The tie may be optional in many corporate industries, and a more relaxed dress code may be seen as a retention incentive, but this high-margin, high-impact piece of fabric isn't facing extinction just yet.

Workplaces such as KPMG, PwC and JP Morgan may have introduced a casual dress code, and a recent survey of 1200 men by fashion marketplace Manrags showed 55 per cent of their members don't wear ties to work, but Australia's captains of the fashion industry say clear out the tie drawer at your peril.