Bugatti CBO Florian Wortmann: “We can all be spared for two or three months”

Fashion moves so quickly that pressing the ‘pause button’ seems almost impossible. Taking time off, however, can help one return full of energy and new ideas. Nevertheless, the topic still seems to be a taboo in the industry, especially for executives.

Florian Wortmann, chief brand officer at the German brand Bugatti, has taken at least a short break to spend with his newborn son. In this interview, he discusses his experiences, how the Herford-based clothing supplier handles remote working, and why he wanted to be a parcel courier as a child.

Mr Wortmann, you have just returned from a short ‘paternity leave’. How common is such a break in the fashion industry?

I did not think too much about it with my post. I tend not to look at others. Instead, I consider what is right for me. It was only when I was approached about it that I realised it is never really discussed, especially in the traditional fashion industry.

Overall, we are in a phase shaped by the rethinking during the pandemic and its consequences. The four-day week, working less and having more free time are contrasted with insufficient salaries and price increases. I find this “work less to live my life” concept somewhat difficult.

What exactly bothers you about it?

For me, it is somehow wrong when these aspects are so imbalanced and create a conflict of objectives. That is why I do not believe in the term “work-life balance”. You need a good “life balance” – with “work”, without “work”, with passion or a lot of free time. It has to be right for each individual. “Work” always has such a negative connotation in that context.

Work does not necessarily have to be the greatest passion. However, on the whole, many people seem to give far too little thought to what they want, how they want to earn money, and what they want to spend the majority of their lives doing. This starts in school, where children are simply not properly prepared for it.

Did you already know as a child where your journey was headed?

As a child, I always wanted to be a parcel courier to connect people. I also wanted to be a professional footballer to pursue my passion. Of course, things turned out differently.

I did not go into the fashion industry because I thought: “You can earn a lot of money there”. I started in this field because I enjoyed it. It was just a great feeling when customers came into the shop, you gave them something, and they left better dressed.

My parents did not understand it at all at the time. They thought that after my A-levels I should study something like medicine or law, not stand in a shop at Anson’s selling ties. The law degree was a bit too long for me in the end. [laughs]

What passion would you pursue today if you were to hang up your fashion career?

If I were to lose interest in the fashion industry tomorrow, I could also imagine running a small café and standing behind my barista machine. I just love working with people. It would probably be a completely different lifestyle, but it would not significantly affect my happiness. The job simply has to be enjoyable, whether in fashion or in another field.

You just mentioned the four-day week. As a counter-proposal, you have also brought up the six-day week…

That was a somewhat heretical post on Linkedin. If we all do less now and achieve more at the end of the day, I am all for it. One should not be surprised, however, if one gets less money for it.

Overall, we have to be careful when it comes to scaling back work and wanting to achieve less. At some point, the social system will no longer be sufficient for those who cannot work, who are genuinely weaker, and who are not doing so well.

What was it like for you when you temporarily scaled back your work?

As a father, I had nine months to prepare my team. As soon as I knew my wife was pregnant, I brought my department heads on board very early and informed them about my time off. We discussed their responsibilities and the decisions they would be solely responsible for in my absence. We prepared them for this, and then we had a season where we could practise. Finally, we completed the process with additional coaching.

Trust plays a big role in this. Do you find it difficult to hand over responsibility?

We are not senior consultants; if we make the “wrong cut”, no one dies here. In the end, it is “only” about money. We scaled a budget framework within which my team could make their own decisions. Then we imagined the worst-case scenario if everyone were to make a wrong decision. As long as that remains a manageable risk, it is not a problem. Of course, it is not possible to operate completely without risk, as that is also part of people's development process.

I am always more of a risk-taker. This leads to better developments, and people appreciate it when they have a greater area of responsibility or are allowed to make more decisions. For example, my outerwear product manager made the final decisions for the NOS jackets in my absence. That is a big responsibility, which she handled superbly. I also gave her that feedback.

Now you are back in action…

...yes, at least 60 percent, although for others that would probably be 100 [laughs]. I used to start at seven o'clock sometimes, and then it would go on with dinner until 10 or 11 pm. Now I take ‘the little one’ to nursery and then work a lot from home. If there is an important appointment, I drive to Herford and then back to Cologne in the evening to put him to bed. How you plan that is up to you, but I did not want to miss this time.

I know that the next winter season is coming. However, I have now become a father twice – once now and once six years ago. That will not happen again so quickly. If I had missed it, I could not have just started a “new season” six months later to do it better.

Of course, that is not to say that I would not have been available for serious problems, such as an insolvency or the loss of an important client. Overall, however, we can all be spared for two or three months, whether in my position or, for example, an employee from the e-commerce team. It can be planned with enough notice, which you at least have as expectant parents.

But with longer breaks, it would become more difficult for you, wouldn't it?

I was also asked by my friends if I would take a year of parental leave. In our business case, that would have repercussions for two or three years. I cannot be responsible for that, of course.

Remote working was not abolished at Bugatti. How is the issue currently handled at your company?

Remote working is organised individually and in consultation with line managers. As a rule, it is one day per week.

I always have a conversation with the employees from my team at the end of the year, and then we set the goals for the coming twelve months. If managing a particular sub-area with remote working is successful and achieves results, it can continue that way. If it does not work, we have to think about adjustments to in-office presence.

For example, I once had someone in an annual review who had been working from home for two days and then realised that an additional day in the office would be more useful for him to better inspire and motivate his team.

You mentioned earlier that you also comment on some topics on social media. Is that important for a leadership position?

There are conflicting views on this. Some say they no longer read all the posts on Linkedin and want nothing to do with the bubble. Somehow, everyone posts something there nowadays, and for the algorithm, it has to be continuous – once or twice a week.

I went through a phase where I no longer felt comfortable with the posts because I felt I was just writing something for the sake of saying something. That is why I now only do it when I really have a topic I want to talk about. Then I also think it is important to show a certain stance.

Overall, however, it is extremely important to build a personal brand. I believe that in a few years, it will go so far that in recruitment, you will just drop your profile as an NFT where everything is verified and stored. You might even be rated directly there and receive your reference on a platform like Linkedin. The CV by email will then be obsolete.

What about alternative leadership models like co- and shared leadership at Bugatti? Would that be conceivable for certain positions?

We have not really looked into that yet, but it is a good point and could actually be a good fit in one case.

Finally, what lessons would you share with “young professionals” in the fashion industry?

Choose your path not based on the size of your salary, but on your inner passion. It is also important to listen to yourself and not what others say. This also applies to friends and family. You are responsible for yourself!

I have also been through more difficult times. For example, when I was self-employed and founded Colors & Sons [Editor's note: German menswear brand]. At that time, I had about ten euros a day for food. So every day at 5 pm, I had a doner kebab with feta cheese to combine lunch and dinner. Despite my own budget, I was always sitting with the major fashion retailers and had to present myself on an equal footing, while they had their Submariners and Daytonas [Editor's note: watch models from the luxury brand Rolex] on their wrists. I have since developed a fondness for vintage Rolex watches myself. Nevertheless, I was not unhappy at the time.

This interview was originally published in German in November 2025.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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