The year 2025 has been particularly challenging for the creative recruitment market. Few positions are open, and when they are, processes tend to be long, uncertain, and often frozen midway. Decisions are delayed, approval layers multiply, and leadership teams hesitate.
In an unstable economic and geopolitical environment, hiring becomes an adjustment variable. Historically, creative functions design, image, communication are often among the first to be put on hold.
Yet recent history tells a different story.
Companies that continue to invest in creativity and design are often those that navigate turbulent periods most successfully. Groups such as Decathlon, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel have never viewed creativity as a cost, but as a strategic lever. The same dynamic can be observed among Chinese automotive manufacturers like BYD and NIO, which have invested heavily in design, user experience, and brand to accelerate their international expansion.
In times of uncertainty, their ability to innovate, assert a strong vision, and strengthen their desirability makes the difference.
Pausing creative recruitment may secure the short term. But in the medium term, it weakens a company’s ability to differentiate, reinvent itself, and capture attention.
Paradoxically, 2025 also offers a window of opportunity. Competition for top profiles is less intense. Talent including senior professionals is more open to discussions. Companies with a clear vision, a streamlined decision-making process, and the courage to move forward can recruit profiles they might not have been able to attract during more competitive periods.
As a firm specialized in creative roles, we see this every day: in complex phases, it is not the most cautious organizations that gain the advantage, but those that know how to invest at the right moment.
The market is slower. But it is not at a standstill.
And top talent does not wait indefinitely.
At Lemens & Partners, we have been supporting companies in the luxury, fashion, retail, and automotive sectors for over 20 years in identifying and recruiting their creative talent.
We know these profiles inside out. We build long-term, trust-based relationships with them, and we understand how to identify the individual who will truly make a difference within your organization.
If you are considering a hire now or in the coming months, we would be delighted to discuss it with you.
→ contact@lemensandpartners.com
Lemens & Partners – Recruitment firm based in Paris.
Creative recruitment in France and internationally.