
 2026

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
 EY                                     Modaes
 www.ey.com                             www.modaes.com
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

Introduction
Editorial
Fashion hotspots
Let’s have fun: Fashion ventures 
into new arenas
CEOs are no longer 
up to the task
Sustainability  
is dead
In search of the hype: Less legacy, 
more sensationalism

6
8
12
14
24
34
44

AI: The time  
to prove ourselves
Methodology

54
64

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
         Running a fashion business
         today is like driving a car at full
         speed down a narrow, unpaved
         road, with barely any visibility
         or signs warning of the dangers
         lurking around the next bend.
         The car doesn’t come with an
         owner’s manual, and having a
         valid driver’s license is of little
         use to the driver: the rules
         changed two bends ago, and
         they’llchange again before the
         next straight stretch is over.
         ShakingFashion: the CEO’s
        agenda 2026 is the first edition
         of a new report that aims to
         shed just a little light on some
         of the obstacles on the road
         ahead (whether visible or not)
         for the executives at the helm
         of fashion companies. It is a
         list of phenomena that should
         prompt reflection among the
         leaders of this global, complex,
         and challenging industry—one
         that is transforming at such
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                   Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
a rapid pace that it is often
difficult to understand what is
 happening
Shaking Fashion identifies
five key trends for the fashion
sector in 2026, describing them
bluntly, stripped of enthusiasm,
or with the critical distance
that only those not at the
wheel can afford. Its goal: to
provoke, shake things up, and
prompt reflection aimed at
effective decision-making and
stances on issues shaping the
 sector.
Realities such as the fact that
the CEOs of the past are no
longer fit for purpose,
paper-thin sustainability
is dead, AI is not innovation,
fashion needs culture to
revitalize its narrative, and
some startups demonstrate
that connection leads to
success even when disregarding
the product and legacy.
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
Clarity as an  
act of leadership

EDITORIAL Javier 
Vello

Head of EY Studio+ Spain

In twenty years, almost everything about 
fashion has changed. The only figure who 
may not have aged is Miranda Priestly. 
That fictional editor from The Devil Wears 
Prada, released in 2006, continues to function
as a cultural icon for a disturbing reason:
she embodies a form of leadership—
decisive, unquestionable, articulate—that 
has become rare, almost exotic, in the industry
she represented.
Everything else has shifted. The aspirational
consumer has retreated. Entry-level 
luxury is collapsing while ultra-premium 
remains untouched by the cycle. Supply 
chains are once again at the center of the 
geopolitical chessboard. 
AI promises to rewrite design and demand
forecasting. The collection calendar 
has become an exhausting mechanism for 
everyone involved. Added to all this is 
unprecedented turnover in the creative 
leadership of the major fashion houses—
which is no longer news, but routine—and 
a younger consumer who values narrative 
coherence over the product itself.
It is, in practical terms, a scenario where
no one has an up-to-date map. And it 
is precisely here that the uncomfortable 
question arises: what kind of leader does 
a fashion company need today?

My thesis is simple and goes against the 
prevailing narrative: it doesn’t need a visionary.
It needs someone with clarity.
I distinguish between the two carefully. 
The visionary believes they see what others 
don’t; they paint horizons, evangelize futures,
and spread enthusiasm. They are a 
useful figure in stable markets, where the 
problem is choosing between clear-cut options.
Clarity, on the other hand, does not 
consist of seeing farther, but of seeing what 
is there with less noise. 
It is the discipline of looking at the 
decision-making table—filled with contradictory
inputs, investor pressures, 
internal tensions, passing fads, and 
structural trends—and naming, without 
shortcuts, what will be done and what will 
be sacrificed.
This is not a mere detail. It is the difference
between an organization that moves 
forward and one that wavers.
In recent years, I have seen too many 
executive committees afflicted by the 
same symptom: abundant analysis, scarce 
decision-making.
New trend studies are commissioned, 
budgets are reformulated every quarter, 
KPIs are redesigned, generative AI is 
incorporated into the creative pipeline, 

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

and capsule collections are launched for 
everything. And after six months, the company
is more exhausted and less focused 
than it was at the start. Not for lack of talent,
but due to an excess of simultaneous 
options that no one dares to close.
A clear-thinking CEO doesn’t solve this 
by being smarter. They solve it by making 
four decisions that, put this way, seem obvious
yet are strangely rare.
First, distinguish between structural 
uncertainty and cyclical uncertainty. The 
two require different responses. Confusing 
them—reacting to the cyclical as if it were 
structural, or ignoring the structural because
you consider it noise—is the most 
common source of strategic errors in the 
industry right now.
Second, he chooses a brand hypothesis
and sticks to it. Not the “vision”: the 
hypothesis. A verifiable statement about 
who the customer is, what we offer them, 
and why that makes economic sense. And 
then he organizes the company to put that 
hypothesis to the test with honesty, not to 
defend it tooth and nail.
Third, communicate sparingly. In times 
of information overload, leadership is no 
longer measured by how much is said, but 
by the clarity with which it is said. A team 
doesn’t need more meetings; it needs to 
know, at the end of the quarter, what matters
and why.
Fourth—and this is probably the most 
demanding—choose your team and define
a way of working. This is where most 
transformation processes derail. A CEO 
with clarity is just that for six months; they 
remain so only if they translate that clarity 
into a board of directors that exercises it 
without needing their presence, and into 
an operating system—how decisions are 
made, how disagreements are handled, 
how issues are resolved, what is delegated 
and what is not—that institutionalizes it.
Individual clarity without a team and 
without a method is charisma, and charisma
runs out. Clarity with a team and with 
a method is organization, and organization 
endures.
Here, fashion collides with one of its 
historical traits: inbreeding. For decades, 
the industry has rotated its executives within
a very narrow circle—the same names 

moving from one maison to another, from 
one group to another, in a predictable choreography—which
has produced a very 
recognizable way of thinking and, at this 
moment, one that is likely insufficient. The 
paradox is that the most explicit move in 
the opposite direction has come precisely 
from the house that seemed least prepared 
to make it: the hiring of Luca de Meo at 
Kering, who arrives from Renault with no 
prior experience in the sector, breaks with 
that logic of internal circulation. It is too 
early to judge the outcome—and the debt, 
the brands, and the timelines are no small 
matter—but the message is clear: when the 
problem lies in the method, the cure can 
hardly come from the same industry that 
designed the practices.
This is not about dismissing sector-specific
knowledge—it is indispensable, and 
Kering itself has retained those who provide
it on its team—but about recognizing 
that the mix matters. Teams composed 
exclusively of luxury veterans will tend to 
reproduce the same assumptions, particularly
those that no longer work. Teams 
with complementary disciplines—industrial
operations, digital transformation, 
mass-market retail, finance with an appetite
for restructuring—broaden the repertoire
of possible responses. It is a difficult 
balance, and CEOs with clarity are those 
who dare to deliberately upset it, choosing 
who they want on the other side of the table
when the decision is uncomfortable.
Put another way: clarity on one’s own 
produces nothing. Shared clarity does.
Perhaps that is why Miranda Priestly 
remains relevant twenty years later. Not 
because of her cruelty—which is what she 
is remembered for—but because of something
more uncomfortable to admit: because
she knew, in every meeting, what was 
decided and what was not.
That clarity, stripped of the arrogance 
that surrounded it, is what is missing today 
at the helm of many fashion companies.
The industry is once again learning an 
uncomfortable truth: in confusing times, 
the scarcest asset is not creativity, nor capital,
nor technology. It is the clarity of those 
in charge.
And clarity, it’s worth remembering, 
cannot be bought. It is exercised..

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
                 Let’s go for the
                 next big thing
 EDITORIAL       Pilar
                 Riaño
                 Modaes’ founder
                 In editorial graphic design—a field ofappeals to the human eye through simple
                 which I consider myself a fervent fanelements like text sizes that vary in size,
                 despite having no formal training in it—a harmonious compositional structure,
                 one of the basic principles is the searchand visual metaphors that everyone can
                 for balance among the different elementsgrasp instantly. When everything screams
                 that make up a page. Design helps conveyfor attention, the page doesn’t work; when
                 information efficiently and in a way thatsomething isn’t understood within three
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

best moment. It’s cheap, it’s boring, and 
it’s less relevant than it was twenty years 
ago. It has thrived on the growth of the 
middle classes, but it has stagnated in a 
world where status isn’t evident in the clothes
we wear.
That’s why I believe we’re on the cusp of 
something that’s going to change the sector
once again: it will come from within, 
with companies capable of inventing something
new, or from outside, with more 
powerful changes that demand different 
things from fashion. What is certain is that 
fashion is necessary because it makes us 
better, it makes us individuals, and sometimes
it entertains us and makes us happy—but
only when it connects with the 
concerns, the longings, or the demons of 
a society that, admittedly, are not easy to 
decipher.
At Modaes, we said years ago that fashion
is sick, and some time later we promised
to help shake it up under the banner 
of Rock Fashion Business. Is there balance 
and harmony? Let’s do everything we can 
to break it, seeking ways to make fashion 
relevant to the consumer once again.
I can’t think of a better partner to do 
this than the rockers at EY, with whom we 
share years of friendship and with whom 
we have developed this new tool: Shkaing 
Fashion: the CEO’s Agenda. With this new 
report, we provide a tool to help those who 
seek to break out of harmony and drive 
their next revolution. It is necessary: we 
can be protagonists of the next big thing, 
or it can run us over. What is guaranteed 
is that not moving, not challenging ourselves,
not shaking things up from time to 
time, can lead us to the grave.
As comfortable as we may feel in order 
and harmony, in this report we allow ourselves
to point to what is moving, what is 
already shaking up the sector. From the 
connection between fashion and culture to 
the obsolescence of the old CEO figure, the 
death of sustainability, the role of hype, or 
the moment for AI to prove itself. 
As this changes rapidly, we will continue
to seek out, year after year, the elements
on which to focus: the building 
blocks of those phenomena from which, 
perhaps, a new revolution in the international
fashion industry may emerge..

seconds, it’s not right; and when something
feels out of place, it means balance 
hasn’t been achieved.
As humans, we feel comfortable seeing 
something balanced, where everything fits 
in its place. Everything tied up and tied up 
tight. But this comfort can be a perverse 
temptation when what we want is to make 
a living selling fashion, an industry that 
moves at breakneck speed.
In the 19th century, ready-to-wear in 
the United States (later, prêt-à-porter in 
France) was revolutionary. This new form 
of mass production didn’t put an end to 
custom tailoring, but it did open up access 
to clothing (and fashion) for the masses. 
Suddenly, it was possible to outfit cotton 
field workers, railroad workers, and gold 
rush miners with the proper clothing to 
do their jobs.
The birth of department stores was also 
a revolution in distribution, as were the 
single-brand fashion store, the globalization
of production, and, of course, fast 
fashion. The latest revolution was likely 
e-commerce—or the one being led by the 
new generation of startups, which aim to 
turn virality into business.
Companies also experience (and must 
experience) their own revolutions: when 
they change a strategy, when they change
leadership, or when they enter new 
arenas in terms of brand or product—or 
even when they extricate themselves from 
a mess they’ve gotten themselves into (in 
this case, I speak from experience as well). 
The best companies in the sector aren’t the 
ones that have remained unchanged over 
time, but those that have transformed 
themselves to stay current and renew 
their value proposition when necessary. 
And we’re at a point where revolution is 
a necessity.
No one has a crystal ball to predict what 
Americans would call “the next big thing.” 
Will it be AI? Will it be sustainability 2.0? 
Or a new cultural spring in the world 
(we’ve had enough of winter already)? 
The end of globalization? Ultra-fast fashion?
Or are the communities that Manuel 
Castells promised in *Galaxia Internet*, 
back in the early 2000s, finally arriving?
The starting point is that fashion—let’s 
not kid ourselves—is not going through its 

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

Fashion 
hotspots

2.
CEOs are no longer 
up to the task

1.
Let’s have fun: 
fashion is breaking 
into new arenas

The role of the CEO is evolving in the 
fashion industry. Leaders who try to 
do it all are giving way to executives 
who lead teams that are more flexible, 
dynamic, and adaptable to a rapidly 
changing environment.
38%
This is the rate among the 50 largest 
companies in the fashion industry that 
have replaced their CEOs in the past two 
fiscal years, a trend that is compounded 
by changes in creative leadership.
74%

Fashion is once again turning to 
culture to connect with consumers, 
build a narrative, and strengthen its 
brand positioning. It is essential to 
do so with strategy, coherence, and 
consistency.
34%
This is the percentage of international 
companies in the sector that have 
entered into new activities related to 
music, film, or other areas of the cultural 
sector in the past year
48%
Nearly half of the major players in the 
industry have increased their marketing 
investment over the past year.

CONSUMER: WHAT DO YOU THINK 
ABOUT A BRAND COLLABORATING WITH 
THE MUSIC OR CULTURAL SCENE?

This is the percentage of the 50 largest 
companies in the fashion industry that 
have replaced their management teams 
in key areas over the past two years.

Some brands  Sometimes, 
are taking these  it makes me 
collaborations  buy that brand.
too far.

3%
26% 25%

26%

74%

46%

I find it 
interesting, but it 
doesn’t influence 
my purchasing 
decisions.

I don’t care 
either way.

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                                                                      Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
 3.                                  4.                                    5.
 Sustainability                      In search of the hype:                AI: the time
is dead                              less legacy and more                  to prove ourselves
                                     sensationalism
The days of paper mache sustainabi-   Someone is doing things differently,AI is generating a lot of excitement,
lity are long gone. Today, sustainabi-and we need to keep an eye on them.  but its use in the fashion industry
lity is deeply embedded in business,  These are brands that are gaining trac-remains limited, with data fragmen-
having reached a more mature, effec-  tion through social media and chip-  tation holding back its adoption.
tive stage focused on tangible results.ping away at the big players’ sales, withConcrete strategies must be put in
                                      the community at the heart of it all andplace to overcome these bottlenecks.
                                      the product playing a supporting role.
 76%                                       HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHTCONSUMER:   17%
Sustainability is losing prominence on labelsA BRAND YOU HADN’T HEARD OF   For fashion shoppers, the use of AI to
and in advertising campaigns, but not in annualBEFORE, BUT WHOSE PRESENCE  search for and buy products is not yet
reports. Three out of four companies mention itsON SOCIAL MEDIA OR IN ADVERTSwidespread. Only two in ten use some
strategic importance in their annual reports.MADE YOU WANT TO TRY IT?      form of GPT to buy fashion.
 32%                                                                       7%
This is the percentage of companies thatYes, I have   I’ve thought about   The use of AI by fashion companies is also
have launched their own secondhand     made impulse    it, but in the end  met with some resistance. Seven out of
marketplace or work directly with a thirdpurchases afterI didn’t go ahead  ten say they would stop buying a brand if
party to operate one.                  seeing it on social and buy it.     they knew it used AI in its design process.
                                       media or in adverts.
          CONSUMER:                               No, I need                     AI, A STRATEGIC FACTOR
       PREFERENCES WHEN                          to do some
        BUYING CLOTHES                         more research
                                             before I make up                       No
                                                  my mind.                        28%
          I’d rather keep buying
          clothes at the best
          possible price.                                                                     Yes
                                                                                            72%
                                                7%   9%
       20%                                                4%
                                                                          The proportion of companies that mention AI
                                                                           as a strategic driver in their annual report.
                                                           29%                      ADVANCES IN AI
    19%             61%                   51%
                                                                                               Yes
                                                                                   No         42%
                                                                                 58%
                   I’d rather buy      Yes, I have boughtI don’t usually
  I’d rather spend lessfewer items, butsomething after    do that, but
  on clothes and putof higher quality,seeing it on socialI might if the
  that money towardeven if they’re     media or in an   proposal takes       Percentage of companies that have
  other things.    more expensive.     advert.            my interest.          developed their own AI tool.
                                                                                                         13

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Let’s have
fun: fashion
ventures into
new arenas
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                    Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
Film, music or sport. The
international fashion industry is
strengthening its position in new
territories in search of consumers
who have more clothes than
they need. Collaborations and
partnerships are becoming the
key tool for reaching audiences
where they are today, whilst
also enabling brands to raise
their positioning to justify
price increases. The risk? That
consumers will lose interest,
as has happened to the luxury
industry, which has been ahead
of the game for years.
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Culture.This is the new mantra in 
the fashion industry. Although the 
quest for cultural relevance has 
always been present in sectors such as luxury
and niche brands, the mass market is 
now throwing itself wholeheartedly into it. 
Whether seeking legitimacy in the eyes of 
the consumer at a time of fierce competition 
or moving into the spaces where potential 
buyers are today, fashion is entering new 
arenas as a tool to attract and retain customers
who have more than enough clothes. 
The risk? Losing coherence and becoming 
so high-brow that the consumer disengages, 
as has happened in the luxury sector.
Sustainability, in-store footfall and 
average price drive comparable sales, and 
these three elements are currently under 
strain. The companies feeling this most 
acutely are precisely those that have disrupted
the fashion industry the most in recent 

decades—namely, those operating in fast 
fashion, positioned between the premium 
and budget segments.
Increasingly responsible consumption is 
becoming the norm among shoppers, leading
to fewer items sold per transaction, 
whilst in-store footfall is experiencing a 
downturn, at least in mature markets, 
which account for the bulk of the fashion 
market. With two elements of the equation 
under strain, the fashion industry is left to 
focus on average price, hence the strategy 
to raise brand positioning that the majority 
of operators in the sector are now adopting.
In the last financial year, 34% of the leading
global fashion companies have entered
into new ventures linked to music, film 
or other cultural sectors, and almost half 
of them (specifically, 48%) have increased 
their marketing investment over the past 
year.

“We need to boost 
demand through 
innovative marketing 
to regain a powerful 
voice in the cultural 
conversation,” said 
Richard Dickson, 
CEO of Gap.

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                           Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
       Let’s have fun: fashion ventures into new arenas
                                  “Zara’s significance
                                  extends beyond
                                  fashion, even entering
                                  the realm of global
                                  cultural relevance,” said
                                  Óscar García Maceiras,
                                  CEO of Inditex, in
                                  March 2026. This year,
                                  Zara has launched a
                                  collaboration with the
                                  American designer
                                  Willy Chavarria.
 34%
This is the proportion of international companies in the sector
that have entered into new activities related to music, film or
other areas of the cultural sector over the past year.
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“We’re at a point where people
want to buy fewer clothes, but
fashion has always been the same:
a tension between inspiring and
sparking the imagination, and
the need to generate revenue”
       Jaume
       Miquel
       Tendam
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

Let’s have fun: fashion ventures into new arenas

“Zara’s significance extends beyond 
fashion, even entering the realm of global
cultural relevance,” said Óscar García 
Maceiras, CEO of Inditex, in March 2026, 
referring to the sales performance of the 
group’s flagship chain. A 16-minute short 
film featuring Diane Kruger, Damson Idris, 
Vincent Cassel and Dylan Penn, directed 
by Santos Bacana and Rogelio González; a 
partnership (with a product launch) with 
Pedro Almodóvar and his film Amarga 
Navidad; and a collaboration with the 
American designer Willy Chavarria are just 
some of Zara’s latest moves, which have secured
it headlines, social media buzz and a 
place at the centre of global conversation.
But the brand that has spoken most 
explicitly about culture is Gap. Caught 
between price pressure from below and 
trends from above, the American giant 
Gap has spent years searching for its new 
place in the market, a path it seems to be 
getting back on track under the leadership 
of its CEO, Richard Dickson. “In its hey- The place where consumers are found 
day, Gap was a storyteller that could take 
a product and create a trend using culturally
relevant marketing,” said Dickson in 
2024, shortly after taking the reins of the 
company. “We need to drive demand with 
innovative marketing to regain a powerful 
voice in the cultural conversation,” noted 
the executive, who joined Gap having previously
led a similar initiative at Mattel, 
bringing the Barbie doll back into fashion 
and culminating in her making the leap to 
the big screen.
Gap has even given this movement a  With a product that is increasingly less 
name: Fashiontainment. The company has 
created a division dedicated specifically to 
developing the brand’s positioning in the 

entertainment sector, with its own offices in 
Los Angeles (the film capital) and a former 
Paramount executive at the helm. “Fashion 
is entertainment, and today’s consumers 
aren’t just buying clothes, but also brands 
that shape culture and tell stories,” according
to Gap’s CEO.
Why culture?
“We’re at a point where people want to buy 
fewer clothes, but fashion has always been 
the same: a tension between inspiring emotion
and sparking dreams, and the need to 
generate revenue,” reflects Jaume Miquel, 
chairman and CEO of Tendam. Against a 
backdrop of dwindling consumer numbers, 
the fashion industry is going to find them 
where they are today: in the world of entertainment.
“Music, cinema, leisure… Who 
has beaten us at our own game in recent 
years? Technology,” adds Miquel; “and that 
is where brands are heading today: to people’s
smartphones.” 
today is, in the view of Alberto Ojinaga, 
CEO of Desigual, one of the aspects that 
has changed the most over the last decade. 
“As a brand, you must go where your target 
audience and your consumer are, and how 
you connect with that consumer, how you 
are relevant to them, has evolved radically,”
he points out. “And they are two different
things,” he clarifies. “It is one thing to 
get close to where your consumer is and 
another to actually connect with them,” he 
warns.
of a differentiating factor between brands 
targeting the same segment, “the consumer 
is looking for more than just a product: they 

Do brands’ moves really have an impact on consumers?  while another 52% point to changes in promotions, 
Efforts to gain relevance, modernize, or climb the quality which many companies are trying to reduce to protect 
ladder are often understood only within the company,  margins. Changes in quality are perceived by only 40% 
while consumers primarily notice what matters most  of respondents, while 71% notice the changes made by 
to them: price. 81% of surveyed consumers say that the  their favorite fashion brands in terms of collections and 
brands they know are making changes to their prices,  styles—that is, in the product itself.

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eagerly anticipated and controversial 
half-time performance, singer Bad Bunny 
surprised the crowd with a set performed 
entirely in Spanish, dressed in a monochrome
outfit by Zara.
With these iconic moves, Desigual, Zara 
and Gap are seeking to recreate phenomena
such as the one that naturally emerged 
in 1986 with the song ‘My Adidas’ by the 
rap group Run-DMC. A performance by 
the group at Madison Square Garden in 
New York, where 40,000 people raised 
their Adidas trainers to the beat of the 
track, marked the first collaboration in 
history between popular music and fashion.
Following the performance, Adidas 
signed its first sponsorship deal with the 
rappers outside the realm of athletes and 
sportspeople.
Beyond the cultural connection, collaborations,
short films and partnerships 
with the music industry have actually become
the go-to way of generating content 
that resonates with the audience. They are 
communication tools for reaching potential
consumers. “Singers, for example, give 
you access to an audience; they give you the 
ability for that audience to listen to you for 
a while, but if your message isn’t relevant, 
they aren’t necessarily making you culturally
relevant,” says Ojinaga.
Brands with brands
Singers, sports stars or actors – but the 
fashion industry has turned collaborations 
with other brands into its own particular 
battleground. There isn’t a single company, 
particularly in the mass-market sector, that 
doesn’t rely on a collaboration to generate 
visibility, enter a specific market and, above 
all, gain credibility in the fashion world and 
climb the ladder. 68% of the world’s leading 
fashion brands have turned to collaborations
in the last financial year.
In its repositioning strategy, this is one 
of the tools Desigual has used. “If we think 
of the consumer pyramid, at the very top 
are the most fashion-conscious, those who 
are up to date with the latest trends, those 
who are well-informed, and to reach them 
you have to create a qualitative impact 
through specialised channels and media; 
then that momentum trickles down and 
gives you credibility,” says Ojinaga.

want a narrative, a sense of belonging and 
an experience,” says Rafael Covarrubias, 
director of business transformation at EY.
For Javier Vello, Head of EY Studio + 
Spain, it is key to choose at what point a 
fashion brand wants to be present in the 
consumer’s life and when it wants to be remembered.
The risk, therefore, is to inundate
the potential customer with messages 
that have nothing to do with the brand—in 
other words, to implement a strategy whose 
sole objective is reach, rather than building 
lasting relationships that translate into sales.
“If you aren’t consistent, you destroy 
rather than create value,” notes Macarena 
Gutiérrez, partner responsible for the retail 
and consumer sector at EY-Parthenon.
Music and TikTok
On 31 March, with a short video of a strawberry
ice lolly melting on the sand, Desigual 
garnered 32,300 likes on Instagram using 
the hashtag #DesigualxZara. As was later 
revealed, the teaser announced the ‘Life’s 
a Beach’ campaign featuring Swedish singer-songwriter
Zara Larsson.
Desigual’s move went beyond simply 
using Larsson as the face of the campaign;
it linked its collection to the album 
Midnight Sun, in which summer seems never-ending.
Desigual proposed a campaign 
that serves as an extension of this idea, developing
a beach-inspired aesthetic dominated
by colour, light and femininity.
In August 2025, Gap chose the girl group 
Katseye to launch its ‘Better in Gap’ campaign
via a highly Instagrammable 90-second
music video. It had previously collaborated
with singers such as Troye Sivan 
and Tyla and the actress Parker Posey, whilst
in March 2026 it chose the Puerto Rican 
rapper Young Miko to launch its ‘Sweats 
like Us’ campaign. Fabiola Torres, Gap’s 
marketing director, noted at the launch 
that the singer “brings authenticity, confidence
and a genuine connection to style 
and self-expression”. “With this campaign, 
we are connecting with audiences where 
culture is happening right now, through 
Fashion films and 
music, movement and storytelling,” she 
collaborations with 
the film and music 
added. industries have become 
But the real showstopper was Zara’s 
tools used by brands 
appearance at the 2026 Super Bowl, the 
to create content that 
resonates with their 
second-most-watched in history. In his  audience.

20
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                        Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“Consumers are looking for more
than just a product: they want
a story, a sense of belonging
and an experience”
        Rafael
        Covarrubias
        EY
                                    21

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="22"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

OF THE BRANDS YOU’RE MOST FAMILIAR WITH, 
WHICH ONES ARE CHANGING THE MOST?

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT A BRAND 
COLLABORATING WITH SECTORS SUCH 
AS MUSIC OR CULTURE?

I find it interesting, and 
sometimes it makes me 
buy that brand.

Some brands 
are taking these 
collaborations a bit 
too far.
3%
26% 25%

81% 40%
Price Quality

52% 71%

46%

I find it interesting, but 
it doesn’t influence my 
purchasing decisions.

I don’t care either way.

Special Offers

Collections and styles

As a percentage of the total number of consumers.

For this reason, and also for budgetary 
Gap has just announced a collaboration 
68% of leading 
international fashion 
companies have entered 
into collaborations 
with other brands 
over the past year, 
a practice that was 
rare until recently.

Wang would follow. Now, in the midst of repositioning
and reorganising the business 
to recover sales and margins, the Swedish 
company is reviving its collaboration with 
Stella McCartney twenty years on, in an 
effort to reconnect with high-end fashion 
design.
And the crowning moment has been 
Zara’s. After associating its name with 
that of Stefano Pilati and Ludovic de Saint 
Sernin, in March 2026 the Inditex chain 
announced the addition to its ranks of the 
great cult designer: John Galliano. The 
Gibraltar-born designer will not be creating
new garments for Zara, but will instead
spend two years reinterpreting the 
chain’s older pieces. As part of a full-scale 
drive to elevate its positioning, Zara’s move 
is a masterstroke: not only does it link its 
brand to one of the world’s most renowned
creatives, but it elevates its product 

reasons, most companies do not opt for 
collaborations with mass-market brands, 
but rather with niche ones, with which 
they connect on a specific level. Desigual, 
for example, has sought to gain respectability
and legitimacy in fashion by partnering
with niche firms that stand out 
for their creativity and distinctiveness, 
two of the Spanish company’s core values. 
“Collaborations are nothing more than a 
tool in your strategy,” Ojinaga emphasises.
with Victoria Beckham (with whom Mango 
partnered in 2024), but the undisputed 
king of collaborations is H&M. In 2004, 
the Swedish giant surprised the fashion 
world with a partnership with the late Karl 
Lagerfeld to launch an affordable designer
collection. Stella McCartney, Roberto 
Cavalli, Lanvin, Versace and Alexander 

22
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  <page method="xml-texts" num="23"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

Let’s have fun: fashion ventures into new arenas

(associated with fast fashion) to the status 
of an archive collection, just as any luxury 
brand might do.
Luxury has been one of the segments 
that has made the most of collaborations 
over the last five years, in an attempt to 
reach younger audiences. Sportswear and 
streetwear have been the preferred categories
for brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, 
Burberry and Moncler, with partnerships 
with The North Face, Supreme and Hoka. 
Although the initial splash worked, this has 
ultimately become one of the factors explaining
the difficult period the international 
luxury industry is currently facing, with 
consumers feeling let down by the popularisation
of the most exclusive brands.
Covarrubias warns that collaborations 
with cultural icons or brands, just as with  Consumers, at least in their stated opiinfluencers,
“work when they stem from 
credibility and consistency, but when the 
connection is superficial, the impact is not 
significant”. “To think that by entering into 
a collaboration you will inherit the other 
party’s community is a mistake; these relationships
are built and are dynamic,” he 
adds.
For his part, Vello highlights the fleeting
nature of some contemporary cultural
icons. “But do I have to be at the mercy 
of a profile or influencer that has less staying
power than a firework? Fashion has  .

always had its influencers, but being Jackie 
Onassis is not the same as what we’re seeing
today,” he warns.
The consumer’s perspective
Shops that resemble museums, with an increasingly
sophisticated image; collaborations
with the most exclusive brands; prices 
that move away from mass-market levels to 
climb a rung higher on the fashion ladder… 
The risk? Elevating the brand to a realm 
that makes the traditional customer feel 
uncomfortable and intimidated, thereby 
losing them in favour of a smaller, more 
niche customer base – which will result in a 
loss of volume, whilst facing the pressure to 
generate sufficient profit margins to sustain 
the current structure.
nion, make it clear in any case that fashion’s 
move towards culture does not have a magical
effect. 71% of consumers describe it 
as “interesting” when a brand collaborates
with sectors such as music or culture: 
however, only 25% say that this type of 
collaboration might lead them to buy a 
brand’s products, whilst 46% say it does 
not influence their purchasing decisions. 
For 26%, they are “indifferent” to a brand 
collaborating with culture, and 3% agree 
that some brands “are taking these collaborations
too far”.

Music is increasingly 
becoming one of 
fashion’s favourite 
themes. In 2026, 
Gap has chosen the 
Puerto Rican rapper 
Young Miko to launch 
its ‘Sweats like Us’ 
campaign.

23
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
CEOs are no
longer up to
the task
 24

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="25"><![CDATA[
                    Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
Executives who last less than
three years in their roles or a
wave of changes in the creative
leadership of luxury brands
are signs that the role of the
CEO in fashion companies is
changing. Today, the leaders of
organizations in this sector must
keep their eyes on more fronts,
be flexible, and be able to make
quick decisions under pressure,
with agile business models
that adapt to the challenging
environment. The management
team is, moreover, more
important than ever.
                                    25

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="26"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
 The role of CEO at a major global fas-                             positions of responsibility. The same is true
      hion company increasingly resem-                              in the luxury sector, where in recent years
      bles a survival game in which, much                           there has been a constant turnover in the
like in the Korean series *Squid Game*,                             creative leadership of major brands: from
contenders are gradually eliminated. At                             Jonathan Anderson at Dior to Demna at
least that is what the statistics for the fif-                      Gucci, among many others.
ty largest companies in the sector globally                           A context of volatility, disruption, and
show: 38% have replaced their CEO in the                            pressure for results has normalized execu-
last two years, while up to 74% have made                           tive turnover, with some executives being
other changes to their management team                              dismissed before even completing three
in key areas.                                                       years in their roles. This was the case with
 Between 2024 and 2025, major groups                                Bárbara Martín Coppola at Decathlon (who
such as Nike, Puma, Decathlon, Victoria’s                           led the company from 2022 to 2025), Sonia
Secret, H&M, Primark, El Corte Inglés,      Gastón Bottazzini,      Syngal at Gap (from 2020 to 2022), and
Levi Strauss, and Kering have changed       Bárbara Martín, and     Gastón Bottazzini at El Corte Inglés (from
their CEOs, clearly demonstrating how       Sonia Syngal all had    2024 to 2025, with just over a year in the
                                            short-lived tenures as  role).
leadership roles in the industry today haveCEOs of El Corte Inglés,
a short shelf life and how new profiles—of-Decathlon, and Gap,        In other cases, the personal toll of hol-
ten entirely different from those of their  reflecting the intense  ding the most challenging position in a
                                            pressure to deliver
predecessors—are rising to the highest      short-term results.     company’s hierarchy leads the CEO to
 26

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="27"><![CDATA[
                         Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
       CEOs are no longer up to the task
                                “Win Now” at Nike,
                                “Claim 5 Touchdown”
                                at Hugo Boss, a “New
                                Industrial Plan” at Geox,
                                ‘Reconkering’ at Kering,
                                or “4E” at Mango:
                                fashion companies’
                                strategic plans currently
                                have a three- or four-
                                year horizon.
 38%
This is the percentage of the 50 largest companies in the fashion
industry that have replaced their CEOs in the past two fiscal years,
a trend that is accompanied by changes in creative leadership.
                                       27

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="28"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“As a leader, the ability to
read the current situation and
anticipate what’s coming is key:
today, someone who manages
using a more static business
model may fall behind”
       Joana
       Jordà
       Brownie
 28

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="29"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

CEOs are no longer up to the task

economy as a whole (with the fashion industry
having practically everything left 
to do)—a change that could have shaped 
an entire generation of executives. At the 
same time, the emergence of Artificial 
Intelligence is imposing itself as another layer
of comprehensive transformation within 
organizations, impacting talent and operational
models. This alone would be enough 
to conclude that, in many cases, CEOs who 
had steered companies with stable business 
models are no longer fit for purpose, but the 
changes do not stop there.
with a more uncertain geopolitical context, 
in which a certain flattening of market conditions
from the last decades of globalization
is being reversed: barriers to overcome 
and insurmountable barriers are emerging 
that must simply be accepted, both in reaching
the consumer and in the turbulent 
sourcing processes of fashion companies.
ment by objectives has given way to a style 
of leadership less rooted in immutable beliefs,
where scenarios must be considered, 
risks taken, and decisions made under pressure
and in the midst of uncertainty. Vello 
points to the need to lose the fear of making 
mistakes: in a crisis, “you’re better off on an 
ocean liner than on a sailboat, but the agility 
to change course comes from being a highly 
agile organization, since uncertainty is corrected
by changing course quickly.”
sed on the product rather than the need it 
is meant to address, turning the product 
into a mental liability because it forces you 
to cling to your beliefs; the new environment
compels you to think differently.” “As 

decide to step aside. This was the case with 
Helena Helmersson, CEO of H&M from 
2020 to 2024, who noted upon announcing 
her resignation: “At times, these have been 
very demanding years for me personally.”
Transformation as the norm
The current context in which the fashion 
business operates, like that of all economic 
sectors, is characterized by constant change:
there is always something a company 
must adapt to. Technology, legislation, consumer
habits, the geopolitical environment, 
and competition force fashion companies  Company managers must also contend 
not only to adapt their day-to-day operations
tactically but also to make strategic 
decisions that transform their business model
in a virtually permanent way.
“The turnover of CEOs in fashion companies
goes hand in hand with the speed 
of change: cycles are accelerating, and the 
roles and profiles of management teams are 
shifting, since you no longer have a decade  All of this means that the old manageto
adapt,” notes Charles Kirby, a partner in 
EY’s sustainability consulting practice.
So, are CEOs no longer effective? 
According to Javier Vello, Head of EY 
Studio + Spain, the visionary executive 
who was “the doer-leader”—capable of 
resolving day-to-day issues across various 
departments—is disappearing in a world 
so full of uncertainties that no one can fully
grasp them from every possible angle. 
“Today, they must be orchestrators, capable 
of uniting teams and rallying them around  “Fashion,” Vello warns, “has long focuan
idea, making those around them better,” 
he notes.
The shift from linear to circular economic
models in resource use represents an 
unprecedented systemic change for the 

While changes in CEO leadership are much more  decision-making to a dynamic and ever-changing 
common today than they were in the final decades of  environment. In the last two years, 74% of the world’s 
the 20th century, the same is true of changes within  leading fashion companies have made changes to key 
executive teams. These changes result both from  positions on their executive boards. Recently, roles such 
personnel changes at the helm of key business units and  as chief transformation officer or head of AI have been 
from the creation of new divisions and the organizational  added to the executive suite, often transforming previous 
restructuring that occurs on a recurring basis to adapt  positions such as chief IT officer or chief digital officer.

29
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

a manager, the ability to read what’s happening
and anticipate what’s coming is 
key: today, someone who manages using 
a more static business model may fall behind,”
notes Joana Jordà, general manager 
of Brownie.
According to Jaume Miquel, president 
and CEO of Tendam, “today, executives 
aren’t paid to execute a pre-written five-year 
plan, but rather to ensure the company performs
well, regardless of the conditions.” 
“It’s like a pilot hired to fly from Madrid 
to Barcelona on a sunny day, but the next 
day it’s windy, another day it’s raining, and 
another day the fuel is running low… he still 
has to get there safely,” he explains. 
Along the same lines, Rafael Covarrubias, 
director of business transformation at EY, 
notes that the CEO must “be an architect 
of a business model that changes while the 
plane is in flight.” The companies that are 
doing well, he notes, are those that turn 
external and internal complexity and uncertainty
into an advantage, “because they 
adapt to these trends and don’t wait.” 
Setting the course, allocating resources,
and building a team are, in 
the view of Alberto Ojinaga, CEO of 
Desigual, the functions of a CEO, which 
have not changed throughout history.  “The environment is much more dynamic, 
and things happen that no one has taught 
you how to react to,” he says; “and as the 
environment changes, there is a constant 
tendency to take shortcuts: our role is more 
about saying no and maintaining consistency
rather than jumping on the latest 
bandwagon.”
The CEO’s ‘Tick-Tock’
In publicly traded companies, it’s the stock’s 
performance; in family-owned businesses, 
it’s trust and the relationship with the owners;
and in venture-backed companies, it’s 
the timeline for the next round of funding: 
what remains a constant for CEOs across 
all companies, regardless of their ownership 
structure, is the pressure to deliver results. 
Alberto Ojinaga, CEO of Desigual, believes 
that “when a CEO changes, it’s usually because
the results haven’t been good.” And 
to explain this, the executive lays out a few 
factors. First, that fashion as a sector is 
less relevant today, leading to a decline in 

consumption. Second, the transformation 
of the market: “In recent years, the polarization
of the sector has benefited luxury 
and fast fashion, while the rest of us were 
caught in the middle of a very difficult environment;
now luxury is facing a customer 
crisis—not just among Asian consumers—
and fast fashion is facing fierce competition
from lower-end players.” The third is 
that the market, structurally speaking, is 
no longer growing “and that leads to changing
the coach, which is sometimes the easy 
solution.”
For Jaume Miquel, three elements come 
into play when determining a manager’s 
suitability for a company: people, the project,
and money. “When a CEO is replaced, 
it may be bad luck due to an unexpected 
circumstance, but generally it’s because the 
people or the project haven’t worked out,” 
he reflects. “As a manager, you have to look 
beyond the paycheck; what matters is that 
you believe in the project and have the right 
people to execute it.”
Macarena Gutiérrez argues that the CEO 
must “strike a balance between profitability, 
purpose, and creativity.” “Short-term solutions
or those with a very rapid impact are 
demanded, or the numbers won’t add up, 
so the long-term vision gets lost a bit,” she 
says. For this reason, the CEO cannot operate
alone: we must move toward integrated 
leadership teams, with the CEO at the helm. 
The CEO must be more than just a strong 
leader; they must bring out the best in the 
executive committee around them. “With 
the pace of change today, it’s impossible for 
anyone to be an expert in everything,” she 
explains.
In a chaotic and turbulent world like today’s,
executives specializing in growth or 
crisis management are no longer the most 
sought-after profile. “Today you have to understand
where the world is headed, where 
your sector is evolving; you must have the 
humility not to overestimate your competitive
advantages and be able to listen carefully
to the areas you need to improve,” adds 
the CEO of Tendam.
Executives must therefore combine vision
with problem-solving skills, both internally
and externally. If they also have 
charisma, all the better. These are not times
for rock-and-roll star executives: if a 

“Today, you have to 
understand where 
the world is headed 
and how your 
industry is evolving—
while remaining 
humble enough not 
to overestimate 
your competitive 
advantages,” notes 
Jaume Miquel.

30
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                          Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“The CEO must operate on
two fronts: one is the day-
to-day management of
the team, and the other is
understanding how the family
needs to steer the business”
         Javier
         Vello
         EY
                                        31

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
74%

This is the percentage of the 50 largest companies in the fashion 
industry that have replaced their management teams in key 
areas over the past two years.

marketer’s charisma can drive an organization
and deliver results, perfect; if a finance 
professional’s rigor builds trust, that’s fine 
too. “Rather than generating ‘wow’ effects, 
leaders today must generate trust,” emphasizes
Miquel.
ge in companies is related to the prevailing
ownership structure in the fashion 
industry. In a sector that is hyper-fragmented
on an international scale, family-owned
companies or those with a single 
shareholder stand out from the crowd.  Thus, executives’ ability to manage the relationship
with ownership (families in many 
cases) is key to ensuring their tenure. In 
these cases, according to Vello, “the CEO 
must operate on two fronts: one operational 
with the team, and at the same time must 
be able to understand how the family wants 
to steer the business.”
to the company are compounded by internal
ones: “if a company starts as a startup 
and grows into a medium-sized business 
or enters a phase of maturity, there will likely
be changes in the management team if 

the individual hasn’t prepared for this new 
stage.”
Around them, executives must be prepared
to build a team that supports them 
at the stage the company is currently in. 
Brownie, for example, which surpassed 100 
million euros in revenue in 2025 after three 
consecutive years of double-digit growth, 
has spent the last few years structuring a 
team tailored to its current phase. “Brownie 
was a family-owned company with a concept
that worked,” notes Jordà, “and the 
company decided to professionalize its 
structure to grow; in addition to general 
management, we’ve brought in professionals
in finance, design, retail, and online 
management, and we’ve promoted people 
in areas like purchasing.”
What are teams looking for today? For 
Joana Jordà, the most important qualities 
are “judgment and a lot of energy.” The executive
draws on an idea from businessman 
Warren Buffett to explain her approach to 
hiring: “I look for people who can grow 
and help the business grow.” In addition 
to energy and work ethic, she emphasizes 
confidence.

Another factor that often drives chanA
company’s ownership  Jordà points out that factors external 
structure is key to the 
CEO’s success; in familyowned
groups, the CEO 
must lead the company 
while maintaining trust 
and a good relationship 
with the owners.

32
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  <page method="xml-texts" num="33"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

CEOs are no longer up to the task

From the CEO to the 
management team
Luca de Meo, the man tasked with changing
Kering’s course following his success 
in the automotive industry, began the lengthy
presentation of his roadmap for the 
group last April with a photograph: one 
taken when he introduced on stage the 30 
executives responsible for developing and 
implementing the French luxury giant’s 
new plan. But not all talent comes from the new 
“Get comfortable, fasten your seatbelts, 
and enjoy the flight,” joked Kering’s CEO 
before outlining the seven initiatives that 
have guided the group during his first seven
months at the company during Capital 
Markets Day, held in Florence. But before 
presenting the new roadmap, De Meo implemented
several changes to his executive 
team, bringing in Thomas Cuntz, former 
head of talent at Renault (where De Meo 
himself comes from), to a new position called
talent development and people engagement,
and Pierre Houlès (also formerly 
of Renault) as head of the digital and technology
division. At Gap, the man in charge 

of its turnaround, Richard Dickson, also 
surrounded himself with former colleagues
from his management team at Mattel 
shortly after his appointment, such as Sven 
Gerjets and Amy Thompson, who now lead 
the technology and human resources divisions,
respectively. These moves highlight a 
key fact: today, a CEO’s value is closely tied 
to the quality of the management team they 
are able to assemble.
CEO’s immediate circle. At Gucci, the flagship
brand of the French group Kering, the 
company has appointed an in-house executive,
Francesca Bellettini, as CEO, replacing
Stefano Cantino, who left the company
after only nine months in the role.  It is this role that Transy Rodríguez, partner
in charge of the consumer goods and 
distribution sector at EY, focuses on. “The 
CEO may be an orchestra conductor, but 
when it comes down to it, the ones who 
make the difference are the creative director
or the chain managers—those who are 
closely tied to the business and the consumer,”
she notes..

Luca de Meo, Kering’s 
new CEO, invited the 
roughly 30 members 
of his executive team 
onto the stage before 
presenting the key 
points of his new 
strategic plan.

33
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  <page method="xml-texts" num="34"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
 Sustainability
is dead
 34

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="35"><![CDATA[
                    Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
In 2022, sustainability ceased
to be the marketing tool it had
been in previous years, and by
2024, sustainability regulations
no longer frightened fashion
companies. Today, superficial
sustainability is a thing of the
past, but it is far from gone from
the strategies of companies in
the fashion industry. The shift
in the model is entering a more
mature, effective phase focused
on tangible results that are
closely linked to strengthening
companies’ business models.
                                    35

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="36"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

Sustainability has taken a back seat in 
the international fashion industry, 
and while its importance has not diminished,
its role within companies’ strategies
and organizational structures has 
been redefined. In a long yet relatively rapid 
succession of events, what at times seemed 
to be the greatest driver of transformation 
in the sector on a global scale has gradually
lost prominence in executive discourse 
and in brands’ communication campaigns, 
a process that has run parallel to a certain 
decline in the visibility of corporate sustainability
directors. From being rising stars, 
in many cases they have disappeared from 
the executive committee; from reporting 
to the CEO in some cases, they have been 
integrated into other departments (from 
procurement to finance), and from having 
entire chapters in annual reports, they have 
become footnotes.

the fashion world, today the king is dead, 
though at the same time he is predicted 
If sustainability had become the king of 
to have a long life. What has happened? 
Sustainability in the fashion business has 
entered a new phase, shifting from a discursive
and offensive sphere to a more defensive
process—yet one that is adaptive, real, 
and tangible. The hype around sustainability
in fashion is dead, yes, but this reality
may be a fortunate one, as the systemic 
transformation of its model is truly entering 
an effective phase in which it is intimately
linked to the business and its long-term 
strengthening.
The death of sustainability in fashion 
actually began when it became a marketing
and communication tool, with strategic
missteps by brands that are now 
being paid for in terms of lost credibility 
with consumers and institutions. The year 

Accusations of 
greenwashing in the 
fashion industry, which 
intensified in 2022, 
ushered the sector 
into a new phase. By 
2024, the slowdown in 
the legislative process 
that had been causing 
concern in the fashion 
industry had taken hold.

36
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  <page method="xml-texts" num="37"><![CDATA[
                            Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
        Sustainability is dead
                                    Leading certifications
                                    such as the Higg Index—
                                    now known as Cascale—
                                    and Better Cotton have
                                    fallen out of use. The
                                    industry is now hoping
                                    that new European
                                    legislation will establish
                                    clear standards for
                                    measuring companies’
                                    actual progress in terms
                                    of sustainability.
 76%
Sustainability is losing prominence on labels and in advertising
campaigns, but not in annual reports. Three out of four companies
mention its strategic importance in their annual reports.
                                           37

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“We continue to face challenges
related to waste, recycling, and
global warming—issues that will
remain high on the agenda”
       Charles
       Kirby
       EY
 38

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Sustainability is dead

country but has also withdrawn the world’s 
leading economic power from the Paris 
Agreement to combat global warming.
The impact of all these developments 
on fashion companies is already evident in 
some key areas. For example, the percentage 
of the sector’s largest companies that have 
at least one sustainability officer directly represented
on the executive committee has 
dropped to 66%, although the proportion 
of companies that mention sustainability as 
a strategic driver of transformation in their 
annual reports remains high.
Does this mean that sustainability is 
on the verge of disappearing? In the view 
of Alberto Ojinaga, CEO of Desigual, the 
apparent loss of relevance in the sustainability
sector is linked to reduced communication
efforts by companies—a point on 
which Jaume Miquel, president and CEO 
of Tendam, agrees. “Sustainability is by no 
means a passing trend, but it has fallen out 
of the spotlight because there’s less noise 
around it,” says Ojinaga; “I don’t think all 
the activity in the sector was solely due to 
legislative pressure, but rather because there
was a race to communicate.” 
At Desigual, sustainability falls under the 
purview of a manager who, in turn, reports 
to the product director. Ojinaga admits, 
however, that sustainability “has taken a 
backseat on the agenda” as developments 
and transformations have been assimilated 
and the area has become primarily technical 
and implementation-focused. 
The CEO of Tendam highlights the work 
carried out by the sector to convey to the 
European Union that sustainability need 
not be at odds with competitiveness. “We 
had to ensure a convergence of interests 

2022 marked a turning point in this regard. 
Groups like H&M and Decathlon stopped 
talking about sustainability; Asos removed
its sustainable clothing search tool; 
Zalando eliminated its green product filter;
and Mango dropped its “Committed” 
label. This was the industry’s reaction to a 
wave of greenwashing allegations, coming 
from a diverse range of sources including 
activists and environmental non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), as well as 
the European Commission, the Norwegian 
Consumer Council, and competition authorities
in the Netherlands and the United 
Kingdom.
The reputational crisis also affected the 
labels most commonly used by the industry.
In 2022, the current Cascale put the 
Higg Index—used as a benchmark across 
the industry—on hold due to accusations 
that it was “false and misleading, and therefore
illegal” by Dutch and Norwegian 
authorities. In 2024, the Better Cotton label
entered a crisis after Inditex called for 
“transparency” and “traceability” regarding 
this certification for cotton with sustainable 
characteristics.
As the phase of greenhushing began, 
legislation seemed to be the main driver 
of the sector’s sustainable transformation. 
But this momentum also collapsed in 2024, 
when most of the directives derived from 
the European Green Deal that affected the 
fashion industry were watered down, delayed,
or suspended. The regulatory slowdown
gained momentum in 2025 following 
the arrival of Donald Trump, a well-known 
climate change denier, at the White House. 
The U.S. president has not only eliminated
decades-old equality programs in the 

The secondhand market is gaining ground in the fashion  never do it.” On the other hand, 32% of the world’s 
industry, and both growing consumer demand and  leading fashion companies have launched their own 
the expansion of Extended Producer Responsibility  secondhand platform or are working directly with a 
(EPR) systems point to a clear path forward. Seventeen  third party to operate one. An entire ecosystem of apps 
percent of consumers surveyed say they regularly buy  and companies has emerged around this trend, which 
or sell used clothing, and another 44% say they have  coincides with a time when many consumers want to 
done so “at least once,” while only 3% say they “would  spend less on fashion.

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

it must be brought to where resource management,
strategic priorities, the operating 
model, etc., can actually be managed.”
A process with no turning back
“It’s true that a perception has emerged that 
sustainability is no longer relevant, but on 
the physical side, we still have a problem 
with waste, with recycling, and a problem 
with global warming that will continue to 
be on the agenda,” notes Charles Kirby, a 
partner in EY’s sustainability consulting 
practice
For the EY executive, sustainability is 
not on CEOs’ agendas on the same level as 
demand generation or brand positioning, 
but it is by no means gone. The new situation,
in his view, is positive because “it shifts 
companies from a reactive stance to a more 
proactive vision: ‘I’m going to do this because
it has an external impact and because
internally it translates to cost efficiency 
and reduced future risks.’” “Why is China 
making such decisive strides in sustainability?
Because they see it as a driver of energy 
independence, cost competitiveness, and so 
on,” he explains.
“It is unquestionable that we must move 
toward more sustainable models, and this 
must become a structural element within 
companies—but without the hype; it must 
accompany the transformation of businesses
and be part of constant reflection,” 
notes Macarena Gutiérrez, partner responsible
for the retail and consumer sector at 
EY-Parthenon.
Transy Rodríguez, partner in charge of 
the consumer goods and distribution sector 
at EY, notes that companies in the sector 
have also made an effort to “embed” sustainability
into their strategy “and reversing 
that is difficult.” “There is social pressure, 
supply chain risks, and expectations placed
on companies that are pushing them 
to adopt more socially and environmentally 
responsible models; with regulatory relaxation,
we’ve stalled somewhat in terms of internal
controls and non-financial reporting, 
but the bottom line is that we’re going to 
operate this business more responsibly.”
Aspects such as improving efficiency, mitigating
risks, or the social demand for sustainability
itself are joined by other factors 
that reinforce the importance of sustainability
in fashion. On one hand, ESG continues 

toward a more sustainable world, while at 
the same time protecting European industry
from other regions with different rules,” 
notes Miquel. 
The Draghi Report and its consequences
in terms of regulatory relaxation have 
been seen, in fact, as a breath of fresh air 
for companies in the sector, especially regarding
the regulatory and largely bureaucratic
obligations they would face due to 
the implementation of new standards such 
as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting 
Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate 
Sustainability Due Diligence Directive 
(CSDDD). By shifting the focus away from 
paperwork and compliance, sustainability
can now return to the strategic framework:
regulations such as the European 
Ecodesign Regulation (ESPR), Extended 
Producer Responsibility (EPR), or the AntiGreenwashing
Directive do remain on the 
legislative agenda, though in some cases 
with more realistic approaches.
For Javier Vello, Head of EY Studio + 
Spain, “sustainability isn’t dead, but this 
cardboard-cutout version of sustainability
that had been constructed in some cases—where
we confuse the container with 
the content—is: Trump and the European 
Union’s Omnibus Decree have arrived, and 
part of the sector has relaxed, which means 
that not even they believed in it themselves.”
Vello advocates for creating measurement
indicators now “that actually mean 
something,” evaluating the development of 
sustainability in business and, at the same 
time, everything fashion companies are 
doing to become more efficient.
Brownie’s general manager, Joana Jordà, 
takes the company’s sustainable transformation
for granted, linking it to her own 
business ambition. “We’re working with a 
mindset of growing big, so we have to compare
ourselves to top-tier companies and 
hold ourselves to their same standards,” 
she says. 
“You have to look at what your competitors
do well, follow their example, and 
acknowledge it—but if they haven’t deveIn
Joana Jordà’s 
view, sustainability 
loped their sustainability efforts, they’re not  goes hand in hand 
a benchmark for me,” she notes.
with the ambition 
For Rafael Covarrubias, director of buto
become a major 
player. If a competitor 
siness transformation at EY, the role of the  hasn’t developed its 
sustainability director “must disappear, and 
sustainability efforts, 
that function must be absorbed by the CEO: 
“it’s not a benchmark 
for me.”
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                       Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“Sustainability needs to become
an integral part of companies,
but without all the hype”
        Macarena
        Gutiérrez
        EY
                                   41

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="42"><![CDATA[
Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT 
BUYING SECONDHAND CLOTHES 
OR SELLING YOUR OWN?

PREFERENCES WHEN 
BUYING CLOTHES

Yes, it’s a regular 
part of my shopping 
experience.

I’d rather keep buying 
clothes at the best 
possible price.

I would never 
do that.

No.

2%
17% 20%

20%

61%

17% 19%

44%

I’d rather spend less on 
done it yet. clothes and put that money 
toward other things.

Yes, but I haven’t 

Yes, I’ve done that 
a few times.

I’d rather buy fewer items, 
but of higher quality, even 
if they’re more expensive.

As a percentage of the total number of consumers.

to weigh heavily in the valuation of companies
undergoing a merger or acquisition, 
while from a financial perspective, progress 
in mitigating impact and risks remains a 
driver of positive bonuses.
porated into most companies in the sector 
in the form of compensation plans, not only 
for management teams but for the entire 
workforce. Making progress in the ESG 
sphere is also a key factor in attracting and 
retaining talent, with particular relevance 
for new generations of professionals.
New position in the 
organizational structure
Amid the new momentum toward sustainability
in fashion, many companies are 
restructuring their sustainability divisions, 
often integrating them with other departments.
Jordà describes the experience at 
Brownie, a company where the sustainability
division has grown in tandem with the 

company itself. Initially, these functions 
were outsourced, “because when you’re 
scaling up, you have to prioritize resources 
and allocate them across the organization,” 
he says. Later, the company developed an 
internal team reporting to general management,
as its functions were focused on the 
commercial and product areas. Since 2026, 
Brownie’s sustainability division has reported
to the CEO, although it works across all 
departments.
There is no single model among companies
in the sector, though it is most common 
to place the function within the finance 
department because it meets the demands 
of financial institutions and investors for 
control and certainty regarding the figures
a company reports. “The best models,” 
notes Kirby, “are those that combine finance,
reporting, controlling, and systems, 
but also include an initiative management 
component and a vision for impact within 
the sustainability team.” “In more mature 

Sustainability goals have also been incorOnly
a few companies, 
such as Patagonia 
and Ecoalf, have so far 
turned the promise of 
sustainability into a 
tangible driver of value 
creation for consumers.

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Sustainability is dead

need to use isn’t one of efficiency, but of 
how it can help us sell twice as much of 
the product as my competitor,” he argues. 
Waiting for the consumer
Sustainability as a driving force still has a 
limit that is all too evident: the perception 
among business owners and executives is 
that, while the public may support legislation
promoting circularity and sustainability,
consumers do not demand sustainable 
products. Only a few isolated cases, such as 
Patagonia and the Spanish brand Ecoalf, 
have so far managed to combine sustainability
with coolness, while dozens of projects 
have failed in their attempt to carve out a 
niche in the market under the green banner.
Part of the industry’s hope for progress 
in the sustainable fashion business lies in 
the secondhand market (which has gained 
popularity in recent years) or in improving 
quality—a process many companies in the 
mass retail segment are currently pursuing. 
When it comes to buying clothes, what do 
consumers prioritize? Sixty-one percent 
say they prefer to buy fewer clothes, but 
of higher quality, even if they are more 
expensive..

companies, as happened with digitalization,
what happens is that all areas of the 
company are involved, and sustainability 
sits at the top: the ideal scenario is when 
you’re embedding sustainability into every 
process and have people in procurement, 
innovation, or product development with a 
sustainability perspective,” he adds.
In the case of Inditex, for example, the 
company created a new corporate general 
management division in 2025, which oversees
finance, sustainability, logistics, transportation,
and infrastructure.
For Rafael Covarrubias, director of business
transformation at EY, “today in sustainability,
you’re either an auditor or a strategist,
and this is becoming highly polarized: 
best-in-class companies have integrated 
sustainability into their strategy and are 
using it to build competitive advantages 
and barriers to entry that will make them 
stronger in the long term.” 
The others are those that treat sustainability
as a compliance issue and, at best, 
integrate it as an item on the income statement,
whereas, in Covarrubias’ view, 
“it should be on the company’s balance 
sheet, in the brand’s equity.” “The lens we 

Finance, product 
development, and 
procurement are the 
areas that have most 
commonly incorporated 
sustainability 
management. The best 
model is when this 
responsibility falls 
to the CEO.

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In search
of the hype:
less legacy, more
 sensationalism
 44

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                    Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
A brand collaboration, a new
podcast episode, the opening of
a store, or even the launch of a
new collection: all designed to
spark conversation. This is the
obsession of a new generation
of fashion brands, which seek
constant buzz to stay connected
with their community—and
for whom legacy and even the
product itself take a back seat.
Startups are chipping away
at the market share of large
companies, but their scalability
and longevity remain to be seen.
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Constant renewal is an intrinsic aspect
of the fashion industry. From 
the moment that the clothing and 
footwear sold on the market began to serve 
a purpose beyond the basic need for protection,
fashion has become a virtually unique 
means of self-expression. And, as such an 
expression, it reflects—in terms of supply 
and demand—the ceaseless cultural and 
sociological changes through which contemporary
society is evolving.
In a world that is also changing ever 
more rapidly and with increasingly complex 
trends, fashion is undergoing an ever-more-frequent
renewal in trends, creative 
concepts, and, of course, brands. This is 
nothing new for an industry that has constantly
seen the emergence of new designers, 
brands, and companies seeking to meet 
the demands of one consumer segment 
or another, but what is new is the playing 

field and the possibilities available to an 
entrepreneur in the sector today. Simply 
put, today it is easier than ever to create a 
fashion brand and open a channel to reach 
consumers directly. But just as brands are 
born, they also die. “There have always been 
emerging brands, but it’s true that now the 
barriers to entry in the sector are extremely 
low: you have a website, an Instagram account,
and a T-shirt supplier, and you create 
a brand,” reflects Jaume Miquel, president 
and CEO of Tendam.
This circumstance, along with the entrepreneurial
dynamism that has emerged in 
the sector in recent years, has fueled the birth
and growth of dozens of fashion brands 
that are bursting onto the scene with a bang 
on social media, on the streets of any city, 
and on e-commerce platforms, chipping 
away at the market share of established 
players.

“You have a website, an 
Instagram account, and 
a T-shirt supplier, and 
you’ve created a brand,” 
reflects Jaume Miquel, 
CEO of Tendam, on the 
low barriers to entry in 
the industry.

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                         Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
       In search of the hype: less legacy,
       more sensationalism
                                Emerging alongside
                                the streetwear trend,
                                the current wave of
                                fashion startups has
                                built its success through
                                content creation, which
                                allows them to gain
                                visibility and connect
                                with their community
                                without the rising costs
                                of customer acquisition.
 58%
This is the percentage of consumers who say they have purchased
a product from a fashion brand they discovered on social media.
                                       47

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“The risk of this strategy is that if
there’s nothing behind the media
buzz, once the hype dies down,
so will the brand”
       Alberto
       Ojinaga
       Desigual
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  <page method="xml-texts" num="49"><![CDATA[
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In search of the hype: less legacy, 
more sensationalism

Two Jeys, which, unlike their predecessors 
(such as Hawkers), do not use retail as a 
channel to acquire online traffic—which has 
become increasingly expensive—but rather 
as a tool to create more content.
of brands, where fashion sometimes seems 
like a circumstantial accident, is the Spanish 
brand Milfshakes, driven by content creator 
Nil Ojeda. The company, halfway between 
a creative agency and a streetwear brand, 
defines itself as “an artistic concept based 
on randomness” and distributes a fashion 
line featuring ongoing collections and limited-edition
drops of apparel, accessories, 
doormats, and aluminum cans.
Consumer boldness 
To carve out a niche in a highly competitive
sector, startups are finding consumers 
who are open to new offerings that resonate 
with them—where neither brand heritage, 
product, nor price are the primary drivers 
of purchase.
at some point purchased a brand they were 
not previously familiar with, but whose presence
on social media or in advertising led 
them to try it, and only 9% say they need to 
do more research before making a decision.
portion of consumers allows brands with 
no prior legacy—and, in some cases, brands 
with no prospect of lasting over time—to 
burst onto the market. If brand creation is 
on the rise, so is brand mortality, and brand 
lifespans are shrinking.
were founded four decades or more ago 
and how they are launched today lies in 

The latest generation of these startups, 
many of which emerged on the back of 
the new wave of streetwear, is marked by 
distinct characteristics: faced with rising 
customer acquisition costs, the constant 
creation of viral content has become a key  A prime example of this new generation 
pillar of these phenomena. To such an extent
that, at times, it’s not easy to tell whether
they are fashion brands that generate 
content or content companies that also sell 
fashion to their community of followers. 
A different approach 
to entrepreneurship
Podcasts, content creators, YouTube, 
Instagram, and TikTok are the tools these 
new brands use not only to build their profile
but also to connect with a community 
of people who share their lifestyle vision. A 
new video, a new release (or drop), a new 
collaboration, or even the opening of a store 
become, for these brands, tools for generating
constant buzz that keeps them top of 
mind among their followers.
Around the world, brands such as the  58% of surveyed consumers say they have 
Japanese label Human Made, driven 
by Japanese creative, DJ, and producer 
Tomoaki Nagao (Nigo) and singer Pharrell 
Williams; the British brand Corteiz, created
by designer and creative Clint419; the 
Italian brand Fivefourfive, led by influencer  This adventurous nature of a significant 
Luca Santeramo; and the German brand 
Reternity, launched by Tom Schmidt and 
Lauren Riedel, have made hype (the intense
anticipation generated by a product 
launch or event) their modus operandi.
Joining them are brands such as the 
Dutch Suspicious Antwerp, the Colombian  A key difference between how brands 
Undergold or Sixxta, the American SP5der, 
or the Spanish Nude Project, Scuffers, or 

New streetwear brands targeting Gen Z have emerged  their short history. While they’ve inherited the ability to 
virtually everywhere. Backed by content creators with  turn every collaboration or drop into a viral sensation 
millions of followers, or linked to the influencer or artist of  from brands like Supreme, they differ from the previous 
the moment, brands like Fivefourfive in Italy, Milfshakes  generation of startups, such as Hawkers, in that content 
in Spain, and Undergold in Colombia have managed to  is now at the heart of their strategy. Online traffic is no 
connect with young people in their home countries, while  longer cheap, and to generate it, you have to capture 
also making the leap into international markets despite  attention through viral content.

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are gaining traction is linked, according to 
Joana Jordà, general manager of Brownie, 
to the speed at which trends burn out. 
“Today, the customer moves very, very fast, 
and the product burns out—in a metaphorical
sense—much faster,” she adds.
For Gutiérrez, relevance is more important
today than legacy, which “is not that it 
doesn’t matter, but it isn’t eternal.” Faced 
with this reality, new-generation brands 
have placed the community at the center 
of their strategy—a community that, at its 
core, is nothing more than a group of people
who share certain values. Sectors like 
sports, with Nike at the forefront, have been 
leveraging this concept for decades. It’s particularly
useful for niche brands and those 
targeting younger demographics (at a time 
when people seek validation), but less so 
for more global and generalist companies. 
“Community isn’t for every brand or every 
age group; values are, but community isn’t,” 
says Miquel.
Brownie, a brand with a twenty-year history
that targets a teenage audience, is also 
based on the concept of community, according
to its CEO. “Mercedes, the co-founder, 
says that when they created the company, it 
was clear to them: she talks about her girls,
and we understand it perfectly, because 
even mothers want their daughters to be 
part of that community,” she explains. “But 
not all brands need to have a community; 
rather, they need a strong value proposition, 
pricing, basics, and in-store experience…,” 
she adds.
“Obviously, we compete on the product 
itself—that will never change—but we also 
compete on something even more important:
time, and connecting with our customers,”
says Jordà. “In the past, brands focused
on creating a good collection, putting 
it on sale, and hoping it would be a hit… 
but now, thanks to social media, creating 
brands is much easier, although whether 
those brands will stand the test of time is 
another matter.”
From community to commerce
With a constant stream of content and engagement
that sometimes borders on the 
fanatical, brands like FC Barcelona and 
Real Madrid prove that a large fan base 
can have limited economic impact. With 

the starting point of the approach: whereas
the product used to be the center and 
everything began there, it is now almost secondary.
Today, the starting point is having 
a target audience with influence on social 
media. “The risk of this strategy is that, if 
there’s nothing behind the initial communication
push, once the wave passes, so does 
the brand,” says Alberto Ojinaga, CEO of 
Desigual.
Are these brands without a commitment 
to longevity? For Transy Rodríguez, partner 
in charge of the consumer goods and distribution
sector at EY, in some cases entrepreneurs
treat these as project finance ventures,
“developing projects in pairs: if one goes 
wrong, let’s see how the other turns out.”
Macarena Gutiérrez, partner responsible 
for the retail and consumer sector at EYParthenon,
notes, however, that most of 
these companies do intend to last, but they 
are not succeeding, partly because consumers
are more fickle than ever. “Young people
are less consistent; they have a culture 
of much greater immediacy,” she continues, 
a difficulty compounded by the challenge of 
scaling up. 
For Javier Vello, Head of EY Studio + 
Spain, some of these projects “are born with 
the intention of being sold and achieving 
quick success, but the fundamental mistake
is that they foster ephemeral brands.” 
Another obstacle is that they run into “vertical
walls: going from one million to five 
million euros in revenue is a quantum leap; 
going from five to ten is another, and going 
from ten to one hundred million euros is 
like climbing Everest.” “They should be 
thinking that to be relevant, you need to be 
above 100 million euros, but since many 
brands focus on sizes between five and ten 
million, there is a long list of small companies
that end up cannibalizing each other,” 
he adds.
According to Cáliz Ebri, head of innovation
and experience design at EY Studio+, 
“in an environment where trends are created,
copied, and exploited, perhaps the new 
paradigm isn’t building brands to last foreA
younger audience that 
ver, but learning to manage brands desigis
less loyal and more 
accustomed to instant 
ned to die quickly.” gratification provides 
fertile ground for the 
A product that burns out growth of these brands, 
but it also means they 
The speed at which brands emerging today  have a short lifespan.

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                          Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“Perhaps the new paradigm isn’t
about building brands ‘to last
forever,’ but rather learning to
manage brands designed
to die quickly”
         Cáliz
         Ebri
         EY
                                        51

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  HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT A BRAND YOU                            WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO FOLLOW
   WEREN’T FAMILIAR WITH BEFORE, BUT                             A BRAND ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
    WHOSE SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE OR
 ADVERTISING MADE YOU WANT TO TRY IT?
    Yes, I’ve made No, I need to doI thought about        Because it      I follow the brand    I don’t follow
 impulse purchases  more research it, but in the end      publishes       because of its identity, fashion
      after seeing  before making   I didn’t end up       content that    not just because      brands on
 something on social up my mind.        buying it.        entertains me.  of its products.      social media.
 media or inan ad.
                   7%9%4%                                               15%
                                                                  2%                        37%
                                    29%                         18%
          51%
                                                                      8%          20%
    Yes, I’ve bought              I don’t usually do       To get inspirationTo stay informed   To discover new
    something after          that, but I might if the      for style ideas orabout sales and    products and
    seeing it on social      proposal interests me.        outfits.          promotions.        releases.
    media or in an ad.
                               As a percentage of the total number of consumers.
                        revenues of around one billion euros, the     The risks of a sudden loss of hype—dri-
                        two largest brands in the global soccer bu-ven by followers who are more capricious
                        siness (each estimated to have nearly 600   and fickle than those of previous genera-
                        million followers) generate 277 million eu-tions—on the one hand, and the risk that
                        ros and 231 million euros from merchandise  attention and affinity will ultimately fail to
                        sales, respectively. That is, less than half atranslate into sales, on the other, are the
                        euro per follower.                          major unknowns hanging over this new
                          In this regard, Vello warns about the bu-generation of brands.
                        siness foundation of some of the new-gene-    In any case, their global buzz (and the
Javier Vello, Head of EYration brands. In many cases, having failedinterest shown in them by other major
Studio + Spain, warns   to achieve optimal business figures, “they  companies in the sector or from other in-
that the number of      rely on the number of followers, which is adustries, from McDonald’s to Zara) teaches
followers is “a promise-
based KPI” and that     ‘promise KPI’ used in measuring tech busi-  the entire sector that the successful con-
communities only make   nesses, but not in fashion.” “If you’re able toversation with new generations of consu-
sense when brands are   monetize that community, it makes sense,    mers (Generation Z and beyond) has new
able to monetize them
through sales.          but if not, it doesn’t,” he continues.      rules..
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AI: the time to
prove ourselves
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                   Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
The potential of AI for the
fashion industry is undeniable,
but its effective implementation
is proving to be slower, more
limited, and more fragmented
than many companies had
anticipated. The fragmentation
of data throughout the fashion
supply chain compounds the
other challenges faced by any
company seeking to leverage
AI to improve efficiency or the
consumer experience. We must
move from experimentation to
widespread adoption and real-
world impact.
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
 Artificial Intelligence is emerging                                to be embedded as a driver of efficiency ra-
       as the primary driver of global                              ther than merely an element of innovation.
       technological transformation                                   “There was a period of total frenzy,
and promises to shake up the structures,                            when it seemed we had to launch two
processes, and operations of companies                              hundred pilot projects, with zero impact,”
worldwide. It will also transform the la-                           summarizes Macarena Gutiérrez, partner
bor market, changing the way things are                             responsible for the retail and consumer
done, eliminating jobs, and creating new                            sector at EY-Parthenon. It is time to ac-
roles. In fashion, the range of AI appli-                           celerate the change.
cations is as extensive as the sector’s own                           The truth is that the implementation of
value chain, and projects are already un-                           Artificial Intelligence in fashion is slower
derway in virtually every company, de-                              than in other sectors, particularly tho-
partment, and process. However, there                               se where technology is not at the core of
is also a widespread sense that AI is in a  In marketing, Desigual  their business, but fashion surely needs
longer-than-expected exploratory phase,     has managed to          Artificial Intelligence to become a real
marked by experimentation, pilot tests,     generate more content   business driver more than other sectors
                                            than it did in the
and superficial applications of this tech-  past, while in design,  do. Supply chain, demand forecasting, pri-
nology in fashion companies’ processes.     it acknowledges         cing, inventory management, customer ex-
The sector must start now to derive real    that the adoption of    perience, and logistics are just some of the
                                            artificial intelligence is
impact from this technology, which needs    proceeding more slowly.pain points in the fashion industry—which
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                        Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
      IA: The time to prove ourselves
                               “The evolution
                               of information
                               technologies driven by
                               artificial intelligence
                               has given rise to a single
                               global market,” says
                               Tadashi Yanai, president
                               and CEO of Fast
                               Retailing.
 17%
For fashion consumers, the use of AI to search for and purchase
products has not yet become widespread. Only two out of ten use
a GPT or some other form of AI when shopping.
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“If you overinvest in something
without a clear strategic plan,
you risk throwing capital
expenditures out the window”
       Jaume
       Miquel
       Tendam
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

IA: The time to prove ourselves

From adoption to utilization
What is the true state of AI development 
in the fashion industry, given the short 
history of widespread use of this technology?
For Javier Vello, Head of EY Studio + 
Spain, the level of adoption is high, but the 
level of utilization and optimization across 
different use cases remains low. “The key,” 
he notes, “is that you have to understand 
the strategy first.”
explains 
Macarena Gutiérrez, “is to have a strategy
and integrate it into the company’s 
roadmap where it can add the most value.”
Depending on the company and its 
current stage, these areas can include 
consumer engagement, customer insight, 
and experience personalization, on the one 
hand, or the supply chain, notes Gutiérrez, 
who emphasizes that its implementation
must occur in parallel with change 
management.
of most companies in the sector is that, 
until now, the development of Artificial 
Intelligence has taken place in small, segmented
areas, so the impact achieved is 
still limited. “The main challenge is that 
AI requires effective data management to 
function, and companies are often ill-equipped
for this; the greatest risk is diving in 
without a strategy and forgetting that the 
ultimate criterion must always be human 
judgment,” explains Gutiérrez.
vernance, the fragmentation of the fashion 
value chain is one of the main challenges, 
just as it was years ago when Industry 4.0 
first came into the conversation. The low 
level of integration between large retailers
and their suppliers (a dynamic that 

is intensive in operations, promotions, and 
logistics, yet characterized by low brand 
loyalty—that AI could help overcome. But 
we haven’t yet seen any magic solutions or 
truly significant leaps forward.
This reality is paradoxical, given the 
widespread commitment the international
fashion sector claims to have 
made to adopting Artificial Intelligence. 
Specifically, 72% of leading global companies
report having introduced this techno- “The right approach,” 
logy in key areas of their operations, 42% 
have implemented their own AI tools, and 
12% refer to AI as a strategic driver in the 
CEO’s letter in their latest annual reports.
For example, Zalando’s management 
team notes in its 2025 report that, for the 
company, Artificial Intelligence is “more 
than a tool; it is a powerful catalyst for 
innovation.” “Looking ahead,” it continues, 
“we are even more excited about the rapid 
advances in AI technology, which allow us 
to drive growth and efficiency across our  The reality in the day-to-day operations 
entire business.”
“The evolution of AI-driven information
technologies,” says Tadashi Yanai, 
Chairman and CEO of Fast Retailing, “has 
given rise to a single global market.” For 
his part, Daniel Ervér, CEO of H&M, notes 
that “more data-driven decision-making 
and greater use of AI are improving our 
accuracy and providing us with more tools 
to express our creativity, which further 
strengthens our offering to the customer.”
Gap CEO Richard Dickson notes that  In terms of data centralization and go“optimizing
our technology offerings to 
ensure they remain a key factor, with an 
AI strategy focused on improving predictability,
reducing friction, and boosting 
productivity across the company” is one 
of the company’s strategic priorities. 

There are many pain points that artificial intelligence can  reduces profit margins, and ultimately undermines 
address across any industry. One of the most significant  sustainability. Thirty-five percent of consumers surveyed 
in fashion, given the nature of the industry, is inventory  cite size availability as one of the three most important 
management: not having the right sizes available at  factors when making fashion purchasing decisions, 
the right time leads to lost sales; while overproducing to  compared to a mere 9% who say, for example, that they 
avoid stockouts forces retailers to offer deep discounts,  consider the country of manufacture.

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

brands are now trying to reverse) makes 
data integration particularly difficult and, 
consequently, hinders the efficient use of 
Artificial Intelligence across the upstream 
and downstream supply chains.
From Best in Class to Late 
Adopter
Business leaders’ conviction that Artificial 
Intelligence will play a significant role in 
the future goes hand in hand with doubts 
and caution: most do not want to move 
too quickly. “I believe that in ten years, AI 
will bring about the same level of change—
or even more—as the digital revolution,” 
says Jaume Miquel, president and CEO of 
Tendam. In his view, however, the key lies 
in where to invest, “because if you overinvest
in something without a clear strategic 
roadmap, you risk throwing capital expenditure
out the window.”
Tendam has developed an investment 
methodology for its approach to technology.
“In the areas that set our business model
apart, we want our relationship with 
technology to aim for best-in-class status; 
in digital and omnichannel, we’d like to 
be good followers, and in the rest, late 
adopters,” explains Miquel. “Where are we 
going to focus our AI efforts? On CRM and 
predictive demand models—on everything 
related to gross margin,” he notes. 
Thus, although it has begun introducing
Artificial Intelligence in areas such as 
design and other company departments, 
Tendam is focusing on its customer relationship,
for which it has started developing
its own tools and has strengthened
the team with profiles specialized in 
Artificial Intelligence and data analytics.
“AI has very tangible benefits related to 
productivity, which is a key KPI for any 
company, because you boost productivity 
and that improves the company’s performance,”
notes Joana Jordà, general manager
of Brownie.
“AI will significantly streamline companies,
and that effectively helps reduce 
costs,” explains Jordà, noting that Brownie 
Up to 6% of consumers 
is currently reviewing all areas of the 
say they often use 
artificial intelligence 
company in search of applications, with  to help them with 
a special focus on areas such as planning 
their purchases. 11% 
and purchasing management, “one of the 
use it only on special 
occasions, and 10% are 
issues that most affects the company’s  just starting to use it.

economics.”
Desigual began applying Artificial 
Intelligence to its processes more than 
three years ago and currently has three 
initiatives underway: one focused on 
creativity, one on advanced analytics, 
and a third on operational efficiency. In 
marketing, for example, the company is 
managing to generate more content than 
it did in the past, while in design the implementation
is proceeding more slowly 
(though with tests including on-demand 
production using AI-driven design), as the 
company’s CEO explains.
Demand forecasting, margin, and operational
efficiency are areas of the company
where AI is already yielding results: 
“We’ve carried out projects ranging from 
the managers themselves to senior leadership,
selecting aspects that help us become 
more efficient,” says Ojinaga.
Changes in 
consumer behavior
Beyond business initiatives to use artificial
intelligence to optimize, streamline, 
and improve processes in various areas, 
this disruptive technology will have much 
more far-reaching consequences for the 
future of the industry. For starters, not 
only companies but also individual consumers
are enthusiastically embracing new 
artificial intelligence tools.
The search for information, touchpoints 
with brands, and—in the near future—
the ways people shop for fashion may 
change radically as a result of Artificial 
Intelligence. The transformation process 
has already begun.
Specifically, 6% of surveyed consumers 
state that they already “often” use a GPT 
or other AI to assist them in the fashion 
purchasing process, through recommendations,
product comparisons, or idea generation.
Another 11% note that they use 
this tool only on specific occasions, and 
another 10% say they are just starting to 
use it.
The flip side of consumer perception regarding
AI in fashion is the reservations 
some consumers have about products designed
with this technology. Seven percent 
state outright that they would stop buying 
a brand if they knew it used AI to design 

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                          Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026
“The key to adopting artificial
intelligence is to first understand
the strategy”
         Javier
         Vello
         EY
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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

ADVANCES IN AI

AI, A STRATEGIC FACTOR

No
28%
Yes 
72%

Yes 
42%

No
58%

Percentage of companies that mention AI 
as a strategic focus in their annual report. 

Percentage of companies that have developed their 
own AI tool. As a percentage of the total

As a percentage of the total.

its products, while another 49% acknowledge
that it raises doubts that could affect 
their purchasing decision. For 4%, designs 
created with Artificial Intelligence are positive
or interesting, and for the remaining 
40%, it makes no difference.
sely the area that has made the most visible
progress in terms of implementing 
Artificial Intelligence, although its use 
is not yet widespread and fully realizing 
its potential remains a long-term goal. 
Rafael Covarrubias, director of business 
transformation at EY, warns that companies’
plans “need to be less futuristic and 
much more focused on cases that have a 
direct impact in the short term: it’s more 
impressive when someone tells you they’ve 
changed their design process with AI than 
how it’s going to change two years from 
now.” This technology “should elevate the 

intelligence of the fashion industry, not 
replace its imagination,” notes Cáliz Ebri, 
head of innovation and experience design 
at EY Studio+.
Another key to developing an Artificial 
Intelligence strategy is to use it as a business
tool, not as an instrument of innovation.
“The problems are the same 
as always: estimating demand, setting 
prices… but now we have tools that are 
powerful and can be deployed more quickly,”
explains Covarrubias.
Charles Kirby, a partner in EY’s sustainability
consulting practice, offers 
another perspective by linking Artificial 
Intelligence with robotics. “It is the most 
disruptive development we will experience 
in many years: I can’t think of any other 
technologies that have brought about 
such levels of transformation—not even 
the Internet or digitalization,” he notes..

Alongside marketing, design is preciFor
7% of consumers, 
knowing that artificial 
intelligence is used in a 
product’s design would 
lead them to not buy 
it, while another 49% 
would have reservations 
about it.

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

Methodology

the global fashion business daily that has 
been dedicated to continuously tracking industry
developments for the past 17 years.
With a critical eye and the aim of constructively
challenging the professionals leading
this industry, EY and Modaes identify 
five ideas that, in their view, should dominate
the conversations, deliberations, and 
action plans of fashion companies in 2026. 
In a context of tremendous dynamism, both 
within and outside the sector, these are five 
concepts linked to current events this year 
that will very likely be superseded in twelve 

Shaking Fashion: the CEO’s Agenda is 
based on a diverse approach to work and 
thinking used to arrive at non-scientific 
findings, yet it also draws on strategic data 
that, viewed from various angles, provides 
telling insights into the key issues currently 
facing the fashion industry.
Developed by EY and Modaes, the report
draws on these two entities’ own deep 
understanding of the fashion industry’s 
reality: one of the world’s largest professional
services firms (with unique expertise 
in supporting companies in the sector) and 

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Shaking Fashion — The CEO’s Agenda 2026

months by other urgent matters, new changes,
and other phenomena to be identified 
in future editions.
Each of these statements raises specific 
questions that concern both companies and 
consumers, and these have been addressed 
through two distinct field studies. On the 
one hand, the report utilizes data extracted 
from public and official information on the 
world’s fifty most significant companies in 
the fashion industry to uncover details such 
as the percentage of companies that have 
changed their CEO in the last two years, 
those that have developed their own AI 
technologies, or those that have collaborated
with cultural entities or individuals 
to increase their visibility and build their 
narrative.
From the consumer’s perspective, key 
questions were also posed to a significant 
panel of consumers to undrstnd te  hir ea
behavioral patterns whesarcin   n ehgfor  or
purchasing fashion, as wla  el stei  hrop-i
nions on key issues such asusain s  tabilt  iy,

secondhand fashion, the use of AI, and their 
willingness to buy fashion from brands they 
discover on social media.
Both the ideas outlined and the quantitative
results from the respective field studies
(companies and consumers) are complemented
by in-depth interviews with top 
executives from various fashion companies, 
as well as a pool of expert executives from 
EY. These interviews serve to broaden our 
understanding of the different phenomena 
analyzed and provide more comprehensive
insights for understanding, interpreting,
and setting out the future direction 
for each.
The result of this entire process is a series
of analyses that combine data, examples,
and reflections on five of the issues 
that, in the current climate, are shaking up 
the fashion industry more than any others. 
Five in-depth examinations of uncomfortable
realities, trends, and disruptions that 
are sweeping through the global fashion 
industry.

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THE CEO’S
 AGENDA
 2026

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  <page method="xml-texts" num="69"><![CDATA[
 Partners
                EY is a global leader in audit, tax,
                strategy, transaction advisory and
                consulting services. The high-quality
                information and services we provide
                help to build trust in capital markets
                and economies around the world. We
                develop outstanding leaders who work
 www.ey.com     as a team to fulfil the commitments we
                have made to our stakeholders. In this
                way, we play a vital role in fulfilling our
                purpose of ‘Building a better working
                world’ for our people, our clients and
                our communities.
                Modaes is the global daily newspaper
                for the fashion industry. It specialises
                in providing information, services
                and activities that meet the needs
 www.modaes.com of professionals in this key economic
                sector. Knowledge, excellence,
                influence, independence, hard work,
                flexibility and commitment are the
                values of Modaes, which has a sixteen-
                year track record and a mission to be
                the best tool for supporting decision-
                making within the fashion industry’s
                professional community.

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THE CEO’S
 AGENDA
 2026

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