Back to work
Pre-pandemic, the majority of the UK’s office-based workers adhered to either a stated or expected dress code. This dress code has been becoming increasingly less formal and even in the most traditional of sectors, such as finance, dress code requirements have been toned down: in 2017, Goldman Sachs started relaxing employee dress codes due to the "changing nature of the workplaces".
During lockdown, workers were quick to adopt a more informal dress code, resulting in a boom in sales of athleisure clothing. Now that workers are gradually returning to the office – if only for a few days a week – we explore what this might mean for the future of workwear and how this could affect brands, their proposition and their portfolios.
The volume of UK clothing sales plummeted 25% in 2020, the largest annual drop witnessed in the last 23 years. The largest contributor to this decline was the business fashion sector, as workers `made-do with their existing wardrobes as expectations around their work attire relaxed. To date, there is little evidence in a resurgence of formal workwear sales, with consumer insight pointing to the lasting expectation of more relaxed workwear. Kantar reported just 2 million men's suits were purchased in the UK last year, compared to 4.3 million five years ago. Stitch Fix carried out a survey in May 2021 which revealed that 44% of office workers believe that loungewear would continue to make up their future professional wardrobes with hoodies and joggers taking a permanent place in their work attire.
Some of the UK's most prominent brands are responding to these trends. M&S reported that formalwear sales had dropped 15% online and 72% in stores in the year up to April 2021. M&S subsequently announced they would be removing suits from more than half of their 245 larger stores, as well as creating a selection of smart casual suits which combine soft shoulders on a blazer, and trousers that are closer to sweatpants (seen above). Giles Deacon has recently launched a post-pandemic workwear collection which fuses more comfortable softer tailoring, fashionable style and flattering silhouettes whilst Hugo Boss has collaborated with Russell Athletic to produce suits in jersey fabric, some of which have shorts in place of trousers.
The shift in consumers purchasing more versatile items appropriate for the office, leisure and home, has the potential to reduce the volume of sales and create potential for trading-up to better quality items - a trend already in place as consumers become more aware of the environmental and societal impacts of fast-fashion. Brands such as Sandro and Maje offer a selection of smart casual ranges appropriate for the beach or the office. Other examples of more mid range brands that offer a mix of formal but comfortable pieces alongside genuine casualwear include COS and Whistles. We believe these brands are well placed to serve both existing and potential future customers.
In addition to determining what ranges brands sell and which brands are better-placed going forward, the change in demand for more versatile `lifestyle' items could help repurpose the use of the store. Brands such as & Other Stories, Anthropologie and Mint Velvet are experts in creating showrooms which reinforce the value of the brand above and beyond the product, something that is increasingly difficult to do online in a crowded marketplace. Such use of a store, as a source for inspiration and affirmation, presents a more relevant use for the physical format, as online increasingly provides the convenience and functionality of order fulfilment.
As ever, the consumer will dictate how the sector is shaped and the brands which offer hybrid items that look great in every scenario - and via a range of relevant and compelling formats – are the ones which will thrive.
Jemima Scott