HOW OVERWORKED INSIDERS ARE FEELING A LACK OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY

 

To those outside of it, bemoaning a job in the fashion industry seems far removed, like an Ivy League student complaining about a weekend homework assignment.

But from the inside, many working in the fashion business say they suffer from burnout — a condition that might sound like a made-up millennial ailment, but one which the World Health Organization legitimized this week with a newly added definition. For those in fashion long familiar with burnout, it is an intergenerational problem dispiriting talent in an industry experiencing its own existential crisis.

In 2015, WWD asked insiders — those required to keep up with an increasingly fast-paced fashion system where the next collection is expected to go into production nearly as soon as the previous one is unveiled — whether they felt the fashion industry was "heading for burnout" after a series of high-level designer exits across the board, most notably Raf Simons's sudden exit at Dior. There were those in the Karl Lagerfeld school of thought, who insisted burnout only affects those who can't keep up with the system. (The late designer told the paper, "if you are not a good bullfighter, don't enter the arena," and "fashion is a sport, you have to run.") Fewer were as forthcoming about the state of play, though Love Editor-in-Chief Katie Grand admitted, "everyone certainly feels the pressure of delivering more."

Influencers post new deals they're touting or trips they're taking with a brand almost daily; in addition, fashion and beauty writers post unboxing videos of gifts from brands, clips of their published work and images from invite-only market appointments or brand dinners. Designers are expected to do and be seen, too: Virgil Abloh is lauded for his busyness and ability to juggle his roles as creative director for Louis Vuitton menswear, Off-White designer, international DJ and prolific collaborator.

"I think our industry continues to glamorize the 'busy' factor of it all and makes it 'cool' to be so busy that you lose sight of just how overworked you actually may be," a 25-year-old fashion public relations professional.