Leaving Fashion?

Between the Retail Apocalypse, COVID-19 and the recent social unrest, few industries have experienced more devastation than ours. Because of this, we asked fashion industry professionals if they were considering leaving their chosen field. Here are the results…

With respect to the question, Are you considering leaving the fashion industry, the survey takers were given the following options:

• No way, I love the fashion industry!
• No, but I want to get out of NY/LA/SF.
• No, my skills aren’t transferable to another industry.
• Yes, I left before COVID.
• Yes, I’m currently looking at other industries.
• Yes, I don’t have a choice.
• Other

This is how it broke down…

As you can see, a significant number of industry professionals are considering a move away from fashion. Given the unemployment and underemployment rates in fashion right now, it is understandable.

When we looked at just the YES/NO/OTHER answers, 68% are considering leaving the fashion industry…

In looking at the OTHER responses and categorizing them (as best as we could) into a YES or NO answer, a whopping 73% of fashion industry professionals are considering a career change out of their chosen profession.

In 1981, Mick Jones of The Clash famously asked, Should I Stay or Should I Go? In 2020, roughly 73% of fashion industry professionals answered that question with GO.