Carl Tillessen, CEO of the German Fashion Institute

2025 is coming to an end – it’s high time to remember the past few months and look ahead to the coming year. To do this, we spoke to various industry experts about their expectations, wishes and highlights.

Next up is Carl Tillessen, CEO of the Deutsches Mode-Institut DMI GmbH. The trend expert from the Cologne Institute is better known for giving the fashion industry an insight into the coming seasons and advising companies. In the interview, Tillessen also looks back on the year.

What expectations did you have for 2025?

Our prediction was that fashion in 2025 would be about giving more space to the subjective and individual, even in the mass market. This is based, on the one hand, as a backlash against the increasing flattening of fashion due to the power of the algorithm and, on the other hand, as a result of the observation that collections that try to please everyone end up pleasing no one.

Did the forecast come true?

In fact, the products that were particularly successful in 2025 were those that were a bit quirky and outlandish, such as a completely useless plush monster with a smug grin.

What was the year like for you?

In our consulting work we were able to observe something similar to what we saw in the fashion ranges, namely that fashion, sport, beauty, product design and interior are moving closer together and enriching each other. This enabled us to gain new customers from a wide range of industries, and in the end it was a very successful year.

What highlights did the fashion industry offer you this year?

In the four years before 2025, I often asked myself whether the offer was lame or whether I was narrow-minded. In 2025, however, there was once again a lot to get excited about in all areas, genres and price ranges. Apparently it actually took the industry four years to psychologically recover from the oppressive living conditions during the pandemic. Creativity is a delicate plant and none of us are machines. I’m all the more pleased that fashion is now creatively at its best again.

Where will the fashion industry develop in the coming year?

A lot of things are currently changing politically, socially and fashionably. Brands are getting nervous, changing designers, changing their logos and so on because they think fashion is always about being agile. But if you take a step back, you’ll notice that – from Hermès to G-Star – the most persistent brands are often the most resilient. In the blind activism that is currently spreading, consumers in 2026 will even more likely stick to brands that remain true to themselves. Authenticity and integrity are rewarded.

And what urgently needs to change now?

I understand that during the three years of the pandemic there was no choice but to “drive on sight”. But many actors in business and politics simply kept it that way afterwards. They’ve just muddled through since then. They no longer develop a vision, have no long-term strategy, refuse to plan, put off decisions, make no commitments and – worst of all – do not invest in the future. This has to come to an end now.

This interview was conducted in writing.