Fashion Stagnates Globally, Growth Frozen at 4% Annually Through 2026

International instability, coupled with the loss of positioning among the preferred consumer categories, ends up impacting the global fashion market. After several years of uncertainty, accelerated in 2025 by crises such as the tariff crisis and its impact on consumer confidence, the global fashion market freezes its growth rates until 2026.

This is the latest forecast from the international market analysis company Euromonitor, which anticipates that the world fashion market will close 2025 with a global volume of €1.766 billion, taking into account the value of retail sales.

This figure will represent a growth of 4.3% compared to the market value in 2024, which stood at €1,693,451 million. In 2024, the global fashion market (taking into account apparel and footwear) increased by 4.2%, according to the latest forecasts.

Each inhabitant of the world will have spent an average of €215.8 on clothing and footwear by the end of 2025

By 2026, not even the development of territories such as India or the Middle East will be able to compensate for the weak fashion situation in mature markets. Thus, Euromonitor anticipates another 4.1% growth for the year, so that the global market will reach 1,839,648 million euros.

By the end of 2025, each inhabitant of the world will have spent an average of 215.8 euros on clothing and footwear, 3.4% more than the previous year. Encouraged by the economic development of markets such as Asia, per capita spending on fashion is already comfortably over 200 euros. If in 2023 it stood at 202 euros, by 2026 it will have reached €222.8.

For clothing, the world’s inhabitants are spending a total of €170.3 per capita in 2025. For footwear, on the other hand, global per capita spending stands at €45.5.

By category

While apparel sales will evolve in line with the sector as a whole, footwear sales will evolve slightly above. Apparel business, which accounts for around 80% of the total, will increase by 4.1% in 2025 and 3.9% in 2026, following the 4% trend of 2024.

The footwear segment, on the other hand, will increase its growth rate: if global footwear sales rose by 4.7% in 2024, they will increase by 5.2% in 2025 and by 5% in 2026.

Sports fashion, which includes part of the business of the previous categories, is outperforming the fashion sector as a whole. By the end of 2025, global sportswear sales will stand at €376.6 billion, an increase of 5.3% compared to 2024.

Sport has established itself as the star of fashion over the last few years, although it is true that in the last two years the take-off experienced by the category after the pandemic has slowed down. In 2024, sports fashion sales rose by 6% worldwide. In 2026, the growth rate will be 5%, according to Euromonitor.