Workplace dress codes have metaphorically loosened their ties, poured themselves a drink and put their feet on the desk. But what does dressing more casually mean for our professional lives, beyond being able to concentrate in comfort? Does that hoodie channel tech-titan-in-waiting or give off the vibe that you are playing Animal Crossing under your desk during seemingly endless Zoom calls?
Jonathan Kewley, who chairs the tech group at law firm Clifford Chance, tells me over Zoom that the pandemic has visibly accelerated the process of wardrobe casualisation, and that the company has embraced it.
“When the pandemic happened, some of the grandest private equity houses, banks and hedge fund managers and the traditional gatekeepers at Wall Street are there on Zoom with their kids in hoodies,” he says. “There was a degree of familiarity. You can’t say all banks or hedge funds will be like this, but there has been an overall relaxation. It’s part of the blended life.”