The 10-minute survey was shared with Vogue Business newsletter subscribers, shared online via LinkedIn and Instagram, and directly with over 350 industry contacts. The data analysis was conducted by an internal Condé Nast custom research team, alongside the writers of this series. Statistical comparisons between groups were used at a 95 per cent confidence interval.

In order to take the survey, respondents had to be over 16 and work in the fashion industry. Among respondents, 55 per cent were under the age of 35, and 44 per cent were over 35 (one per cent preferred not to answer). Women made up 80 per cent of respondents, and men made up 18 per cent (two per cent self-described or preferred not to answer). Thirty per cent were freelance, and 67 per cent were engaged in full-time employment. In terms of seniority, 61 per cent held managerial positions.

There are some inevitable limitations to this data. While the survey was shared with a global audience, the majority of respondents were based in the US (35 per cent) and the UK (30 per cent). Due to cultural sensitivities and differing legal constraints on data collection, questions about race/ethnicity and sexuality were only asked