Return-To-Office Mandates Are A Fashion Moment

As more companies require employees to return to the office, fashion brands are rolling out new lines to help people get fitted for the polished, in-person 9 to 5.

Why It Hits: After four years of primarily working from home, employee outfits have become overly casual and blurred with non-work life. And for many young people who entered the workforce during this strange time, they’ve never even needed office attire. So, fashion brands are pivoting to meet the sudden demand and make their mark on the new era of office attire. That could mint some new work-fit winners.

Behind the Looks: Stylist and market editor DeVanté Rollins told Insider that brands are designing “playful takes on corporate life.” 

• Stella McCartney debuted a 2025 womenswear collection that features tailored jackets, power shoulders, straight trousers, and pencil skirts at a show in Paris last month called “Stella Corp.”
• Ferrari’s new line was called “Officina,” featuring classic men’s and women’s office staples like suits and coats (and plenty of red ties).
• Balenciaga rolled out a new ready-to-wear line with plenty of office attire, such as blazers and tailored pants.
• Prada leaned into the office aesthetic with its ad campaign dubbed “Now That We’re Here,” featuring suited people talking on corded phones (playing heavily on nostalgia).
• UNIQLO Europe showcased office clothes in an ad campaign that had models posing at desks with outdated desktop computers, perched on copy machines, and leaning against water coolers. (Did we mention nostalgia?)

Clock Out: Insider notes that the luxury push into office attire is just another part of the RTO-aesthetic zeitgeist, which includes online trends like “clean girl,” “office siren,” and “corpcore” (very demure, very mindful, of course). And with Severance shooting to the top of the Apple TV+ charts (probably the most aesthetically interesting show this year), the interest and anxiety of going into the office has never been so pronounced.