Earlier this year, a trend dubbed the “office siren” or “corpcore” reached vitality on TikTok, with young people cosplaying as sexed-up office workers (many of them Gen Z-ers who had never set foot in an office) in a fetishization of pre-pandemic corporate America. So when Jane Wade set out to skewer corporate culture in her spring 2025 collection, she faced the challenge of avoiding the microtrend sand trap. Luckily, she passed with flying colors.
With “The Audit,” Wade—one of this year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists—delivered an offering with a strong point of view and a healthy dose of humor. “We’re studying corporate greed, the cornerstone of morality within corporate culture, and what it means to be a little bit sneaky to elevate yourself,” she said. While she poked fun at this with her subverted workwear and styling (the briefcase overflowing with money was an inspired touch), Wade sought to touch on a more serious issue: “In corporate America with profit shifting and tax evasions, legal ways and illegal ways to kind of conceal our money, the rich get richer and the poor stay poor.”
An expert world-builder, Wade created an airtight narrative for the collection, giving each look a persona to fulfill. She costumed the low-level whistleblower in a sporty hoodie and white boxer shots, the auditor in a dip-dyed silk dress with exposed raw-edged seams and a sheer crocheted chainmail top, and the CEO who closed the show in gray shorts with white piping and a matching blazer with comically oversized shoulder pads.
The Oregon-born designer struck the balance between showcasing wearable clothing—like the swishy asymmetrical jersey dresses and the cotton poplin skirt sets that subverted the staple button-down—with the avant garde, like the high-low dress made of shreds of paper. (“These are my shredded tax returns and my actual contracts from this season,” Wade said.) She also prides herself on using natural fabrics, be it silk charmeuse or cotton.
Although Jane Wade is a young brand, house codes were present throughout spring 2025: chevron stitching, chainmail bound with crochet and weaving, and dip-dyeing. Wade, the daughter of a contractor and a hairdresser, also values utilitarian touches. “[We are] showcasing the American culture through canvas and denim and hardware textures,” she said. “So we have that dichotomy of corporate, disheveled office wear, mixed with functional performance garments.”
Wade said of her customer: “She’s on the go. She’s powerful. She’s sexy. She probably has a corporate job. She wants to still express herself within the confines of office wear.” Or, more likely, she’s a cool girl with a soul-crushing job and a talent for compartmentalization. But she’s always the best dressed in the office by a mile!
