Occasionally, I pay attention to the fashion world to find design inspiration. If you are like me, you probably already know that the 2023 Met Gala paid tribute to one single designer — Karl Lagerfeld.

What’s special about Lagerfeld? Everyone knows his iconic look, or maybe his designs for Chanel. For me, one story about him made an impression.

Time flies back to 1998. Lagerfeld’s futuristic spring collection turned out to be a total failure. The media commented on Chanel as outdated. For the fashion industry, being outdated is the biggest sin.

In the following year, Lagerfeld ruthlessly restructured Chanel and himself. He let go of several core members, redesigned the Chanel stores, and got rid of almost everything in his home. He said, “You can’t build a future if you are tied to your own past.”

He reinvented himself as someone who always strives to live in the now.

Like fashion, the world is consistently changing. As designers, we are often in the front tier. What would the world become?

The World Economic Forum recently released Future of Jobs Report 2023, which pointed out that “analytical thinking and creative thinking remain the most important skills for workers in 2023.” Also, “design and user experience would be strategically emphasized by business”.

That is certainly good news for us. We all know that, as designers, no matter where the world is heading, we are always reinventing ourselves. We are always living in the now.

Stay curious. Keep Learning.