Bret Schnitker, Emily Lane
January 20, 2026
Emily Lane 00:01
I can go through our LinkedIn, and I can read, you know, all the various comments and posts that are out there, and I can tell you which ones were AI written. You know, they if people aren't careful to work closely with that tool, they do lose their individual voice, right?
Emily Lane 00:18
Welcome to Clothing Coulture, a fashion industry podcast at the intersection of technology and innovation. I'm Emily Lane
Bret Schnitker 00:35
and I'm Bret Schnitker. We speak with experts and disruptors who are moving the industry forward and discuss solutions to real industry challenges.
Emily Lane 00:43
Clothing Coulture is produced by Stars Design Group, a global design and production house with more than 30 years of experience.
Emily Lane 00:55
Welcome to Clothing Coulture, where we explore the ideas shaping the future of fashion. Today, we're diving into a topic that every brand leader needs to hear. The smartest moves fashion brands can make coming into 2026 the industry is evolving fast, economic shifts, tech disruption and changing consumer values are rewriting the playbook. So what should brands do to stay ahead? I'm here with Bret Schnitker to break down the strategies that matter most. Bret Are you ready?
Bret Schnitker 01:32
Ready!
Emily Lane 01:32
All right, let's get started. Let's talk about optimization. I know this isn't like the sexiest side of things. You know, we want to talk creative when we're
Bret Schnitker 01:42
talking sexy optimization, that'll
Emily Lane 01:47
get people really excited. So why is it so important for brands to focus on eternal efficiency before chasing growth?
Bret Schnitker 01:57
Growth without efficiency is like that old parable about building your house on the sand. It looks good for a while, but it's not going to hold right. Certain things are going to come up against them, believe me, in this business, there's always something going on right. And I think you know, when brands scale too fast, without tightening internal processes, they create a complexity that eats into margins. It slows decision making. And I think in 2026 especially speed and adaptability, are everything in a crazy world, right? If your workflows, your vendor relationships, your cost structures, if they're not optimized, every new category or channel is going to amplify inefficiencies.
Emily Lane 02:42
It kind of reminds me of when you talk about being young in the industry, and how executives would ask you, Hey, where are the wheels falling off? And you're like, where are they?
Bret Schnitker 02:52
No kidding,
Emily Lane 02:54
yeah. So if you don't have it all, you know, tucked and tight, the wheels are going to fall off.
Bret Schnitker 03:00
Yeah. I think the smartest brands today, they're treating operational health as the foundation for sustainable growth.
Emily Lane 03:06
That makes a lot of sense. What are the biggest red flags that you see when brands are expanding too quickly?
Bret Schnitker 03:12
The first red flag is margin erosion that hits, that hits first and foremost. And I think brands, you know, so many brands, they chase top line revenue and sometimes ignore profitability. Revenue is always so important. Another one that happens is inventory bloat. There's a lot of reasons for that today, but too many skus, too much cash tied up in product that doesn't move. And I also see, and we've talked about this with some really billion dollar brands that are out there going right now is bottlenecks. Teams are scrambling because processes weren't built for scale. And finally, brand dilution, right? You know, when expansion outpaces clarity, I think the customer experience, it suffers. There's confusion. You can't have confusion at the customer level. And I think these are all symptoms of skipping the optimization stuff.
Emily Lane 04:10
Yeah, this, this reminds me of a another thing that we often consult with brands on when you talk about, hey, you know, it's not just about revenue. Actually, revenue is almost irrelevant, irrelevant, because what really drives the business is profitability,
Bret Schnitker 04:27
yeah, but you can't have profitability without revenue.
Emily Lane 04:29
Understand, you still need money, right? All right. So brands are like, okay, yes, we want to optimize. This makes a lot of sense for our business, where should they start? Workflows? Vendor audits, margins. Where? Where do you begin?
Bret Schnitker 04:45
Visibility. I think you start with visibility. You can't fix what you can't see. I think you want to map your workflows to identify bottlenecks, audit vendors lead times and responsibility. From there, you look at margin health, not just at the product level. That's that's kind of where many times a lot of this, a lot of time is spent, but it needs to be across all channels and operations, I think often small changes, like renegotiating terms or tightening production lead times, if you can. It's still a crazy world out there, but they end up having a pretty big impact. Impact. The goal is to create as lean and responsive a system as you can before you layer on growth.
Emily Lane 05:33
right, That makes a lot of sense. Okay, now moving into the tech space, a little bit. AI is everywhere we see it in all facets of our industry right now. How should fashion brands think about using this tool strategically, responsibly?
Bret Schnitker 05:52
Well, do it like we're doing. We're not actually here right now. AI generated images. AI should be treated as a tool, not purely a strategy. I think, you know, it's powerful efficiency and insight. I mean, it's amazing how much it can churn through, but it can't, I don't think at this stage, and I emphasize at this stage, I don't think it can replace human judgment or creativity, right? Especially creativity. I mean, it's doing some amazing things. But, you know, humans are unique in that, in that aspect, I think Responsible Use means asking, hey, does this enhance our decision making, or is this challenging the disconnect from our brand? Voice brand should use AI to support, not dictate, especially when it comes to creative and strategic choices. I think keeping humans in the loop for anything that touches storytelling, design, direction and customer experience is critical.
Emily Lane 06:56
Boy, you're so right about AI not being able to really take on that creative element quite successfully, incomplete or completely right now, you know, right now, right now. I put that caveat out there, you know. I can go through our LinkedIn, and I can read, you know, all the various comments and posts that are out there, and I can tell you which ones were AI written. You know, they if people aren't careful to work closely with that tool, they do lose their individual voice, right? Yeah. So as far as other facets like forecasting or design support, what are some practical ways people can be implementing this resource?
Bret Schnitker 07:39
We've had so many wild questions about how AI is influencing our space, and I think certainly one of the big areas that will make the most sense, and there's a lot of investment in, is demand forecasting, right trend analysis, all of those things are making really huge strides with some very interesting ways to look at all of that, but also from a creative space, rapid design iteration. We're doing it here you were utilizing that, you know, from the analysis standpoint. You know, an example can be, it can analyze historical sales. It can input market data to predict what will sell. It'll, you know, generate multiple design variations from a creative side to speed up concept development. But I think the key is you use those as starting points, not the final answers. You know, designers should interpret what AI suggestions are, and then ask themselves, hey, is this aligned with the brand's DNA? Does that stay intact? You know, it's an, it's an interracial, interrelational kind of situation. I think
Emily Lane 08:55
today, I'm really hopeful, or think positively about what it can do with regards to the trend forecasting and that side of the business, because one of the challenges we hear brands talk about is over buying, under buying all of those things. So hopefully this can help help teams make better decisions about what they really need.
Bret Schnitker 09:17
We had a great podcast earlier this year on AI helping retailers and brands decide not to buy in
Emily Lane 09:25
some cases, right? It's kind of counterintuitive to what we think we should be promoting in our
Bret Schnitker 09:31
manufacturing. So we suggest
Emily Lane 09:34
this year, yeah, what are, what are some things that are going wrong with AI adoption today?
Bret Schnitker 09:41
Well, you know, it's easy to rely on technology when we've got, you know, full plates and full of stress. And I think the biggest mistake is let's over automate. You know. Know, brands, I think initially hand too much over to AI. I think it loses the unique voice. There's issues with security. We've talked about those on previous podcasts. You know, I think another pitfall is chasing AI for novelty instead of solving real problems. Yeah, AI is popular. Let's throw in AI. We don't totally really understand it. And so, you know, you if you chase AI because it's trendy, I think you end up wasting a lot of money, and I think you end up confusing the team. The goal isn't to replace people. It's kind of to free them from these repetitive tasks that need some decisions and it and so they can focus on creativity, new strategy, ideas,
Emily Lane 10:49
other areas that bring value to business. Yeah, that that makes a lot of sense. I was just thinking about, you know, how you were describing AI, and it almost sounds like, you know, like bringing a new employee on, you know, you, you, you're not going to just turn it loose, right? You're not going to turn them, the new employee loose. You're going to have oversight, you have direction. You're going to have to wash your car first, exactly. So, you know, it makes sense that you would have the same kind of protocols and and watch in place work for that, that tool. Okay, let's move a little bit more into the supply chain side of the conversation and design. You know, a lot of times you think of supply chain, sourcing and design team is all very separate entities within the business. But really there, there should be more integration within how these, these verticals within your company work. So how does like, Why does designing with the supply chain realities matter so much now more than ever before.
Bret Schnitker 11:52
Well, it's always been the case that speed and flexibility are competitive advantages, right? But in 2026 holy smoke in 2025 let alone 2026 their supply chains face constant pressure. We have geopolitical shifts. Slash tariffs. We get raw material shortages. We have unpredictable demand. We have weather issues,
Emily Lane 12:18
yes, floods, yeah,
Bret Schnitker 12:23
that that influences the best laid plans, right? So I think if the designers aren't really aligned with what the supply chain can realistically deliver, what you end up doing is you risk delays, you end up getting excessive costs, and you miss opportunities. I think designing with supply chain realities means thinking about lead times the material availability and then production capacity from day one. I think collaborative
Emily Lane 12:56
things are ever shifting. Right? They are.
Bret Schnitker 12:59
But like you mentioned. You know, so many times the two departments are really not sitting there having conversations, right?
Emily Lane 13:07
So a lot more communication internally, yeah, would, would be very helpful. Okay, so what does flexibility in design look like? You mentioned flexibility. So what does that look like? Is it materials? Is it trims? Is it production runs?
Bret Schnitker 13:22
I think it. I think it's important that design teams build adaptability into every layer of the product, from the materials you choose options that can be sourced from multiple suppliers, and today, even more importantly, multiple regions, when we talk about trims, and trims are hang tags, you know, poly bags, all of that stuff. We just went through a kind of wild one with, with hang with poly bags. But you want to avoid hyper custom components that can slow production or bring it to a screeching halt for production runs, I think planning smaller, smarter batches that can scale up and down based upon demand is important because we're kind of leaning into a little bit of an unpredictable landscape in 2026 I think flexibility, it's not about compromise. Everyone always thinks, Hey, be flexible. And then immediately human nature is that you're asking me to compromise. This is what I do. It's it's really about creating designs that can pivot without sacrificing brand integrity, integrity.
Emily Lane 14:31
Okay, so when you're talking smaller, smaller batches, you're talking about number of SKUs. Are you talking about numbers of quantities?
Bret Schnitker 14:41
I believe both. I think if you start by simplifying complexity in general, fewer SKUs, tighter color palettes, I think modular design elements, meaning fabrications that can go against go across multiple different styles. What that does is. It's going to help you maintain quality, because a lot of times you're going to vet that fabric, make sure that fabrics got great quality, or the suppliers get great, great production, and then it still allows you to move as quickly as possible in today's environment, I think, from a design aspect, using digital tools for rapid prototyping, it cuts weeks out of the development process. We've seen that time and time again. And I think from the production side, it's super important to partner with suppliers who share your commitment to quality and then can execute quickly. That does come with a lot of challenges, again, today, and it's always had a certain amount of element of challenges, but one thing I learned a long time ago is you can't teach a factory that's producing poor quality to all of a sudden produce your garments at a higher level of quality. Either factory understands quality and has invested in it, or they don't. So I don't think speed means rushing. I think it removes it means kind of removing the barriers and the friction, so the quality is not compromised.
Emily Lane 16:12
Okay, so we've dropped we've we've addressed kind of taking care of your house. We've talked about your product. Now let's talk about your sales channels. With so many selling platforms out there, how should brands decide where to show up? I think,
Bret Schnitker 16:31
you know, operationally, it creates chaos. And we talk about, we the when we were in Paris, again, there was a European group, AI group, it was talking about the challenges of splitting your inventory across all of these different channels, brick and mortar, multiple online platforms, led to increased inventory. It led to decreased profitability. And I think you have to be really, really careful of that, and then also you deal with a hell of a lot more logistics headaches. Yes, you know, logistics is expensive. We're seeing already challenges with the existing supply chain. We've talked about it in past episodes about billions of packages coming in a year, right? How are we getting drivers and transportation to go everywhere,
Emily Lane 17:21
and that's gotten more complex over the more and more complex. We're not
Bret Schnitker 17:25
buying anything less right at this stage. I think few, they're just the best solution is really fewer, stronger partnerships. I think it allows you to negotiate better terms. It allows you to maintain consistency, and then what's important, I think, to the customer today, is a premium experience, and this gives you an opportunity to deliver that.
Emily Lane 17:49
Also you mentioned premium experience. How does that align with channel strategy?
Bret Schnitker 17:54
Well, channel strategy is kind of customer experience. And I think if your customer expects fast shipping and seamless returns, and if your marketplace can't deliver that, that's a brand problem. I think every touch point, from packaging to service has to reflect your brand values, and in many cases, does whether or not you recognize it or not. I think choosing the right channel ensures that you meet expectations, and you build trust, which I think is far more valuable than chasing reach at all costs.
Emily Lane 18:27
Okay, let's move on to the mid level, part of your business. You've said execution is the new competitive edge. What does that mean for fashion brands?
Bret Schnitker 18:41
I think in a market where growth is possibly slowing, right? There's a lot of conversations about with increased costs, is the market slowing? And we don't know that for sure. Early indications are is that holidays up single digits, but we'll see how 2026 shakes out. We certainly know that competition is fierce. Every day, new people walk into the space. We always talk with our clients about the amount of noise out there. I think ideas aren't enough today. I think execution wins. Brands that move from concept to delivery quickly without sacrificing quality, they're going to outperform those stuck in bottlenecks. Execution means having the right processes, the teams and the systems in place so you can respond to the demand shifts, because there's going to be there better for worse, yeah, we don't have a crystal ball. They're going to be able to launch efficiently, and most importantly, they're going to be able to keep their margins healthy. So I think that those, those are really important.
Emily Lane 19:47
Yeah, you mentioned this speculation around a softening market where, like you said, we're not entirely sure yet, but we are going to address this in an upcoming episode. We are going to be talking. About fashion economics, a mid state, possible downturn. Kind of the advice that we would, we would, we would share. So just keep on the lookout for that conversation, because I think that in itself is could be a very robust one back to mid level, teams, groups like your sourcing groups and operations. Why do they? You know, they seem to be even more critical. Now than ever.
Bret Schnitker 20:25
They've always been critical. They're the engine behind everything, sourcing and operations teams. They control cost, they control speed, they control quality. I think these are three things that really define success in 2026 if those teams are either underdeveloped, underdeveloped, you know, they don't have the skill sets that they need to accomplish their goals, or in many cases, as we have reduced team size or employee count, if they're over stretched, even the best designs and the best marketing won't save you. You won't have the product, you won't have the quality. I think investing in these kind of mid tier talent groups, you know, it helps to ensure that your brand can scale sustainably. And then, as as in most cases it happens you have to adapt, right? And these teams allow you to adapt when we've got supply chain challenges or market condition challenges.
Emily Lane 21:31
Is this where you might toss in your classic phrase, evolution revolution in our weekly live stream clothing brief, where we give the kind of latest insights on the what's what's trending in in the news in our industry, it seems like almost every week we're talking about turnover in the executive suite with leading, leading brands. So knowing that this is kind of a volatile space right now, how can brands reduce dependency on the founders and executive leaders?
Bret Schnitker 22:10
Yeah, in my case, it's impossible.
Emily Lane 22:14
Just can't fire yourself.
Bret Schnitker 22:17
No, look there. I think that's important. You know, self sustaining, multiple tier operations are always more successful. You know, leaders, visionaries, they retire, they move on, they want to do other things. Executives, there is this, as you mentioned, lot of executive turnover, I think, to ensure that you've got stability with those things, it's important that internally, you're documenting processes, you're building institutional knowledge. I think too many brands rely on founders for every decision, right? I think if they're waiting for an answer, that creates a bottleneck. I think it creates risk, right? If the if the leader is not available, or something unfortunate happens, everyone's at a standstill and decisions need to move quickly. I think standardizing workflows, empowering mid, mid tier leaders, I think you can create a business that runs on systems, not personalities.
Emily Lane 23:24
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, hey, and that
Bret Schnitker 23:27
frees people like me. Founders focus on vision and growth, and the rest of the team handles the execution.
Emily Lane 23:34
Yeah, that does make a lot of sense. Let's move over to consumer psychology right now, consumers are, you know, more cautious. They're more value driven. How should brands respond to this evolution and consumer behavior?
Bret Schnitker 23:52
I think again, this year, we had a lot of conversations on that, you know, the storytelling and things like that. And I think brands need to shift from really selling products like you know the old day, right? Yeah, to really building trust, I think this means clear, being real clear about what you stand for, following through with actionable steps. I think consumers want to know where their money goes. I think they want to know how you're sourcing, how you treat your workers. You know what impact you're gonna have in 2026 values aren't a marketing angle. They're really a business requirement. What I'm hearing
Emily Lane 24:31
you talk about is transparency, and we're hearing a lot more brands talk about transparency, almost to the point where transparency is feeling like a buzz word,
Bret Schnitker 24:40
transparency and AI, holy smokes, right? Incredibly overused terms.
Emily Lane 24:45
So what does this really look like beyond this, like marketing angle?
Bret Schnitker 24:49
Well, in ideally, Transparency means really kind of showing the real numbers, showing the processes, not just saying, Hey, we care. You know. But sharing the lead times. Why the lead times are there? Explain pricing, kind of giving visibility into the production stages. It's amazing the number of people that we interact with that don't understand the complexity of our production world. Yes, and I think if you explain that, I think a well educated consumer is a great well educated customer is a great customer. And I think if there's a delay which happens, holy smoke, you communicate it honestly. And I think when brands pull back the curtain, they're going to turn possible uncertainty into confidence.
Emily Lane 25:38
Yeah, you know, this still is a human business. Ai hasn't taken over everything yet. So knowing that it's a human business, and we are in an imperfect world, things happen, so that kind of transparency you're talking about has the opportunity to develop some real trust. What are some other ways that brands can build real trust and deliver on their promises.
Bret Schnitker 26:02
Yeah, I think patience is is really important. Here. Start small, be consistent. Don't over promise. You know, the other cliche thing, under promise and over deliver. I didn't come up with that, by the way, but it's important, and I think, align your messaging with what you can actually execute operationally when mistakes happen, own them, fix them. Trust isn't built like in a campaign, right? It's built on a daily process with action and interaction.
Emily Lane 26:42
Yeah, absolutely okay for moving into the final question. Get ready. I'm ready. Okay, as we look into 2026 What do you think is going to separate the brands that really thrive versus those that I'll say it nicely, struggle?
Bret Schnitker 27:01
Yeah, winners and losers. I think what's going to separate the winners from the strugglers is discipline, and I think it's always what has kind of separated winners from strugglers, and that's tough, right? I think the brands that are going to thrive are the ones that are gonna optimize before they expand, invest in execution and stay true to their identity. You know, they're always gonna have to deal with adaptability to change again, the evolution that revolution, ears bleeding. I don't think it's about chasing every trend. I don't think it's about being in every channel. I think it's about building a lean, resilient business that can pivot without losing its core. Right? The ones that struggle are going to be the ones that grow for growth's sake. They're gonna ignore margin health, they're gonna over automate at the expense of creativity, and I think in short, success is going to come from clarity, efficiency and trust.
Emily Lane 28:10
Yeah, yeah, thank you. That That all makes perfect sense. You'd almost think it would be inherent, but yet it's not, which is why we do this podcast. So 2026 isn't about doing more, it's about doing better. The brands that will win will be the ones that optimize before they expand. Use technology thoughtfully and design with agility. Every decision should strengthen your foundation, not stretch it thin. Fashion moves fast, but clarity and discipline will help you keep ahead. Thank you for joining us on clothing Coulture. Don't forget to subscribe to save prize of upcoming episodes and until next time, keep building smarter, not just bigger. You
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