The most-read Vogue Business stories of 2024

If 2023 was the year of shifting values and evolving cultural conversations, 2024 was the year of the fleeting trend. We saw the rise of babygirl men, watched fashion explore its ‘very demure, very mindful’ side (albeit very briefly), and everything from skinny jeans to jelly shoes and Bella Hadid staged comebacks.

2024 was a year of reconstruction for retail: two months after being bought by Frasers Group, Matches was wound down; HBC, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, acquired Neiman Marcus; and Mytheresa entered a deal with Richemont to acquire Yoox Net-a-Porter. Propelled by this, we investigated the future of shopping and what the changing landscape means for the industry as a whole.

This year, we also asked what fashion would look like if women were in charge, examining the obstacles and solutions for women working in the industry, navigating everything from maternity leave to menopause. Then, through our Vogue Business 100 Innovators: Class of 2024, we shone a light on those seeking to change the fashion and beauty industries from the inside.

Our most-read stories this year encompassed all of these topics and more — enjoying fun and fleeting trends like bumsters and one-legged pants alongside agenda-shaping interviews, industry deep dives and insider surveys. Each article represents topics that got the industry talking, as well as what Vogue Business strives to deliver: key insights on what’s shaping the future of fashion and beauty.

As we prepare for 2025 (with already an exciting line-up), enjoy looking back on the most-read Vogue Business stories of 2024.

In March, Lucy Maguire worked alongside US youth culture agency Archrival and industry experts on research around how Gen Z is rewriting the consumer path to purchase and how understanding how this generation navigates the world can help brands engage with them.

From puffball silhouettes to ‘earth girl’ and the return of suede (where the Western revival and boho chic collide), Lucy Maguire gave her predictions for SS25’s biggest hits ahead of September’s fashion season kick-off.

This year, Jamie Clifton looked into one of fashion’s most divisive styles: the skinny jean. While retailers like Madewell and Gap reported dwindling sales, the AW24 runways were an ode to the 2010s style staple. Are they truly on their way back?

Charli XCX’s album Brat captured the zeitgeist this summer. After the star’s oversubscribed Glastonbury ‘Partygirl’ set, her Ibiza takeover and being instated as a fashion It-girl, Vogue Business breaks down her impact for fashion brands.

Gen Z is using iPhone’s notetaking app to plan outfits and style new looks from their existing wardrobes. How can brands get involved?

What are babygirl men, and what does their rise say about the future of fashion? This is a question Madeleine Schulz asked in January following the rise of so-called ‘babygirl men’, including Jacob Elordi, Timothée Chalamet, Paul Mescal and Harry Styles.

This piece was the cornerstone of our biggest package of 2024: The Future of Shopping. Following the collapse of Matches in early 2024, Kirsty McGregor spoke to brands, suppliers, consumers and experts to look at what could fill the void.

Oversized clothing and accessories, eclectic grandpas and ‘jellyfish’ dressing: Lucy Maguire started 2024 strong with her menswear predictions. Will they strike a chord in 2025?

Restrictions on the use of retinol in skincare products will come into effect in the European Union starting 1 November 2025. Lauren Cunningham asked what it means for brands — and will consumers care?

Like every generation before them, zoomers are putting distance between themselves and their millennial counterparts. The latest differentiator? Socks. Ryan Bassil investigates why the way you wore your socks in 2024 was so divisive.

In January, contributing editor Amy Francombe looked into the fleeting ‘mob wife’ aesthetic. But while the look that centred around fur coats was trending on the runway, on the streets, and, most of all, on TikTok, we asked, is it sustainable?

From Saint-Tropez to Montenegro to the Amalfi Coast, Madeleine Schulz looked beyond Europe’s conventional fashion hot spots to discover where brands should be setting up shop.

In a hyper-consumerist era of social media, flooded with product reviews and shopping haul videos, a backlash to overconsumption brewed this year and January saw a slew of ‘no-spend’ and ‘Rule of 5’ challenges. Rachel Cernansky shared what brands need to know about the rise of anti-consumption and whether it will stick.

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