The 6 Career Risks Luxury & Fashion Executives Overlook Until It's Too Late
Photo by Niklas Hamann on Unsplash
How senior leaders in fashion, luxury, and lifestyle sectors are putting their careers at risk and what to do about it.
You manage multiple risks daily from market volatility, brand reputation, operational challenges, and commercial pressures. Yet while you're protecting your company's assets, you might be putting your own career and livelihood at risk.
After decades of placing senior executives in fashion, luxury, and lifestyle brands and coaching hundreds through career transitions, I've observed a pattern: The leaders who lose their competitive edge aren't necessarily those who lack talent. They're the ones who fail to manage career risk.
As our sector and the job market evolve, lifestyles and the traditional markers of success change; understanding how to navigate career transitions has never been more critical.
Let's explore the six career risks you might be ignoring and why addressing them now could be the difference between commanding your next role and scrambling for opportunities.
Risk #1: No Clear Narrative of Who You Are Now
You were brilliant three years ago as the Brand Strategy Director at that heritage luxury brand. Or perhaps you transformed digital commerce at a leading fashion retailer. But who are you today?
In the fashion and luxury sectors where trends shift overnight, and consumer expectations constantly evolve, yesterday's expertise can quickly become irrelevant.
Most senior leaders struggle to articulate their current value proposition. They default to listing outdated achievements, mentioning long-completed transformations, or describing roles they've outgrown.
Here's the reality: If you can't clearly articulate who you are now, nobody else will do it for you. In a market where perception drives opportunity, ambiguity can be a real obstacle.
The Fix:
Craft one compelling sentence that captures your current expertise and value in the luxury ecosystem. Not your title or your history, but who you are right NOW.
Example: "I help heritage luxury brands build digital-first strategies that honour craft while capturing Gen-Z markets."
If you can't articulate this clearly, you're already falling behind competitors who can.
Risk #2: No External Visibility Beyond Your Organisation
You're respected within your current company. You've built credibility, cultivated internal advocates, and earned recognition for your strategic vision. Now zoom out.
Who in the broader fashion and luxury ecosystem knows you exist?
If the answer is "not many," your career is built on unstable foundations. Because when restructuring happens, and when new leadership arrives with different priorities, or when strategic shifts eliminate your division, your internal reputation becomes worthless overnight.
External visibility takes years to develop. You can't manufacture it when you suddenly need it. When headhunters search for leaders, if you're invisible, you don't exist.
The Fix:
Start showing up where industry conversations happen. Comment on trends. Share perspectives on sustainability challenges. Join discussions about the future of retail. Support emerging voices in fashion technology.
Thought leadership isn't vanity, it's career insurance. And in sectors where reputation compounds over time, starting late means you are always playing catch-up.
Risk #3: A Network That's Gone Cold
Remember those contacts who helped you land your previous role? The industry insiders who championed your name? The headhunters who knew your reputation?
When did you last have a meaningful conversation with them?
Don’t treat your network like emergency services, only calling when there's a crisis.
A cold network is worse than no network at all. Because when you suddenly need connections after an unexpected redundancy, during a career pivot, when you're testing opportunities, you're starting from absolute zero.
The Fix:
Stop waiting until you need something. This week, reconnect with three contacts with zero agenda. Just check in. Share an article. Congratulate them on a recent move. Make genuine connection a habit, not a transaction.
Risk #4: A CV That Tells a History, Not a Strategy
Your CV may be impeccable. Well formatted, detailed, a perfect chronicle of every prestigious brand you've touched, every transformation you've led.
And it's completely ineffective.
A CV isn't a historical document. It's a strategic positioning tool.
Recruiters and hiring executives care about one thing: Can you solve the specific problem they're facing right now? Can you navigate the challenges of omnichannel luxury retail? Do you understand the complexities of sustainable sourcing? Can you lead through digital transformation while preserving brand heritage?
If your CV reads like War and Peace, you're forcing busy decision-makers to work too hard to see your value. And when they are reviewing hundreds of profiles for each senior role, if you make them work, they move on.
The Fix:
Rewrite your CV as a strategic document. Lead with measurable impact. Curate your experience for the roles you want next, not the ones you've had. Show them your future potential, not just your past performance.
Risk #5: An Outdated Personal Brand
You built your reputation as a turnaround specialist for struggling fashion brands. Or perhaps you're known as the omnichannel expert. The luxury retail innovator. The sustainability champion.
That was your brand. Is it still accurate today?
Many leaders cling to outdated personal brands because they're comfortable and familiar. They're known for something specific, so they keep playing that same card. But the markets evolve rapidly. Consumer expectations shift. Sustainability becomes non-negotiable. Digital fluency becomes baseline. And if your brand hasn't evolved, you're stuck.
An outdated brand severely limits your options. It pigeonholes you. It prevents you from being considered for roles that would be perfect for your current capabilities because people still see you as who you were, not who you've become.
The Fix:
Ask five trusted contacts in the fashion and luxury ecosystem: "What am I known for?"
If their answers don't align with where you want to go next, you have a significant branding problem. Address it now, before your reputation becomes a career liability rather than an asset.
Risk #6: No Defined Plan Beyond "I'll Figure It Out"
"I'm not thinking about my next move yet."
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
"I'll figure it out when the time comes."
This is career negligence.
You wouldn't run a brand without a three-year strategy. You wouldn't launch a collection without market analysis. You wouldn't expand retail without careful planning.
Why are you running your career without the same strategic rigour?
Reactive career management leaves you at the mercy of circumstance and your current employer's priorities. You wait for restructures to force your hand. For headhunters to call. For opportunities to magically find you. And you surrender all control.
The Fix:
Stop waiting. Map out three potential paths for your next chapter. You don't need granular detail yet, just strategic direction.
CEO track for an SME luxury brand? Portfolio career combining advisory roles and board positions? Sector switch into luxury hospitality or wellness? Consulting for emerging sustainable fashion brands?
Write them down. Make them tangible because careers rarely "just happen" at your level.
This Is Risk Management for Your Career
You wouldn't ignore brand reputation risk. Or supply chain vulnerability. Or market positioning challenges. So why are you ignoring career risk?
Now is the time to manage your career with the same strategic discipline you apply to business. Proactively, methodically, with clear metrics and regular reviews.
In sectors where relationships compound, visibility matters, and reputation is everything, passive career management is not recommended.
Your Action Plan This Week
Choose one risk to address immediately:
Risk #1: Write one sentence defining your current value in the sector ecosystem
Risk #2: Publish or meaningfully comment on industry content
Risk #3: Reconnect with three contacts—zero agenda, genuine interest
Risk #4: Rewrite your CV summary to emphasise strategic impact
Risk #5: Ask five trusted industry contacts what you're known for
Risk #6: Map out three potential paths for your next chapter
The Bottom Line
After decades working with senior executives in fashion, luxury, and lifestyle brands, I can tell you this with certainty: The leaders who succeed don't leave their careers to chance. They don't wait for market conditions to force decisions; if it does, they act.
They manage career risk with the same strategic intensity they bring to managing their businesses: proactively, intelligently, and relentlessly.
The difference between taking control of your career and scrambling for options often comes down to how you address these six risks.
Which of these six risks resonates most with your current situation?
I'd genuinely love to hear what you're working on and where you're seeing gaps in your own career risk management.
Recognition is the first step. Strategic action is the second.
Need help with a personalised Career Accelerator to address these risks? Looking for a confidential Headhunter's Gut Check? Want a Strategic Power Hour to map your next move?
Let's talk.
- Tracy
Tracy Short is a former executive headhunter turned personal leadership coach and career strategist, specialising in senior executives and C-suite leaders in fashion, luxury, and lifestyle sectors. She's spent decades placing leaders and coaching hundreds through successful career transitions.