A Fireside Chat on Fashion Management with Joseph R. Gromek & Abrima Erwiah
As Part of Intro to MPS Fashion Management Orientation Week
A Fireside chat with Joseph R. Gromek & Abrima Erwiah
“Keep It Simple”: Joe Gromek on Building Fashion Businesses That Last
Parsons MPS in Fashion Management — Fireside Chat Recap
Joseph R. Gromek, better known as Joe Gromek, has spent decades at the forefront of the fashion industry, guiding some of the world’s most recognized brands. In a recent fireside chat with Abrima Erwiah, Founding Director of the Gromek Institute for Fashion Business, Joe traced his path from a small family retail business to the C-suite and why preparing the next generation of leaders is his most meaningful work yet.
Joe opened our joint Gromek Institute x MPS Intro to Fashion Management Industry Chat sharing that he’s incredibly proud that what began as a spark has grown into 177 MPS students this year. From helping create the MPS program to launching the Gromek Institute for Fashion Business with his wife, Gail Gromek (known professionally as Gail Pisano), Joe has been hands-on in shaping Fashion Business & Management at The New School and committed to the next generation of talent.
Early instincts, family roots
Joe’s love of retail started young in his family’s retail business. That foundation carried into an executive training program after studying history, and into early roles that kept him close to operations and service. His north star hasn’t changed: “Start small, prove it, then scale.”
Taking stretch assignments, he didn’t initially want became a habit and an edge. Running mail-order at Saks and converting Brooks Brothers’ catalog to e-commerce in the late 1990s gave him a direct-to-consumer mindset long before DTC was a buzzword. The same practicality drove an early choice to let stores fulfill direct orders reducing stockouts and markdowns and quietly strengthening the business.
Turning focus into scale
At Warnaco, Joe inherited a portfolio with potential and concentrated the company around a single global growth engine: Calvin Klein. Under Warnaco’s Speedo license, the team also manufactured performance swimwear from the Fastskin/LZR era, the NASA-tested technology worn by Michael Phelps, a reminder that breakthroughs happen when design meets deep engineering.
His biggest operating lesson? Focus. A celebrity intimate-apparel line with inclusive sizing had a strong product and idea, but sprawling SKUs across thousands of doors overwhelmed systems. “We tried to be everything, everywhere, and it broke. Next time: narrow and deep, earn the right to scale,” Joe said (the quote is an interpretation of what Joe shared).
People, purpose, and performance
After an offsite, Warnaco launched a foundation, partnered with youth organizations, and gave employees a paid day to volunteer. Engagement rose and so did results. “Purpose isn’t decoration. When people feel proud of the work, performance follows,” he said (the quote is an interpretation of what Joe shared). That lens shapes his take on sustainability: people first, clear governance, disciplined operations and initiatives that are proved, not proclaimed.
Impact
Gail Gromek (Gail Pisano), former Executive Vice President of Saks Fifth Avenue, responsible for all women’s apparel, accessories, and footwear brought her own world-class merchandising rigor to this community. Together, Joe and Gail have been instrumental in building Fashion Business & Management at The New School, from creating the MPS program to launching the Gromek Institute for Fashion Business. Both have had remarkable industry careers and have committed themselves to supporting the next generation of talent in fashion.
The philosophy that threads it all
Across the hour, Joe kept returning to a mantra: “Keep it simple.” Simple doesn’t mean easy; it means clear. Focus the brand. Stage-gate launches. Make decision rights explicit. Invest in people. Do the few things that matter and do them well.
