Achim Berg is putting on his thinking cap.
The veteran consultant, who was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co., has launched FashionSights, an independent corporate think tank.
“The fashion and luxury industry faces unprecedented challenges, from stagnating top lines in Western markets to rising costs across the entire value chain, driving significant polarization in performance,” Berg said. “Compounding these pressures, external disruptions — ranging from geopolitical conflicts and supply chain instability to evolving regulatory landscapes — continue to emerge at an increasing pace.
“In this complex landscape, senior decision-makers need clear insights, in-depth analytics, thought leadership and professional advice to navigate uncertainty and drive success,” he said.
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The think tank is built around four pillars.
- Thought leadership featuring “distinctive perspectives fueled by data and expertise across a variety of formats to engage and inform a broad audience.” Among the projects in the works is a book, “The Future of Fashion,” that will be drawn from interviews with more than 50 industry leaders.
- Advisory services to senior decision-makers, founders, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders.
- Investments in both post-seed start-ups as well as scale-ups at the intersection of fashion and technology.
- Community: Berg wants to use FashionSights to bring together the fashion and luxury community “to foster connections and collaboration.”
All together, the goal is to help shape the fashion industry’s future, in part by understanding its past.
“The insights engine begins with a deep analysis of the mega trends and disruptions that have shaped the fashion industry over the past decades,” Berg said. “But we go beyond surface-level observations, uncovering the underlying economic, industry and consumer drivers that have truly influenced its evolution. This deep historical understanding — hindsight — forms the foundation of our perspective on the future of fashion. Rather than merely extrapolating past developments, we leverage a nuanced understanding of current and emerging drivers, along with the likely reactions of market players, to develop true foresight.”
Berg has long been a keen observer of the industry, having spent 24 years at McKinsey, where he helped start the group’s apparel, fashion and luxury practice.
Late last year, after leaving the McKinsey, he wrote a report analyzing Forbes’ rich lists for the past 24 years. His research showed that the net worth of fashion billionaires grew from a 4 percent share in 2000 to 10 percent in 2024, considering the overall wealth of the top 200.
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton‘s Bernard Arnault and Inditex founder Amancio Ortega were both a part of that increase.
“The dynamics among the richest are an impressively precise allegory for the polarization the fashion industry has been going through for years,” Berg wrote. “Luxury and value players are dominating in terms of numbers of billionaires and the net worth they are generating, while the premium and midmarket segment is squeezed.”
Clearly, Berg has plenty more to give the industry.
