Only McKinsey Perspectives

The future of fashion: Sustainable brands and ‘circular’ business models

A new kind of sustainable style

-
Interlocking contemporary wooden rings with embedded spheres, symbolizing a harmonious partnership, set against a vibrant blue background.
Did you miss any of our most-read issues?
-
A chambray mens dress shirt floating weightlessly against a light blue background.
How are fast-fashion retailers shaking up the industry?
-
Woman in yellow holding a newspaper
Do you know which country has the highest level of gender equality?
-
A red sphere is in the lead, followed by several gray squares, each positioned in its own groove.
How can companies ensure that they pick the right CEO to succeed the previous one?
-
" "
Know how to engage employees?
-
A green apple split into 3 parts on a gray background. Half of the apple is made out of a digital blue wireframe mesh.
What should you know about gen AI?
-
An animation of a female business executive ascending a structure with different sets of steps leading to the top. Along her path to the top, the executive encounters various circular icons, which, after the executive touches them, spin to reveal accompanying images. The icons represent the different stages of the executive’s CEO journey.
How the best CEOs navigate the role
-
Image of purple abstract curve chart with the central line being brightly lit.
Do you think that the world economy is improving?
-
Abstract geometrical background with lines and dots.
Which gen AI operating models can help banks achieve the most value?
-
People constructing building out of sustainable energy blocks. - illustration
The energy industry can make changes to attract younger workers
-
Abstract eye comprising blue and clear glass spheres
Are you ready for the next wave of M&A deals?
-
Mother, holding her baby, sits at desk while video conferencing with her co-workers.
What’s really holding women back at work?
-
Aerial view of a bridge across a bay at sunset.
How is the workforce changing in 2024?
-
Triangular prism refracting light beam on blue colored background.
Leaving the CEO role for new pastures is tough. Here’s how to get it right.
-
scenic video of Davos, Switzerland
Curious about Davos? Here’s a refresher on themes and topics.
-
Power to the Middle
Middle managers don’t always want to be promoted. How should leaders reward them?
-
A Chinese grandmother teaching her granddaughter how to design a garment while her mother looks on. Fabric patterns hang on the wall behind them and traditional Chinese dresses hang on mannequins.
Family-owned businesses often earn superior returns. New research tells us why.
-
Engineers and architects working in a modern office with a building project visualized with augmented reality software.
Offices sit vacant as hybrid work persists. How can leaders reenvision real estate?
-
McKinsey Books
What business books are on your bookshelf?
-
Interlocking contemporary wooden rings with embedded spheres, symbolizing a harmonious partnership, set against a vibrant blue background.
It’s tough for companies to grow. One C-suite partnership is especially important.
-
 3D illustration of a human hand and a digital hand reaching through geometric portals and touching finger tips at the center of the frame
What to know about Web3
-
Woman waving goodbye to colleague in office
Women are ‘breaking up’ with unfulfilling jobs. What can employers do?
-
A group of stick figures walking while one sprints ahead. The figure in the lead glows with light.
Change is hard. But it can also give companies a competitive edge.
-
Levitating laptop on a blue background
Companies are already hiring prompt engineers. Why is that a critical role?
-
""
There are four plausible paths for global wealth. Here’s how each could play out.
-
A illustration of a face made of digital particles as symbol of artificial intelligence
Generative AI is already starting to change the business world. Are you working with it yet?
-
Graphene, illustration - stock illustration
China has become a tougher market. How do global companies strengthen supply chains?
-
Multilayered balance board with multiple chrome spheres of different sizes creates a dynamic equilibrium.
How motivated are you? New research reveals what disengaged workers cost companies.
-
A woman in loose fashionable clothing stepping though a square opening half her height in a dark blue colored wall. The other side of the opening is bright and pink.
We knew her when: Unilever’s past CHRO (Chanel’s new CEO) on reimagining work
-
A row of 8 matches that go from lightly to completely burnt. The last match is broken into a shape that resembles a human figure.
If you’re feeling burned out, you’re not alone. How widespread is employee burnout?
-
Mark Thompson
Want the inside scoop on how CNN’s new CEO led a digital transformation at the New York Times?
-
A couple walking around pool at desert camp at sunrise
Want to experience better travel? Here’s what innovators see for the future of hotels.
-
""
How could generative AI and automation technologies transform work in America?
-
Open book with 3D pop-out animation of a beach, boardwalk, and Ferris wheel
Our 2023 summer reading guide is here
-
Will India get too hot to work?
As heat and humidity rises, could India get too hot to work?
-
Digital generated image of abstract blue wave swirl flowing turbulent against grey background.
Do you know how to create value from generative AI?
-
Smiling diverse business colleagues of different ages talking while working at a PC in the office.
From Gen Z to boomers, are we all really so different at work?
-
 A photorealistic scene of a mixed-use development with older office buildings looming in the background.  The foreground is bustling with shoppers and office professionals walking along wide sidewalks alongside multistory buildings with stores and eateries on the lower levels and offices and apartments above them.
As people leave urban centers, can superstar cities like London and Paris stay vibrant?
-
Red wooden model balanced between wooden bars
Middle managers are vital to organizational health and performance. How can you best support them?
-
A energetic and tightly grouped collection of social media reaction icons including hearts, thumbs up, happy and surprised faces along with comment and texting bubbles and hashtags.
The rise of social commerce—and other social media trends businesses should know
-
AI generated building blocks stacked on top of one another - illustration
Never too tired to make a sale, generative AI is reshaping marketing at lightning speed
-
Birds flying over a large field
Why should companies try to function as “one firm”?
-
""
What could your commute look like in 2035?
-
Headshot of Jeanette Betancourt
Young children are experiencing trauma. What should parents and educators do?
-
Got resilience?
Is your organization resilient and ready for the future?
-
Grandfather carries grandson on shoulders during walk in park
What matters most to older adults as they age?
-
Top view of creative businesspeople having meeting
Many of us spend too much time in meetings. Is a more efficient workday possible?
-
""
It’s (past) time to get strategic about DEI
-
" "
What leadership capabilities and mindsets can help organizations thrive now?
-
""
What does it take to become a CEO?
-
Portrait of mature businessman seated at workstation in design studio
These are turbulent times. Where should CEOs focus first?
-
" "
Gen Z’s workplace must-haves
-
Futuristic space woman floating away
These generative AI use cases may transform the fashion industry
-
Food plight
Why is the worldwide food crisis deepening?
-
Tarped tent and suitcase on a city sidewalk
San Francisco’s homelessness crisis feels intractable. How can leaders turn the tide?
-
Group of white spheres on light blue background
Cloud computing is more than just data storage. Here's how to maximize its potential.
-
Image of a blue hand holding a blue megaphone on a white background
What is leadership?
-
" "
What is the future of work?
-
Artistic image of butterfly
When did you last get a full night’s sleep? Here’s how employers can support worker well-being.
-
Multiracial group of business people, eating a pizza for their lunch break at cafeteria
Farewell dinners, Mindful Mondays: How workplace rituals create community
-
Digital illustration of a wireframe of an apple.
Can you tell whether this subject line was written by AI?
-
Digitally generated image of a tree inside glass containers on a blue background
Why great health may be within reach
-
Low angle view of business office buildings
The CFO job has gotten more complex. How can leaders hit the ground running?
-
" "
Ever heard of dual awareness? Here’s how it can help leaders in uncertain times.
-
" "
How concentrated is global trade?
-
Employees entering their office though multiple doors in the lobby
The talent market remains in flux. What should you be doing differently?
-
Year in review
From supply chain disruptions to an energy crisis: The biggest inflection points of 2022
-
""
Becoming a software business is tough. What do successful companies have in common?
-
""
Where are the emerging opportunities in the space economy?
-
" "
As inflation strains household budgets, how are Americans feeling about the economy?
-
Middle Eastern woman window shopping
Can Gulf consumer companies stay relevant in a changing retail landscape?
-
Woman in yellow sweater holding a melting ice cream cone in her hand
Work disengagement is all too real. What performance management tactics work?
-
A single white flower growing out of a crack in a piece of concrete
After 30 years of relative calm, is the world at the start of a new era?
-
A mother helps her young son as he plugs their electric vehicle into charge
What are the opportunities and challenges around financing the net-zero transition?
-
Capturing the value from sustainable materials
Materials are the next net-zero frontier. Which green-materials premiums are emerging?
-
Stylized view of India from space
India plays a big role in the fight against climate change. What will it take to decarbonize?
-
Abstract artistic human head portrait made of dotted particles array. Digital soul, spirit of technological time
Perplexed by digital twins? Learn what they can do for organizations.
-
Toxic workplace behavior and employee burnout: Fix one, fix both
Toxic behavior is common at work. What can leaders and employees do to tackle it?
-
""
What are the greatest perceived risks to global economic growth?
-
Woman Doctor Nutritionist Hands In White With Omega 3, Vitamin D Capsules With Green Vegan Food
US consumers spend billions on wellness. What products do they say they still need?
-
Row of shoes and boots
What type of worker are you? Here’s why employers should take note.
-
Book cover for The Titanium Economy: How Industrial Technology Can Create a Better, Faster, Stronger America
Well-paying jobs, soaring stock prices: Welcome to the ‘titanium economy’
-
Could this be a glimpse  into life in the 2030s?
What could life be like in the 2030s?
-
Book cover for The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown
How to embrace uncertainty (and even have some fun)
-
Floating chess pieces
In uncertain times, how do you lead with courage?
-
Man in biking helmet holding packages and delivery bag, looking at phone
Do you have a side hustle? Unemployment is scarce, while gig work abounds.
-
Gilead Wellness Center balcony
What makes you go into the office? Learn how today’s workplaces are changing.
-
Rich Diviney
Which attributes determine how well you perform?
-
Stacks of coins next to a small model plane
Airlines are struggling to turn a profit, but a few are beating the odds. How do they do it?
-
Jenny Wang
Invisible no more: It’s time to talk about Asian American mental health
-
""
What exactly is the metaverse? How leading brands are rewriting the rules of marketing.
-
""
What do leading innovators do differently?
-
Headshot of Dr. Jennifer Sciubba
Birth rates are trending down: Is the population in trouble?
-
""
Dealing with inflation must become a CEO superpower. Here’s how.
-
" "
Toxic work culture is a leading cause of attrition. How can employers win back their workers?
-
Tessa West headshot
How to handle the jerk at work
-
The microchip industry is booming. How big could it be by 2030?
-
It’s a hard world. Soft skills can help.
-
Diane Hoskins headshot
Offices aren’t going away—but they’re looking quite different
-
""
Today’s best CEOs lead with empathy and humility
-
McKinsey senior partners Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, and Vik Malhotra
Performing while transforming: The CEO juggling act
-
""
Gray hair and don’t care? Unfortunately, hiring managers do.
-
Businesswoman looking fatigued
Dousing burnout at home and at work
-
Business people on a video call.
Destination: Collaboration
-
Young woman talks with therapist
Disruption junction
-
The future of air mobility: Electric aircraft and flying taxis
Up in the air
-
Headshot of Dr. Sood
Bounce back
-
Global emergence of electrified small-format mobility
E-bikes everywhere
-
Division in labor
-
This time it's personal: Shaping the ‘new possible' through employee experience
Take this job and love it
-
Five Fifty: Rudeness on the rise
A nation on edge
-
EV fast charging: How to build and sustain competitive differentiation
Start me up
-
More than a mission statement: How the 5Ps embed purpose to deliver value
Find meaning
-
inme13_frth_Feature_2x
Finding flow
-
Organizing for sustainability success: Where, and how, leaders can start
More than compliance
-
Five Fifty: Meeting time
Enough already
-
Author Talks: Tsedal Neeley on why remote work is here to stay—and how to get it right
Camera off
-