The Business of Fashion Podcast · Oct 16, 2026 · 33m · 26m saved
With Imran Amed, Founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion
Chanel grew 16% in the first half of 2026 while the luxury market was flat, and it still doesn't top the engagement scores fashion brands use to measure buzz. Imran Amed, founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion, told The Business of Fashion Podcast that this is why he treats those scores as vanity metrics.
Brands and agencies publish Earned Media Value and Media Impact Value rankings after every fashion week as evidence of who won it. Imran thinks the numbers mostly exist to help marketing teams ask finance teams for money.
"EMV or earned media value, MIV, media impact value... The vanity metrics. In a way... they're designed for marketing people to ask for money for finance people."
Imran started BoF after an MBA and a career in management consulting, and in this episode he answered listener questions on Gucci, creative briefs, brand metrics, AI and his own habits.
The full episode is covered here so you can skip it. 33 minutes of audio, 7 minutes of reading.
Here are the 6 insights that matter.
This Scuttlebutt Summary is available in full to premium subscribers. If you're not one already, please consider subscribing to keep reading.
Key Takeaways
A clear creative vision has not fixed Gucci, and Kering depends on it for a disproportionate share of profit
Chanel's growth shows media-value scores miss what matters
Up 16% in the first half of 2026 in a flat luxury market, without topping the EMV or MIV rankings
Balenciaga's brief asks for two things that may not fit together, while Chanel's leadership agrees on one strategy
AI still needs a human to choose and refine its output, so taste and judgment become the scarce skill
Taking a craft from another culture without credit is appropriation
Prada's Kolhapuri sandals were the example; Fendi's long work with a Mumbai atelier was the counterexample
1. Gucci's Clarity Isn't a Fix
The question listeners asked most was about Gucci. Imran said Demna's latest show in Milan, "The Store", was the clearest statement of his vision so far, after earlier collections such as "La Familia" and "La Primavera" felt disjointed. The men's looks leaned preppy rather than body-hugging, and the women's looks were worn by socially prominent women including Amanda Harlech and Sabine Getty.
Gucci's newest show worked creatively, but Imran doubts that is enough in a luxury market that isn't growing
"This most recent show, The Store, just kind of clicked." — Imran Amed
Clarity is not the same as a turnaround. Gucci's sales have kept falling, and Imran said he still hasn't felt the emotional connection to Demna's work that the brand needs. That matters well beyond one label.
"For the Kering Group, Gucci represents a disproportionate share of both revenue and profit. If Gucci is not working, then Kering is not working." — Imran Amed
