đź’ Carmen Busquets for ODDA Magazine
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine 19th Issue “You, Me, and Everyone We Know”.
CARMEN BUSQUETS
Anyone who has a great new fashion idea knows that nothing beats having Carmen Busquets as your backer. The Venezuela born philanthropist and investor was one of the first to spot the potential of the fashion-tech arena. She was the founding investor in Net-a-Porter and, since then, had been an early supporter and investor of a number of now household name fashion tech brands like Moda Operandi, Farfetch, TagWalk, Business of Fashion and Lyst, just to name a few. Behind all of those investments was Busquets’ deep commitment to creating a more sustainable fashion industry; one that would leverage the data and the direct communication the online space could create with consumers, to help companies make smarter choices that would lead to less waste and more streamlined supply chains. Here, Busquetsmakes some predictions about the future of fashion, shares how being 60 percent deaf taught her how to read the body language of the people she met, and why she likes investing in female entrepreneurs.
JESSICA MICHAULT. I remember when we were both on the stage with Suzy Menkes in Brazil at the IHT luxury conference back in 2011 talking about the future of fashion. Now almost a decade later, how are you feeling about the amazing changes you have helped to make happen in the world?
CARMEN BUSQUETS. I feel excited. This is only the beginning. It is a reaffirmation that digital is here to stay, just as I was saying back then. I love experimenting, incubating, and investing as well as advising on ideas that are in the early stages. I’m always looking ahead, envisaging the future, and the one thing I care about much more than making money is creating impactful and meaningful change—especially as a single woman who worked hard for her money and who chose not to have children. My goal is to sow seeds and I know that each time any of us do something powerful, the industry takes note and listens. Once an idea has become an accepted principle for our lifestyle and evolution—some- times it can take as long as 15 years for this to happen—I like to move on to the next thing, but only once the idea has become reality. The secret to new ideas succeeding is more about timing, luck and building the right team rather than about the found- ers themselves and the money. Good ideas never die. Anyone who has a great new fashion idea knows from 2015 onwards. As my activist, humanitarian, and philanthropic work grew, I decided to invest less in early stage companies and started joining the boards and supporting founders who had created their own Venture Capital funds such as Felix Capital, Susa Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, Kindred and Fernbrook.
J.M. Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn’t that about the time you were launching your e-commerce boutique, CoutureLab? I feel like that was a place where you could really test out your ideas and get clarity about where you wanted to focus your energy next. Is that right?
C.B. I actually came up with the idea for CoutureLab in 2001 and registered it as a business the same year. Natalie [Massenet] helped me do it as I did not know back then how to register the name online. It was an opportunity for me to continue helping emerging designers by including and creating awareness for those who were not part of the fashion industry, and by offering clients the possibility to pre-order or place bespoke orders from them. I had started doing this through my store Cabus (in Caracas, Venezuela), but with CoutureLab I could expand the scope and reach a global network of small entrepreneurs, artists, and artisans working across fashion, lifestyle, and different cultures. The concept was to promote timeless fashion and style that went beyond trends, to tell the stories behind the products and the artisans that made them, and to help empower the communities those artisans belonged to. No one really understood what I was doing at the start, but today I see a part of CoutureLab in every company and every philanthropic organization I am involved in. I closed CoutureLab in 2014 when I realized that if you want to make a real impact—the way I want to—you need to move fast. You cannot have a heavy, complicated structure that slows you down. I decided I could make a greater impact by active involvement in philanthropic initiatives such as Glasswing International, Nest, Pacunam, the Fashion Trust Arabia and the BFC Fashion Trust, and by building coalitions between public sector institutions, the private sector, corporate donors and private donors, as I have done with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
J.M. What is the combination of traits you are looking for in a company and founder for you to invest in them?
C.B. When I used to in- vest, I would look for strong founders who were willing to go all the way to succeed—but who understood that, in order to do so, they needed to recognize their own limitations and surround themselves with a good team of people who were successful in the areas they were not. A good founder needs to be willing to listen to the advice of people who have a proven track record. I don’t invest in founders who make their business too dependent upon themselves and if I have already invested in them, I stop investing if I find out they don’t have the courage to create something bigger than themselves because they are afraid of letting go of control. A great example of a founder who possesses the right combination of all these traits is Natalie Massenet. She and I grew up together as business women and she has everything I admire in a founder.
J.M. You have invested in many companies where women were the founders. Is that a strategic choice?
C.B. Most of my co-investors are men so I prefer to empower women founders. Some women think we have already reached full empowerment, but we still have a long way to go. We currently live in a world where it is estimated that 35 percent of women have experienced either physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. Latin America is reported to have some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, with six countries from the region representing 81 percent of cases globally and as a Latin woman, it is in my roots to want to help other women. And I know how tough it is to be a woman in the world of financial investors so I feel the need to protect them. It is the mother in me.
J.M. I understand that you are 60 percent deaf. Can you talk a bit about how this fact has shaped you and how you see the world?
C.B. Although I was born 60 percent deaf, I did not become fully aware of it until I was 23. I would often tell people I thought there was something wrong with my hearing but people didn’t believe me which undoubtedly led me to develop a level of resilience in order to get by. Growing up, it also taught me to observe people in great detail, so that I could pick up on mannerisms in order to understand them. I felt a great deal of relief when I received my diagnosis at age 23. Being aware of my limitations allowed me to accept what I couldn’t do and find peace with myself. However, overall, I think people struggle more to understand me than the other way round!
J.M. Your work has reportedly helped to create over 10,000 jobs. How does that accomplishment feel? Is it what you are most proud of or is there some other achievement that you hold dearer to your heart?
C.B. I was able to help create these jobs thanks to a collective effort which involves the found- ers of the companies I have invested in and all their teams. I didn’t create the jobs alone. It’s all about the coalitions we create and the impact we can make. A great example of a powerful coalition I helped to form was when I was working on a complex conservation project in Bhutan with the WWF and we needed to set up partnerships between the Royal Government of Bhutan, the Green Climate Fund, and several foundations and private donors. The project would not have come to fruition without this collective effort. I am not comfortable with the word “proud.” Pride is something I feel for others and what they are able to achieve. In my life I have been privileged to be able to help people and it makes me proud to see them succeed in their mission. There are two particular non-profit organizations which I am on the board of as part of my philanthropy work that have excelled. Glasswing International, which has managed to impact more than 1 million lives since they set up in 2007. They work with disadvantaged children and youth across 10 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as migrant youths in NYC, by offering them access to education and opportunities to allow them to escape the cycles of poverty and violence they come from. And then there is Nest, which aims to empower artisans across the world by increasing workforce inclusivity, improving women’s wellbeing, and correcting gender and income imbalance. So far they have been able to impact over 700 artisans in 100 countries with their work. A personal achievement I hold dear to my heart was when, in 2010, I chose between the love for my father and the love for my career at Net-a-Porter. When my father decided to leave Net-a-Porter’s board, I knew I would never find a partner who I could trust as much as I trusted him to replace him. It was an extremely difficult decision to make as it meant having to let go of my power in the company and to come to terms with the fact I was 40 and he was 80. Any accomplishment in my life has been thanks to my father and I am proud I was able to choose gratitude and loyalty over greed and ambition.
J.M. At what point did your focus in investments turn more towards sustainability and how fashion was impacting the environment?
C.B. My interest in sustainability comes from the way I was brought up and it is something that has always been part of who I am since I was a kid. One of our family homes is a tree farm in an area protected by UNESCO and part of their World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 1978. I have always been focused on sustainability and I created CoutureLab to address and create awareness in the fashion industry on this issue. I later decided to invest in internet-based companies to give a voice to individuality and because the old retail model was costly, inefficient, and just not sustainable. To become more effective, retail needs to adopt smart customer analysis—like Tagwalk and Lyst do—to have better sell through rates at full price. This is how I ran Cabus and later Net-a-Porter. I have never liked the way department stores in America grew and managed luxury fashion, discounting stock every three months. It was a problem back when I was 22, when I was at Net-a-Porter, and when I started with Farfetch and Moda Operandi. I am glad things are balancing out now.
J.M. Tell me more about the Bhutan for Life initiative and why it spoke to you.
C.B. I have a deep inner spiritual and emotional connection with Bhutan. The Queen Mother is a friend and mentor to me and I have visited the country often over the years, making countless friends that feel like extended family. Bhutan for Life is an innovative conservation initiative made possible by partnerships between the Royal Government of Bhutan, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Green Climate Fund, and several foundations and private donors. It was of interest to me because of its intention to help the country balance national economic growth with cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and social development. It is a strategic and long- term initiative designed to ensure that the country will remain economically and environmentally sustainable. The $43 million we raised for Bhutan will safeguard 2 million hectares of land which will not only benefit Bhutan, but its neighbors and the wider world too. We hope to replicate the approach in Bhutan to other countries, and last year completed a similar project in Peru. In Africa, we are working with partners to as- sess the possibility of implementing this model in Namibia to provide a long-term sustainable future for the communal conservancies.
J.M. There are so many different things that need to be done to help the world and the fashion industry, become sustainable. What areas do you think need the most attention? Where do you think you can help bring about real change—now?
C.B. Recycling waste materials for one thing and growing local manufacturing workforces. This will provide employment in the countries where the brands are based and save transport related carbon emissions. Also, giving back to the artisans that provide a source of inspiration. This can be achieved either by helping them sell their hand-made artifacts, or if you used their culture to be inspired, then you can at least help by funding education programs for their communities, or inviting them to come and teach their artisan’s techniques to your creative workers, seamstresses, or fashion students in the Western world. By expropriating artisans’ craft, we are stealing from them. We need to strike a relation- ship that will empower them by giving meaning and value to their lives and traditions, inviting them to explore ours and teach us which will empower them too.
J.M. The fashion industry is finally being forced to become more sustainable because of the grassroots movement of customers demanding it, asking brands to be accountable. What more should customers be doing to help bring about change faster?
C.B. Customers have changed and fashion needs to follow. Customers need to use this moment of introspection to expand their awareness of what is happening and how the fashion industry is operating. They now have the privilege of technology to access endless information as well as it being a vehicle for them to speak out. All of this can bring about powerful change.
J.M. We are now in 2020. A new decade and already so many paradigm-shifting events have taken place. Where do you want to focus your energy now?
C.B. I plan to continue growing my activist, humanitarian, and philanthropic roles, building coalitions to create impactful and meaningful change that will be good for the planet and a positive step forward for humanity.
Portrait of CARMEN BUSQUETS courtesy of OLEG COVIAN
Coat and Trousers HAIDER ACKERMANN.
Rings URBAN ZEN DONNA KARAN.
Table RICK OWENS, Totem ETTORE SOTTSASS, Artwork on the wall OLIVIER MILLAGOU, “Parasol” Painting, 2016.
