What Makes a Fashion Creative in 2025?

Let’s be honest: the word “creative” has been thrown around so much, it’s starting to lose its juice. But in 2025, being a fashion creative isn’t about just owning a camera, knowing the right color palette, or styling a cool fit. It’s about vision, voice, and vibe.

Today’s fashion creatives are multi-dimensional. You’re not just a stylist—you’re an archivist, a casting director, a trend translator, and sometimes even a therapist. You’re not just a photographer—you’re a visual architect, a set designer, and a cultural commentator, all in one.

Take Sanjo Lawal, for example—a Nigerian photographer whose work feels like it was shot on Earth but processed through ancestral software. His portraits don’t just look good. They say something. They carry memory, identity, and intimacy. That’s what being a creative looks like in 2025: having something to say—and knowing how to say it without screaming.

Same goes for directors like Meji Alabi, who blends music, fashion, and film into one seamless experience. It’s not just about getting the perfect shot anymore—it’s about building worlds people want to live in, even if it’s just for 60 seconds.

The fashion creative in 2025 is also a community builder. Look at collectives like Motherland, The Assembly, or even the brothers behind Lawee—these are not just crews making content. They’re shaping culture, archiving stories, and pushing style narratives that speak globally while staying rooted locally.

And let’s not forget the platforms. Instagram is your showroom, X is your moodboard, and YouTube might be your documentary. The creative today knows how to shift between aesthetics, formats, and audiences without losing the sauce.

So, what makes a fashion creative in 2025? It’s not the gear. It’s not the follows. It’s the ability to translate identity, culture, and emotion into something visual—something that moves.

We’re not just changing our look.
We’re shifting the lens.

(C)VETRAMAGAZINE