The Office Is Calling
Gen Z enters the workforce in soft tailoring, tonal palettes, and officewear codes recast with subtle rebellion.
A model walking in office attire during the Jane Wade Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear show. This outfit means business and the two Olipop cans add a touch of fun. Photo by Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com, and made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Gen Z is aging like everyone else. We’re growing up and starting to enter the workforce. As working adults, we must deal with certain style expectations. That is a given along with the newfound responsibility that comes with a job. However, comparable to recent decades, these expectations are being forced onto Gen Z at a faster rate. In their twenties, Millennials were graced with LMFAOish party music, 5-inch stilettos, and the essence of each night lasting forever. Cut to 2025, and Gen Z is force-fed hustle culture, job competition, and career stress all by social media.
It appears our generation isn’t given the societal approval to party all night. Instead, it seems we are expected to gravitate towards more “mature” and modest clothing. The silhouettes, cuts, and overall look of these pieces depict a more bleak future. Yes, certain brands are still marketing rave clothing like teeny tops and mini skirts. Style-wise, there will always be a bit of fun laying around. However, the main point is: no one knows what “mature” clothing looks like for Gen Z. There’s not one, single answer and that’s okay. I’m not sure if we know either.
The Markgong Shanghai Spring 2024 collection made office wear a popular topic of conversation. These looks combined business casual and a cool sensuality. Photos courtesy of Markgong, and made available via Vogue. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
The runway, starting in 2023, began selling the idea of modern office wear. It wrapped up and presented “maturity” in a cool and collected way. We saw this theme in the Markgong Shanghai Spring 2024 collection. Even before the “office siren” became a thing, these pieces hinted at what would be popular for the next few years (plus ooh, polka dots!). The accessories included glasses, ID badges, clipboards, and coffee cups. Sticking with the work theme, models wore pieces like blazers and pencil skirts. The color palette was neutral: greys, blacks, and whites with some pops of yellow and red. On the surface, this collection seems like a well-executed homage to “The Devil Wears Prada” and stylish, working women across the globe.
In the details though, sits a very different story. Though it wasn’t the designer Mark Gong’s intention, these looks sell the workforce to Gen Z. They combine office wear and modern design elements that are still prevalent in 2025’s street style. A subtle sexuality appears in the knee and full-length garter tights that peek out. The ever-present corset and bandeau tops also appear throughout the looks. In terms of materials, see-through lace, distressed denim, and leather are constant. In this collection, a hint of maturity was offered to Gen Z. We saw that work wear could be made cool again, and in a couple months time, the peculiar “office siren” would take over.
Recently, fast fashion campaigns have pitched more modest clothing. Model Lila Moss appeared in Gap’s Summer 2025 campaign wearing maxi dresses and denim. On H&M’s website, the men’s “Casual” edit shows tailored pants, polo shirts, and simple jeans. Lila Moss photo courtesy of GapStudio, made available via Marie Claire. H&M photo made available via H&M. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Cut to 2025, and fast fashion giants like H&M and the Gap have leaned towards minimalist, overly sensible clothing. Whereas Millennials enjoyed the teeny tops at Forever 21, it seems Gen Z is stuck with a more plain, mall style to shop from. GapStudio recently released its summer collection and Lila Moss appeared in the campaign photos. Though this maturity mess has nothing to do with Gap’s creative director, Zac Posen, this summer campaign is a great example. It’s simply blue and white. It’s denim pieces, maxi dresses, and a lack of patterns. This collection pitches a simple, modest style that doesn’t say much about the person who wears it.
Similarly, H&M has also gone down the conservative rabbit hole. For this fast fashion brand, maturity is a bleak color palette and unsurprising silhouettes. This is best shown through the “Casual” edit on the brand’s website. Besides the T-shirts and shorts, this collection covers up any skin. The pants and jackets are long without any cuts or holes. Simplicity doesn’t automatically mean boring, but these pieces lack all personality. For example, the greige color would fit in real well with the creams and grays H&M is producing. Is this how the brand views “maturity?” Do they expect Gen Z to start running towards business casual?
Burberry’s 2025 Festival Campaign takes consumers back in time to the ‘90s, a time for mess, being bold, and having fun. Photos by Drew Vickers, and made available via Burberry. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Though things seem murky at the moment, not all is lost. Some fashion giants like Burberry and Valentino are bringing fun back into their campaigns. Valentino released its Resort 2026 photos, showing models dressed in maximalist outfits “sleeping” in bed. The mix of prints and styles in the photoshoot is something worth dreaming about. The same can be said for Burberry’s 2025 Festival Campaign. Reviving the ‘90s, this photoshoot reminds consumers of a brighter, sillier time. One with no responsibility. One where having fun was the only priority.
Instead of focusing on just Gen Z, this campaign brings nostalgia to everyone who remembers the ‘90s. The festival scene embraces natural elements like mud and grass. Plus, there is not a phone in sight. Models like Alexa Chung and Cara Delevine, who popped up during the 2010s, appear in the campaign. Arguably, the Delevine photo mimics the popularized shots of Kate Moss wearing her festival rain boots in 2005. In a musical twist, Oasis founder Liam Gallagher and his children, Lennon, Molly, and Gene were photographed too. The film is grainy and a bit grunge, nailing the essence of nostalgia marketing. How else would a brand shoot festival fashion?
As Gen Z heads into the workforce, it’s unclear as to how we will dress. Maturity and modesty are not the same thing when it comes to style. Each consumer has their own perspective on these wide-ranging terms. Even if the “office siren” was just a trend, it made office wear a popular fashion topic. The end result of this study is inconclusive. Maybe we’ll all wear maxi blazers and small neck ties? Maybe we’ll all hold clipboards as an accessory? Maybe ID badges will become style must-haves? Who knows, really? In time, maybe, we’ll find out.
