Ask Imran Anything: Boring Fashion, Luxury's Meaning & Building Outside the System | The BoF Podcast

In this second Ask Me Anything episode, Imran Amed responds to questions submitted by listeners around the world, offering a wide-ranging reflection on where fashion stands now — creatively, commercially and culturally. The conversation moves from personal encounters with figures such as designer Yohji Yamamoto and Gentle Monster founder Hankook Kim to broader questions about whether the industry has lost its sense of excitement, what luxury means today and how emerging brands can still find a path to market. “Sometimes big-brand fashion can feel a bit boring and corporatised and cookie-cutter. But there are so many independent, young, exciting brands out there doing really, really interesting things,” says Amed. “I’m starting to feel excited about fashion again.” Later in the episode, the discussion turns to AI, fashion education and entrepreneurship. Amed makes the case for engaging early with new technologies rather than resisting them, calls on educators to stay connected to the realities of the industry, and reflects on the early failure that ultimately led him to build BoF. Timeline: 00:00 Introduction 00:32 Who is the most interesting person you've met in fashion? 04:35 Is fashion boring nowadays? 09:31 What does luxury really mean today? 13:08 If you were starting a fashion label today, how would you imagine it? 17:39 How do you see the influence of emerging Chinese brands on the future of the fashion industry? 20:53 How do you balance telling stories from diff