Best of 2025: The year in interviews
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2025 has been a busy period for the industry, with leadership overhauls, retail expansions and international growth reflecting a dynamic market. To get insight into this continuous evolution, FashionUnited spent the year catching up with business leaders, founders and more. Here are some of the best interviews of the year:
Priya Downes, Nudea founder and CEO
Five years ago, Priya Downes set about on a mission to reshape the underwear industry. Recognising a lack of practical yet contemporary lingerie on the market, particularly for women facing rapid life changes, she left her job in the luxury field to embark on a new journey...
Stéphane Rolland, designer
Since its inception in 2007, the Stéphane Rolland Haute Couture house has balanced growing production with a loyal clientele. Beyond Haute Couture, however, the brand's two directors, Pierre Martinez and Stéphane Rolland, have also been developing other collections, expanding its reach through bridal, jewellery and evening ready-to-wear...
Stavros Karelis, Machine-A founder
Machine-A was born out of the idea of offering up-and-coming brands a space. When Stavros Karelis launched this multi-brand concept around 12 years ago, the founder witnessed a lack of these young designers in the London retail landscape...
Sandra Sándor and Peter Baldaszti, Nanushka co-founders
In Hungary, Nanushka has distinguished itself by an ability to transcend global borders. It's a feat achieved through its portrayal of a holistic lifestyle that appeals to metropolitan women in cities like London and New York, who resonate with the brand’s sleek yet functional collections...
Lorenzo Boglione, BasicNet vice president
French outerwear brand K-Way, part of Italian group BasicNet, has returned to the UK with a new flagship store on King’s Road in London as it looks to solidify its position in the British market and as a leading player in the premium outerwear market...
Elisa Jansen, co-founder of Lena the Fashion Library
Many clothing rental companies have come and gone in recent years, but Netherlands-based Lena the Fashion Library has remained steadfast. Co-founder Elisa Jansen admitted that it wasn't always easy, having only found the perfect pay-as-you-borrow business model after five years...
Sharon Tsai, Onefifteen buyer
In the heart of Taipei’s Da’an district, the flagship store of Onefifteen exists as somewhat of a florally-infused oasis within a metropolitan backdrop. The luxury multibrand retailer sits in the foundations of a historic 1950s building, renovated to both retain its background and modernise this antiquity for a string of dedicated consumers that perceive the store as somewhat of a second home...
Kara Lacayo, Yitty VP of design
Founded in 2022 by Grammy-award winning artist Lizzo and sportswear giant Fabletics, Yitty has encountered many lifetimes over its short existence. What began solely as a shapewear brand championing body diversity has expanded into a lifestyle name through new categories like lingerie and swimwear...
Angelique de Rond, CEO of Dante6; Han Sterk, Norah CEO; Stefan van den Berg, Girav CEO; Javier Fernández, founder and CEO of Gondolina Shoes
The fashion industry balances change and innovation. Economic uncertainty, digitisation and sustainability are placing ever-increasing demands on leadership. FashionUnited asked four CEOs of fashion companies about the biggest misconceptions surrounding running a fashion business, their most important lessons and how they stay sharp when making choices...
Simon Peyronnaud and Mathieu Khouri, co-founders of Losanje
French start-up Losanje, founded by Simon Peyronnaud and Mathieu Khouri, winner of the ANDAM 2025 Fashion Innovation Award, established itself as a key player in textile upcycling. Thanks to its proprietary technology and an integrated approach, Losanje succeeded in making upcycling economically viable and, ultimately, scalable...
Bitten Stetter, founder of Finally.
Swiss start-up Finally. covers fashion and sustainable products for a period we don't like to think about: hospital stays, chronic illness, a person’s final days. These are fragile times, as the community-oriented design studio and research lab calls them. All products are created after careful consideration and planning, often in collaboration with those affected, namely patients, relatives and nursing staff...
Robbi Hicks, head of visual development at Moss
In 2023, Moss Bros dropped the ‘Bros’ from its name, signaling a strategic pivot towards positioning itself as a contemporary menswear label – one that retains the essence of its storied heritage. This rebrand was marked by the reintroduction of the brand as simply ‘Moss’, accompanied by a series of store openings under the streamlined name...
Akin Onal, Mori founder and CEO
Now in its 10th year, Mori has its ambitions set on being more than just a babywear brand. Last month, the company made such a mission known by making its first acquisition: Kidly, another British label but for pre-school children. Now, Mori is also growing its retail network with the opening of a new store in Hampstead this summer, bringing its UK store count to four...
Anders Rahr, NN.07 CEO
2024 was a big year for NN.07. The Danish brand celebrated record financial results, expansion in global markets and increased demand elsewhere. Now, half way into 2025, its team is continuing to grow with intention, taking a thought-out approach as to where they will take their next step...
4 Students of Mod'Art International Paris
What do tomorrow's fashion designers dream of? Four young twenty-somethings, graduates of the Bachelor of Fashion Design and Pattern Making programme at Mod'Art International Paris, share their doubts, ambitions and relationships with the professional world. Between creative passion, desires for freedom, ecological awareness and entrepreneurial aspirations, their sincere and spontaneous testimonies outline the contours of a new generation in search of meaning...
Steven Bethell, Beyond Retro co-founder
Vintage shopping continues to be a favoured means of sustainable consumption. A pioneer in this field is Beyond Retro; once a small-scale London boutique, now a renowned European retailer and global purveyor of vintage fashion through its parent company, Bank & Vogue...
Giuseppe Nugnes, director of Nugnes
The Italian family business Nugnes, with roots in tailoring and the opening of their first menswear boutique in 1956, is taking a step forward. This hybrid fashion retailer – with a range from classic luxury brands to streetwear-oriented collections – bolstered its expansion last month with the acquisition of the traditional luxury retailer Mimma Ninni...
Simardev Gulati, founder of Everbloom
After seven years of quiet development, textile start-up Everbloom has stepped into the spotlight with the launch of its proprietary protein-based fibres, positioning itself as a direct alternative to cashmere and wool. With 8 million dollars in total funding under its belt, propelling it from concept to commercialisation, the New York-based company has pioneered a process that transforms pre-consumer protein waste into luxury-grade fibres that rival the softness and strength of their natural counterparts...
Jason McNary, PdPaola CEO of North America
On the verge of celebrating its tenth anniversary, the Spanish jewellery firm PdPaola, created by siblings Paola and Humbert Sasplugas, is at a decisive moment in its global evolution.
Under the leadership of Jason McNary, appointed CEO of the North American subsidiary in August 2024, the company has completed its first year of operations in the US...
Amelia Hornblow, Finisterre's chief product officer
Cornish-born sustainable clothing and accessories brand Finisterre, known for its cold-water surf and coastal lifestyle offering, has unveiled a limited-edition womenswear capsule collection, designed in collaboration with acclaimed designer and environmental activist Amy Powney...
Christina Dean, Redress founder; Rod Henderson, TAL president
Europe’s new eco-design laws are about to shake the global fashion industry, and most players aren’t ready. From Asian factories struggling with data demands to universities slow to update design curriculums, the knowledge gap is widening just as regulators and investors push for rapid change. At the centre of this shift, this year’s Redress x TAL Ecodesign Challenge shows how tomorrow’s designers and today’s suppliers are testing ways to bridge creativity, compliance and commercial reality...
3 Redress Design Award alumni
Navigating the fashion landscape seems to have never been more challenging - especially for smaller, emerging, and upcoming designers. Characterized by ongoing economic uncertainty, the increasing use of digital tools like AI, a changing retail experience, and never-ending shifts in consumer behavior, there is one red string connecting it all: a renewed focus on more conscious, sustainable, and circular practices...
Chris Blakeslee, Unspun board member; Beth Esponnette, Unspun co-founder
Apparel technology innovator Unspun is stepping up its global ambitions, bringing Chris Blakeslee, former CEO of Gap-owned brand Athleta, onto its board of directors. The move comes as the firm looks to scale its low-waste, 3D weaving technology across Europe as part of its next phase of growth...
Morgan Ginn, programme manager at The Footwear Collective
While fashion’s recycling systems are steadily advancing, footwear remains one of the industry’s toughest circularity challenges. It is this challenge, however, that The Footwear Collective is looking to tackle head-on through a series of shoe-dedicated programmes that intend to address the lack of infrastructure readily available to this sector. The organisation’s Footwear Futures Project reflects the tangible beginning stages of this effort...
Aza Ziegler, Calle Del Mar creative director and founder
In today’s fast-evolving luxury market, Calle Del Mar is betting that craftsmanship – not speed – will win over the next generation of European consumers. The Californian knitwear label is entering the market not simply to reach new retailers, but to tap into a region that still protects and invests in craft...
Elin Alemdar, Stylein CEO and head of design
Since its founding in New York in 2001, the Swedish label Stylein has evolved from a young idea into an internationally sought-after brand. Founder Elin Alemdar is responsible not only for the design but also for the strategic direction, collection creation and brand communication...
Gemma Keenor, Newbie UK country manager
Newbie is having a growth spurt. Since emerging as a separate business unit from its parent company Kappahl, the Swedish kidswear brand has embarked on an ambitious growth strategy across Europe and the UK, where it has just opened its 11th store. The UK is a priority market for the brand, which has established a dedicated audience among British consumers...
John Higginson, Eco Age CEO
As regulators tighten the screws and consumers demand verifiable sustainability data, brands across fashion and luxury are being forced into a new era of transparency. Eco Age—long recognised for its influence on sustainability strategy, policy engagement and industry-wide advocacy—has been tracking this shift closely. Its CEO, John Higginson, is at the forefront of advising brands on compliance, traceability and credible environmental claims...
Raechel Temily, founder and creative director of Temily
Having dedicated much of her career to developing other people’s brands, Raechel Temily – Rae to everyone that knows her – eventually embarked on a journey to establish her own luxury label. Launched April 2025, the brand, fittingly dubbed Temily, emerged almost as a response to a market that seemed to have lost touch with the emotional core of design...
Jessica Alsing, Toms CEO
Earlier this year, Toms found its new chief executive in Jessica Alsing, the first woman to helm the global footwear brand. Her appointment marked the beginning of a new phase defined by growth, innovation and a renewed take on philanthropic giving, the latter a core pillar in the brand’s legacy...
Hannah Dawson, Stple founder
There’s a new name on the British fashion scene, Stple, which is entering the market with a mission “to deliver elevated pieces that feel effortless yet intentional” by blending bold minimalism with wearable sophistication...
Jane Boddy, Pantone Color Institute's creative director
Global colour authority Pantone has chosen a ‘Colour of the Year’ since 2000, when it opted for ‘Cerulean Blue,’ a serene colour for the millennium, and since then it has selected pink, red, orange, green, purple, blue, yellow, grey, and brown hues, and this year sees the very first white, ‘Cloud Dancer’...