How weight-loss drugs are driving demand for fashion makeovers

Fast fashion retailer Boohoo, now trading as Debenhams, has just seen its shares surge more than 100% over the course of a week as investors become more hopeful about its recovery plan.

The return to profitable growth announced on 27 November was certainly a tonic for Boohoo but a longer-term potential boost to the company and other retailers such as Next and Zara-owner Inditex may be quietly emerging.  

There is now evidence that weight-loss drugs are starting to influence the mid-market fashion industry as people seek out new wardrobes. Given the surge in the popularity of these treatments since 2023, this emerging trend matches neatly with the rough one-and-a-half years it takes for full weight-loss benefits to take effect.

What is the background?

Excitement around weight-loss drugs started to take off in the early 2020s led by celebrity use of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic. Rather than any boost it might give clothing retailers, investors’ focus at the time was on the negative impact this would have on food and drinks companies.

The logic was simple enough, given GLP-1s (glucagon-like-peptide-1) mimic a natural hormone which helps regulate appetite, people were likely to consume fewer calories and drink less alcohol.

Novo Nordisk received regulatory approval for its chronic weight management treatment Wegovy in 2021 and US rival Eli Lilly’s Zepbound got the green light in November 2023.

The first head-to-head trial showed patients on Zepbound lost an average 20.2% of their bodyweight while those taking Wegovy lost an average 13.7%, both over a 72-week period.

How use of obesity jabs is changing spending patterns

A recent KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) survey showed one in eight or roughly 12% of US adults were taking GLP-1s to lose weight or treat a chronic condition as of November 2025, twice as many compared with a study in May 2024.

Meanwhile, a study by consultancy Morning Consult revealed that 40% of GLP-1 users feel “much more confident” and around a quarter reported feeling “a little more confident.” Both groups reported higher rates of impulse shopping.

The study showed clothing was the number one category on which people spent more money while taking GLP-1 drugs, with just over a third spending more.

In a recent research report analysts at Berenberg argued this is not surprising: “A GLP-1 user would likely require smaller clothing sizes at reasonable prices, particularly if they are moving down a number of sizes on their weight loss journey.

“With GLP-1 users feeling more confident, we would expect them to become more interested in their appearance, buying into new shapes and styles,” they added.

While the initial effects from GLP-1 drugs on the fashion industry are centred on the US for now, the trend could cross the Atlantic as these treatments become more widely used in the UK.