"Capturing the Playground of the 20s and 30s: Fashion Conglomerates Deploy Young Leaders in Their 30s Up Front"

Team Leaders in Their 30s Drive Brand Planning
Fashion Conglomerates Prioritize "Youthful Sensibility" in Leadership

Major fashion conglomerates are ushering in a generational shift by appointing young leaders in their 30s. As the center of fashion consumption shifts to online platforms frequented by people in their 20s and 30s, there is a clear trend of assigning team leader positions responsible for brand planning and decision-making to those born in the 1990s.

According to the fashion industry on December 25, LF’s ‘HAZZYS’ has appointed Benjamin Brown as the new Creative Director (CD) for its young line ‘Heath HAZZYS’ starting from this year’s fall/winter season. Benjamin Brown, born in 1990, is a Korean-American based in New York who has built experience at global casual brands such as KITH and Champion.

This appointment was made as Heath HAZZYS was separated from the existing HAZZYS menswear division and transitioned into a task force (TF) team system, now operating as an independent business team. Heath HAZZYS targets consumers in their 20s and 30s and is characterized by not using the traditional dog logo. The Creative Director oversees the brand’s identity and direction, leading not only product planning and design but also setting seasonal concepts, visual strategies, and all major decision-making. Heath HAZZYS plans to accelerate brand reorganization tailored to the sensibilities of the 20s and 30s demographic, with Benjamin Brown at the center.

LF has also applied young leadership to its popular brands among Millennials & Gen Z, such as ‘Athe Vanessa Bruno’ and ‘TNGT’. Athe Vanessa Bruno, which sparked the ‘Le Bon Bag’ boom by introducing the ‘balletcore’ look, recently reorganized its team around a newly appointed team leader in their 30s. Targeting younger consumers, the company enables employees in their 20s and 30s to lead product planning and content development overall.

Recently, Le Bon Bag launched products such as Le Bon Bags, pouches, tote bags, and keyrings featuring Sanrio’s popular character ‘Hello Kitty’. The business casual brand TNGT, which focuses on online sales, is already seeing the effects of having a team leader in their 30s. By targeting men aged 25 to 35, analyzing real-time data, and applying trend-driven content, the brand achieved 10 billion won in annual sales for the first time last year, tripling its revenue in just four years since transitioning online.

Kolon FnC has also placed employees born after 1986, aged 30 to 39, as brand team leaders for its online-based lifestyle brands. Managers in their 30s (including team leaders and part leaders) now account for 25% of the company’s total, an increase of about 38% compared to the previous year. Earlier, in September, Shinsegae International attracted attention by appointing a CEO in their 40s during a group personnel reshuffle.

Seo Minseong, born in 1980, leads the Cosmetics Division 1, and Lee Seungmin, head of Cosmetics Division 2, was born in 1985. As K-beauty is now driven by indie brands popular among Millennials & Gen Z, the company has placed young, trend-sensitive talent at the forefront. At Shinsegae International, team leaders in their 40s account for 78% of the fashion and cosmetics business divisions, while those born after the 1980s (under 45) make up nearly 45% of all team leaders. A company representative explained, "We are actively promoting young team leaders as potential executives."