Fashion boss touts resilience as key leadership trait as industry battles tariff uncertainty

The British Fashion Council's newest CEO is bringing her ain enactment flair to the role, touting resilience arsenic a apical trait to navigate hard times amid tariffs and economical uncertainty.

Laura Weir, a erstwhile originative manager astatine Selfridges, was appointed caput of the non-profit enactment successful April 2025, succeeding 16-year manufacture seasoned Caroline Rush.

In a speech with CNBC's Tania Bryer during London Fashion Week — which Weir is successful complaint of organizing — the manner brag opened up astir however she faces challenging decisions.

"Have a blistery bath, a cupful of beverage and regroup myself," Weir told Bryer. "Look, determination are ever going to beryllium challenges. You person to, benignant of, enactment resilient. I deliberation resilience is simply a truly important quality, and I benignant of excavation heavy and determination on, always."

Weir's archetypal period arsenic CEO coincided with President Donald Trump slamming "reciprocal" tariffs connected implicit 180 countries connected April 2, with levies hitting regions that are cardinal manufacturing bases for the fashion industry.

This includes China, wherever brands similar Prada and Zara outsource production, Vietnam, wherever Nike produces astir of its footwear, and Pakistan, which is cardinal successful producing denim items. Meanwhile, the EU —which accounts for over 70% of the planetary luxury goods marketplace — is besides facing duties.  

David Pemsel, president of the British Fashion Council, said successful April that the tariffs "pose a superior interest for the community, forcing galore to take betwixt terms hikes and tighter margins." He said the assembly was moving with the U.K. Department of Business and Trade to advocator for tariff-free introduction for U.K. manner goods into the U.S. market.

Weir described the tariffs arsenic "very challenging," but struck an optimistic tone, highlighting the value of relationships with American counterparts.

"I anticipation that we tin find a mode done moving with our American counterparts, to effort and explicate the interaction and the existent presumption situation that that puts connected the industry," she said.

"I mean, successful presumption of our designers who are already challenged, it tin truly impact their quality to commercialized and beryllium commercially palmy and yet viable. So we're moving hard astatine the BFC to assistance our American counterparts truly recognize the existent interaction of their decisions."

In fact, a recent planetary survey of implicit 1,000 concern leaders crossed a assortment of sectors by advisory level Consulting.us recovered that implicit 60% judge resilience is the No. 1 astir important prime for institution bosses, arsenic they navigate tariffs and economical uncertainty.

When asked to picture her enactment style, Weir emphasized the value of listening to those astir her.

"I deliberation it's truly important arsenic a modern person and a CEO to beryllium unfastened to speech and dialog. So I deliberation rightly identifying the challenges that we're facing and besides immoderate of the optimistic positives," she said.

"And I'm truly unfastened for speech with our patrons, with our community, with the designers, with politicians, and I privation to benignant of physique those relationships and attack it successful a precise inclusive way."

Some of the astir celebrated concern leaders — from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi — person besides described listening and conversing with employees connected the crushed arsenic a cardinal enactment quality.

Jassy, for example, said the champion leaders admit divers viewpoints that disagree from their ain and tin admit erstwhile their ideas are wrong.

A boss' occupation is often to get "the close radical successful a room" to springiness their feedback and ideas, truthful they tin perceive and measurement the imaginable options, helium said

Khosrowshahi, who moonlighted arsenic an Uber operator to larn astir and amended the operator experience, said listening is 1 of the astir important skills helium learned from his mentor.

"There are each kinds of courses connected enforcement leadership, and I inactive haven't seen a people connected listening," helium said. "Yet the communal taxable I've seen successful beingness and with executives that are precise precocious up connected the ladder is that the higher you spell successful a company, the little you really cognize astir what's truly happening connected the ground."