The French ready-to-wear industry is ending 2025 under intense pressure, weighed down by fast fashion and the rapid rise of second-hand clothing. The year has been marked by a succession of bankruptcies, court protections, and liquidations, highlighting the fragility of a sector struggling to adapt. Despite the turbulence, industry experts believe recovery remains possible—provided brands refocus on their identity, innovation, and move upmarket.
As December draws to a close, IKKS has changed ownership, having been taken over by Saint James alongside Santiago Cucci, though the transition will result in the loss of half of its workforce. JOTT (Just Over The Top) has entered receivership, while Anne Fontaine has secured approval for its safeguard plan. These developments add to a growing list of troubled or defunct French fashion names, including Camaïeu, Kookaï, Jennyfer, André, San Marina, Minelli, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse Tam Tam, and Kaporal.
In mid-December, IKKS was taken over by the duo of Saint James and Santiago Cucci – IKKS
A sector in steep decline
According to a parliamentary report, nearly 1,500 clothing stores closed across France in 2024 alone. Data from the Union des Industries Textiles reveals a dramatic contraction of the industry’s workforce—from 400,000 employees in the 1970s to just 60,000 today. This figure excludes retail staff, who numbered around 70,000 at the end of 2023, according to the Fédération nationale de l’habillement.
After navigating the shift to e-commerce, the Covid-19 crisis, and persistent inflation, traditional fashion players now face a new and disruptive reality. Second-hand platforms and ultra-fast fashion brands represent what Gildas Minvielle, Director of the Economic Observatory at the French Fashion Institute (IFM), describes as a “profound upheaval.” Together, these channels account for 13% of sales value and nearly 30% of total clothing volumes purchased.
Established brands under threat
“The market share captured by these new players is extremely significant and deeply damaging to established brands,” Minvielle explains. “If the market were expanding, there might have been room for everyone—but that’s not the case.” With average prices around €9 per item on platforms like Shein and Temu—roughly one-third of traditional mid-range pricing—these ultra-fast fashion giants are driving what he calls a brutal “impoverishment” of the sector, particularly at a time when consumer purchasing power is under strain.
The conflict between fast fashion and legacy brands has even reached France’s parliamentary chambers, underlining the scale of the challenge facing the industry.
To understand the roots of the current downturn, Benoît Heilbrunn, philosopher and marketing professor at ESCP Business School, points back to the 1990s and the arrival of first-generation fast fashion players such as Zara and H&M. Their model—based on constantly renewed collections designed to accelerate consumption—fundamentally reshaped consumer behaviour and the fashion value chain.
The battle between fast fashion and established players has reached parliamentary chambers – Assemblée nationale
The missing industrial model
“French brands were unable to keep pace because they lacked—and still lack—a strong industrial model,” Heilbrunn argues. Today, 97% of textiles consumed in France are imported. Beyond production issues, he highlights a deeper problem: a lack of meaningful storytelling and innovation. “French textile brands have had nothing to say for years. No one talks about product. No one talks about innovation.”
Fashion and retail consultant Françoise Clément shares this assessment, criticising brands that have remained in their comfort zones and relied heavily on promotions to drive sales. “They tried to buy the consumer with discounts,” she says, “but failed to create real value.” According to Clément, survival now depends on reconnecting with a brand’s core DNA and establishing a clear, differentiated positioning.
An hourglass-shaped market
Clément likens the current ready-to-wear landscape to an hourglass. At the top, luxury and heritage brands continue to perform well, supported by prestige and desirability. At the bottom, ultra-low prices fuel a relentless race to the bottom—a “death spiral” that nevertheless attracts a segment of consumers. Caught in between, mid-range brands are the most vulnerable.
For these brands, the path forward lies in diversification and premiumisation, rather than imitation of fast fashion. Clément stresses the importance of balancing quality, creativity, innovation, and desirability—an approach exemplified by brands such as Lacoste and Aigle, by made-in-France labels like Le Slip Français, and by Decathlon, which combines accessibility with technical innovation.
Despite the prevailing gloom, Clément insists that the crisis is not inevitable. “There are real opportunities for brands that are willing to move, adapt, and rethink their model.”
Supporting this view, the latest State of Fashion report by BoF and McKinsey identifies several strategic priorities for the sector: the essential adoption of artificial intelligence, diversification of production locations amid global trade uncertainty, a move upmarket, and the integration of second-hand offerings. A demanding roadmap—but one that could redefine the future of French ready-to-wear.