Podcast Summary: The Business of Fashion Podcast

Episode: Lessons on Purpose, Restraint and Responsibility
Date: January 23, 2026
Guest/Speaker: Imran Ahmed, Founder and CEO, The Business of Fashion
Occasion: Commencement address at Institut Francais de la Mode (IFM), Paris

Episode Overview

In this special episode, Imran Ahmed delivers a personal and reflective commencement address to the 448 graduates of the Institut Francais de la Mode. He explores how finding purpose, embracing restraint, and practicing responsibility are crucial lessons for the next generation of fashion professionals. Ahmed recounts transformative moments in his career, outlines the major tensions facing the industry, and encourages graduates to let purpose guide their decisions in a rapidly changing world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Search for Purpose: Personal Journey

• Transformative Moment: Ahmed recounts a life-changing encounter at New Delhi airport with a stranger who guided him to focus inward.
  • (03:00) “He started talking, but eventually he could tell I wasn't really listening... He took a little scrap of paper, wrote something down, crumpled it up in his hand, and asked me three questions…”
  • (06:00) “That conversation pushed me to take three months off of work and sign up for a 10 day silent meditation course. It was during that course that I realized I was living a life built to impress others, not to express myself or use my creative talents.”
• Reflection on Career Origins:
  • The encounter led to meditation and ultimately to Ahmed leaving a secure career to create The Business of Fashion (BoF).
  • (08:10) “That random conversation in New Delhi eventually led me to create the business of fashion and brought me here to be with all of you today. That moment was the beginning of my search for purpose, to build a life and career with meaning in service of something greater than myself.”

2. Purpose as a Guiding Principle

• Resilience in Change:
  • Purpose acts as a compass in times of disruption and uncertainty.
  • (09:00) “You won't know exactly what's going to happen in the world around you... But if you are clear about your purpose, that can guide you every day. As the world changes around you, it becomes your North Star.”
• Tension as Opportunity:
  • Struggle and discomfort are fertile grounds for finding and shaping purpose.

3. Three Key Problems and Opportunities in Fashion

A. Growth Without Meaning
(10:45)

• The fashion industry’s obsession with growth—more collections, more collaborations, more content—has led to overproduction, environmental damage, and diluted consumer trust.
• Memorable Quote:
  • (11:10) “When growth becomes the only goal, meaning is the first casualty. So today, the most radical thing you can do in fashion is to practice restraint.”
• Call to Action:
  • Designers: Edit more rigorously.
  • Marketers: Prioritize meaningful signals, not noise.
  • Entrepreneurs: Use technology to create ‘less but better.’
  • “Ask yourselves, do we really, really need this?”

B. Values Without Systems
(12:35)

• Fashion is adept at “signaling” values—sustainability, inclusion, ethics—but slow to construct the systems that make those values real.
• Memorable Quote:
  • (13:10) “The era of storytelling without systems is ending. The next era of fashion belongs to builders, not narrators.”
• Call to Action:
  • Build supply chains that reduce waste.
  • Use AI for efficiency, not spectacle.
  • Treat worker rights as foundational, not afterthoughts.
  • Use creative constraints (“If we were starting from scratch, how should this industry work from end to end?”)

C. Authority Without Trust
(14:10)

• Power and authority in fashion are shifting from traditional gatekeepers to creators, operators, and communities.
• Legitimacy now comes from trust, hard work, and new perspectives.
• Memorable Quote:
  • (14:40) “Some of the most meaningful change in fashion is coming from people who didn't grow up inside the fashion system at all. So ask yourselves, how can I use my unique talents to change things for the better?”

4. Practical Guidance for Graduates

• Finding Focus:
  • Know yourself deeply—redirect worry about the future into understanding what motivates you.
  • (15:00) “You don't need to fix the whole system. You just need to choose one problem and serve it really, really well.”
  • Decisions guided by genuine interests, not external expectations.
• Evolution of Purpose:
  • Purpose is not found once, but redefined over time alongside your personal growth.
  • (15:10) “When the world feels uncertain, and it will feel uncertain, purpose is what brings me back to myself. I hope that it will do the same for you.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• (03:10) Imran Ahmed: “He took a little scrap of paper, wrote something down, crumpled it up in his hand, and asked me three questions... then he said, open your hand. I unwrapped that crumpled piece of paper, and on it were the three words he had written down minutes before. Blue lily. Three. Now will you listen to me?”
• (11:10) Imran Ahmed: “When growth becomes the only goal, meaning is the first casualty. So today, the most radical thing you can do in fashion is to practice restraint.”
• (13:10) Imran Ahmed: “The era of storytelling without systems is ending. The next era of fashion belongs to builders, not narrators.”
• (14:40) Imran Ahmed: “Some of the most meaningful change in fashion is coming from people who didn't grow up inside the fashion system at all. So ask yourselves, how can I use my unique talents to change things for the better?”
• (15:00) Imran Ahmed: “You don't need to fix the whole system. You just need to choose one problem and serve it really, really well.”

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – 03:00 — Introduction, Ahmed’s background, and the commencement context
• 03:00 – 06:15 — The transformative New Delhi airport story
• 06:15 – 08:30 — The impact of meditation and discovering purpose
• 08:30 – 10:45 — The founding of BoF and the importance of purpose
• 10:45 – 15:10 — Three key industry challenges: Growth, Values, Authority
• 15:10 – 15:15 — Final advice for graduates and closing

Takeaways for Listeners

• Purpose is personal, evolving, and essential—it will steady you amid uncertainty.
• The most profound industry changes may come from those outside the established system.
• Restraint, systemic thinking, and trust-building are urgent needs for fashion’s future.
• Graduates are encouraged to choose one area to serve passionately, rather than trying to fix everything.
• The lecture balances realism about fashion’s problems with a hopeful call to action for the next generation.