Corporate offices—in all their greige, cubicled glory—aren’t exactly synonymous with creativity. But that’s the kind of blank canvas that allows Jane Wade to shine. For the fall 2025 season, Wade expanded her corporate universe, this time taking aim at employer-sponsored surveillance culture. (In a funny, yet kind of horrifying role reversal, she sent some models down the runway filming the audience on their phones.) A skillful world builder, Wade took a meta approach, imagining a world in which her small, independent company is acquired by a soulless corporate behemoth.
With “The Merger,” Wade forged ahead with her staple officewear interpretations: deconstructed cotton poplin button-ups, wool suits with contrasting chalk stripes, and utilitarian touches. But she’s also done some growing up. Her work smartly acknowledged corporate hierarchies: every model played a character ranging from the overworked intern to the lecherous CEO (performed with aplomb by Lisa Rinna). It allowed Wade to consider customers at different stages of life and career, using her own evolution as the blueprint. “I feel like the collection is a reflection of me growing as a corporate person and a business professional,” she said. “I’ll see mirrors of a younger me in some of the looks and then I’ll project into the future, like me in 10 years.”
While this season still contained a healthy dose of sexuality (read: underboob galore—definitely NSFW), Wade also challenged herself to broaden her appeal. “This season I really wanted to respond to a bit more of a mature customer,” she said. It’s an impulse she should continue to follow. Wade has shown that she is able to retain her signature humor and exaggerated proportions, just with more sophistication. Take an oatmeal-colored cashmere coat with broad shoulders, a cinched waist, and a cell phone pouch. Sure, our phones look different than they did 20 years ago, but a well-made coat transcends time.
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