The capsule collection combines office style with lockdown comfort, reflecting the new, hybrid world of work.
As thousands of workers plan their return to the office, IWG – the world’s largest operator of office and flexible workspace – has partnered with iconic British designer Giles Deacon to create a workwear collection that’s equally stylish for Zoom collaborations at home or meetings in person.
After nearly 18 months of conducting business virtually, executives and employees are adjusting to a new, hybrid way of working. IWG’s recent survey of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 business leaders revealed that three times as many companies intend to embrace a hybrid model in the wake of Covid-19, compared with those intent on a return to the old 9-to-5 routine.
In the first half of 2021 alone, IWG has inked deals with Standard Chartered bank and NTT, with enterprise partnerships providing more than a million new customers access to IWG flexspaces around the world.
The IWG X GILES collection is being launched at a time when there is growing appreciation by both business leaders and employees of the many benefits of hybrid working for people, profits and the planet.
Success by design
IWG X GILES was in part inspired by Deacon’s visits to IWG locations, including several Spaces centres. The collection was shot at Spaces Liverpool Street and is modelled by real-life office workers from a number of industries.
Designed with workers’ changing habits in mind, Deacon’s garments fuse the relaxing clothes people have worn while working from home with the stylish attire normally expected at the office. Plans for the collection were informed by consumer research that revealed office workers’ desire for clothes that would help them to feel confident while maintaining their comfort.
The hybrid office wear collection features three separate looks: one male, one female and one non-binary. All combine fashionable style, flattering silhouettes and soft tailoring. The fabrics used in the collection are all organic, with poplins, soft needlecord, compact wool and cotton jersey at its core. This move away from the materials many workers may have worn before Covid-19 is a deliberate one, designed to encourage more considered, sustainable choices.
The end of formal office wear?
Employees’ desire to distinguish between work and home is reflected in the popularity of local flexible workspaces among hybrid workers. Basing oneself at home has advantages, but it can also be draining and distracting, and make it difficult to switch off when the working day is done. These are problems that flexspaces are uniquely placed to solve.
However, the question of what to wear has been at the forefront of many workers’ minds as they consider returning to workspaces outside the home – and an IWG survey shows that this is not a superficial concern. It reveals that 55% of people feel they work more productively when given the freedom to dress as they like, while 40% said not having their clothing choices constrained bolstered their creativity.
Sixty-four per cent of survey respondents said they had stuck to comfortable clothing during lockdowns, with well over half sure that the days of formal business dress are over. And 39% were confident that it will be more acceptable, in an era of hybrid working, to wear informal clothing to the office.
“There has been a noticeable change in people’s relationship with clothes over the pandemic, and as a result, what we wear to the office has changed forever,” says Giles Deacon, designer of the IWG X GILES collection.
Nevertheless, two-thirds of people IWG surveyed maintain that what an individual wears to work is linked to their seniority, while a third said they feel better about themselves when they choose smarter clothing.
Fashioning the future
IWG has seen a significant rise in demand for both suburban and rural office space in 2021. Meanwhile, WiFi data from IWG centres across a number of markets including the UK, Spain and Italy shows that, since January, logins have risen by over 50%. This underlines workers’ desire to base themselves in an environment dedicated solely to work.
Offering employees the option to work from local flexspaces is key to many firms’ hybrid plans, particularly those committing to the hub-and-spoke approach. This model recasts the corporate HQ as a ‘hub’ for collaboration and connecting, ending its tenure as the base from which most people work on a day-to-day basis. When they’re not needed for face-to-face sessions, employees are able to base themselves at ‘spoke’ locations closer to home.
This is the position adopted by IWG partner Avaya. The cloud communications company’s Swiss HQ is now within a Spaces centre, and its employees have access to IWG flexspaces throughout the world. “We are prepared for the hybrid future,” says Ourania Odermatt, Managing Director of Avaya Switzerland and Austria. “We deliver the infrastructure, communication and collaboration tools needed for working from anywhere and IWG delivers the flexible workspace – it’s the perfect match.”
With hybrid working very much in fashion, IWG founder and CEO Mark Dixon says the post-pandemic era promises benefits for both employers and their people. “The future of work is already with us, and it’s only going to improve,” he insists.
Commenting on IWG X GILES, Fatima Koning, Group Chief Sales Officer of IWG, says: “Giles Deacon is a fashion icon and we are delighted to have partnered with him to create the collection, bringing to life the latest post-pandemic workwear trends. The collection has been inspired by our experiences over the last year or so, and the desire to look and feel fabulous while not compromising on comfort.”
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