Much has changed about the world since the last recession — meaning, fashion’s reaction will shift this time around, explains BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler Young. Background: Fashion is bracing itself for a 2023 filled with uncertainty. An impending recession hangs in the background of executives’ conversations about the year ahead. Leaders will have to strike a balance between safe-guarding their companies (which, may inevitably will include layoffs) while continuing to fuel growth and retaining crucial employees“There’s this mindshift shift that’s happened that people truly aren’t disposable … a lot of things that would have typically happened [during a recession] are now a last resort,” said BoF’s workplace and talent correspondent Sheena Butler-Young. Key Insights: - In the coming months, fashion executives will inevitably start pulling recession-reaction levers, including doing hiring pauses and layoffs, reorganising responsibilities across teams and reigning in focus on experimental spaces like the metaverse. - But, market conditions are different now compared to prior recessions, and the industry has changed drastically. Because of the labour shortage, CEOs are first and foremost focused on keeping workers happy. - Teams that were once considered “nice-to-haves” and “first-to-gos” — including sustainability and diversity and inclusion — have become crucial to business function for fashion companies in the past few years. Subscribe to BoF’s YouTube channel to never miss a video. Look out for more VOICES videos coming soon, bringing you the best of our annual global gathering for big thinkers. CONNECT WITH THE BUSINESS OF FASHION: Web: https://www.businessoffashion.com/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BoF Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/businessoffa... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BoF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-... Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/fashionbu... Newsletter: https://www.businessoffashion.com/new... ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF FASHION: The Business of Fashion is a next-generation fashion media company conceived for today’s global and hyper-connected world. Founded in 2007 by Imran Amed, BoF is known for its authoritative, agenda-setting point of view on the global fashion industry, and is an indispensable resource for fashion executives, creatives, students, and entrepreneurs in over 200 countries. It has been described as “The Economist of Fashion,” “A Daily Destination for Fashion’s Power Players”, and “The Industry Bible”, www.businessoffashion.com