Jessica Michault 5/28/18 Jessica Michault 5/28/18

🎙️ Stephanie Phair

Stephanie Phair, the chief strategy officer at luxury online marketplace Farfetch, has been in the news lately because she was just appointed as the new Chair of the British Fashion Council, succeeding Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, who stepped down in December 2017 after five years in the role. Stephanie will basically be overseeing core events that the BFC puts on, most notably London Fashion Week and The Fashion Awards, while at the same time still doing her day job as CSO at Farfetch.

Stephanie will basically be overseeing core events that the BFC puts on, most notably London Fashion Week and The Fashion Awards, while at the same time still doing her day job as CSO at Farfetch.

The Chairmanship of the BFC is a seriously big side hustle, but I have no double that Stephanie is up to the task. Bacially because when we spoke at the Fashion Tech Forum in Los Angeles Stephanie was so fired up about all the new projects she was working on for Farfetch and jazzed about the future of online and offline shopping in the luxury sector.

I mean just to give you some perspective, Farfetch has raised over $700 million in funding and has partnered with JD.com in China and Chalhoub in the Middle East. Two major deals that are part of a global expansion ahead of an expected initial public offering later this year that could value the company at greater than $5 billion, according to some reports.

Stephanie is in the fashion pole position right now and is clearly going full throttle into the future.

Jessica Michault 5/11/18 Jessica Michault 5/11/18

🎙️ Adam Pritzker

I was lucky enough to be a moderator of a panel that Adam Pritzker, the Chairman and CEO, Assembled Brands, was on at the famed Fashion Tech Forum conference that took place in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by the renowned Karen Harvey, who founded the Karen Harvey Consulting Group and is known for her ability to make high level connections between fashion and tech companies around the globe.

It made sense that Pritzker would be speaking at Karen’s conference. He co-founded and raised millions for his tech-education platform General Assembly, which – among other things became known for its great coding bootcamps and got him on Forbes 30 Under 30 list when he was 28. Then in 2013 he launched Assembled Brands, which is a next generation holding company of niche fashion and lifestyle brands like The Line, Khaite, Pop & Suki, Protagonist and Margaux.

Pritzker, who it is worth pointing out is the scion of the Hyatt Hotels family, dove into the world of fashion because he saw an opening that needed filling in the circle of life of modern day fashion brands. He wants Assembled Brands to be the place where this growing number of targeted smaller fashion labels can come and build their business thanks to the infrastructure and support his company will be able to provide them. Thus leaving the creative entrepreneurs who start these labels room to focus their energy on building their unique product. When we spoke about it at the conference he compared the concept behind Assembled Brands to Y Combinator, a respected accelerator for nascent tech startups.

We spoke about all of this in the somewhat noisy backstage green room right after we had finished our Fashion Tech Forum’s round table talk in a quick and precise interview that proves Pritzker has a clear vision of the future of fashion, where creativity is supported and elevated by lifting the burden of the business side of the industry off the shoulders of talented designers.

Once you have finished this podcast you might just want to get in touch with Pritzker about becoming part of the Assembled Brands family yourself.

Jessica Michault 4/27/18 Jessica Michault 4/27/18

🎙️ Paula Cademartori

The first thing you notice about Paula is her smile. It is always there...from ear to ear…honestly she is one of the most positive, up beat people you are likely to meet working in fashion. And her colorful headquarters in Milan, where we did this podcast interview, beautifully reflects her personality. As do her vibrant shoes and her eye catching bags, with their very distinctive clasp.

Paula originally moved to Italy from Brazil (where she earned a degree in industrial design) back in 2005 when she was just 21 years old. She wanted to both reconnect with her family’s native country and study Accessories Design at the Istituto Marangoni.

By 2009 Paula was spotted by Italian Vogue and competed in the magazine’s Vogue Talents award. That recognition motivated Paula to launch her signature accessories brand in 2010, which right away stood out for its great design, colorful pattered leather combos and the instantly iconic metal buckle clasp she had designed after being inspired by the symbol for Pi. And I can tell you from first hand experience that once Paula’s bag line was launched…every fashion it-girl on the planet was clamoring to get there hands on one.

But as the company grew, to include a line of shoes as well as small leather goods, Paula always made every client feel special. She was, and is, famous for sending hand written notes to her customers in the mail. And by 2016, it came as no surprise that the Fashion Group Only The Brave, which is run by the charismatic Renzo Rosso, would come knocking on Paula’s door and would end up acquiring a majority stake in her company. A move that has given her start up accessories company the support it needed to super charge its global expansion.

Paula now finds herself in the pole position to become a world wide household name in the luxury accessories market. And who knows, maybe one day in the not too distance future, fashionable women will be able to wear Cademartori designs from head to toe.

Jessica Michault 4/13/18 Jessica Michault 4/13/18

🎙️ Fausto Puglisi

Fausto Puglisi is a designer who embraces life with both hands. Born in Sicily he is one of fashion’s big personalities. Everything he does he does with 100% passion and creative fire. From his visceral and vibrate fashion shows to his friendships- Fausto is a man who claims the center stage with an open heart and a desire to inspire the women he dresses and the fashion world at large.

Fausto career started auspiciously…working with the famed stylist Patti Wilson in New York before he headed West and in LA he wooed big names like Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston with his sexy an ornate that had an Italian swagger that was undeniable. So it comes as no surprise that designers Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana spotted him and added his creations in their concept store in Milan and Stylist Anna Dello Russo became one of his biggest ambassadors and muses wearing his creations often in front of the street style photographers who documented her every move.

Fausto’s clothing often references his southern Italian heritage, and there are religious references as well as some biker bravado usually built in – pieces that Madonna proved to be a big fan of.

But when we spoke in his Italian showroom, where you can almost hear his Italian hand gestures and you do hear him pound the table where the mic was sitting when he was making a point. He had just presented one of his most reserved and reflective shows in the history of his signature brand…inspired Carolyn Bessette Kennedy –an icon of minimalistic dressing. The collection was mostly in shades of white and black with lace being the embellishment of choice. It marked a new direction for the designer…that was well received by the press.

I’ll be honest what I love most about Fausto is that he is such a creative raw nerve. He always speaks from the heart, feels things deeply. Sometimes that can get him into trouble but I think for Fausto…that might just be part of the fun of it all.

Jessica Michault 3/30/18 Jessica Michault 3/30/18

🎙️ Jeff Carvalho

Late last year I was honored to be asked by Karen Harvey, CEO of Karen Harvey Consulting Group and founder of Fashion Tech Forum to participate in the latest Fashion Tech Forum conference in Los Angeles. And besides speaking on the center stage of the forum I had the all access privilege to interview some of the key speakers at the event.

So backstage, between presentations, round-table talks and motivational speeches I got to pick the brains of some of the leading minds in the fashion and tech industry. The first chat from this series of interviews that I want to share with you is with Jeff Carvalho. He is the managing editor of one of the coolest, street savvy and innovative fashion websites online today – Highsnobiety, which counts a global audience of 12.5 million monthly readers.

Jeff is also a partner at Titelmedia, which owns Highsnobiety. He joined in 2007 when the company’s founder and CEO David Fischer brought him on board not only to oversee the website but also develop other print and online content and brand partnerships. The company has worked with some of the hottest brands of today- from Louis Vuitton and Nike to Mercedes-Benz and Levi’s.

Jeff is considered to be an expert in the street wear culture and is often asked to comment by the New York Times and The Business of Fashion on this growing market and its influence on fashion and luxury on a broader scale. And I have to tell you I understand why those publications want to hear from Jeff.

We spoke right after he had interviewed designer Virgil Abloh and Henrik Most, Creative Lead at Ikea about the Ikea and Off White collaboration that will soon debut.

In rapid fire, well thought out answers to my questions Jeff proved himself to be a skilled speaker, who wasn’t distracted in the slightest by the background noise at the venue or the fact that Virgil, Will.i.am and Joe Zee were milling about.

I basically just sat back and let him loose to explain the success of his site, explore the idea of jet stream influencers and discuss how the way we use and consumer products and news is continuing to evolve.

So hold onto your seat and get ready for a ride into the future.

Jessica Michault 3/16/18 Jessica Michault 3/16/18

🎙️ Ruth Chapman

If you are a woman working in fashion today might I suggest Ruth Chapman, the co-founder of Matchesfashion.com, as a role model. Not only did she build up her fashion empire with her husband Tom from scratch, with a single brick and mortar store in Wimbledon, in southwest London, 30 years ago, she turned it into one of the leading independent luxury e-commerce players in the industry.

If you are a woman working in fashion today might I suggest Ruth Chapman, the co-founder of Matchesfashion.com, as a role model. Not only did she build up her fashion empire with her husband Tom from scratch, with a single brick and mortar store in Wimbledon, in southwest London, 30 years ago, she turned it into one of the leading independent luxury e-commerce players in the industry.

Under her guiding hand Matches Fashion.com became known for its nurturing and dedicated support of young designers, with a healthy dose of national pride in highlighting home grown British brands… as well as a highly curated and clever selection of some of the most influential international luxury labels from around the globe. A selection that directly reflected the desires of a clientele that is also very international and endlessly looking for new discoveries and high quality designs.

All of which is very admirable indeed, but what is perhaps just as indicative of who Ruth is…. is the warm and family like working environment she fostered within the company over those three decades. Which saw more than a few staffers starting out as interns and moving up through the ranks of the company as it grew into a global player.

In 2017, the company released its financial results for the first time, revealing a 61 percent year-on-year growth and full-year revenues for 2016 at an impressive £204 million pounds. Also last year Ruth and her husband decided it was time for new challenges and they sold their majority stake in the company to private equity firm Apax. Although the exact amount they sold the company has not been disclosed the rumor on the street is that it was in the region of 800 million pounds.

I spoke with Ruth while she was in Paris attending a few fashion shows during the latest ready to wear collections. We talked about what it was like to leave a good job to follow a dream, how building a great team is the best way to be successful and what she wants to do with the next act of her life.

After our chat I felt like Ruth was living proof that women really can have it all, and look absolutely amazing doing it.

Jessica Michault 2/16/18 Jessica Michault 2/16/18

🎙️ Carlo Capasa

Capasa, who has a love of black perfecto biker jackets, has been a fixture on the Italian fashion scene for years, having spent the bulk of his career as the chief executive and co-creator of Costume National, a brand he founded with his brother — and the company’s designer — Ennio Capasa in 1986, until the brothers announced their resignation in March 2016.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the governing body of Italian fashion. During that time the industry has gone through quite a lot of changes, but arguably no more so than in the last decade. Fashion shows have become far more than just an industry affair attracting editors and journalists, but a consumer-facing event that are powered by social networks and digital technology, which has helped democratize the industry. There has also been a growing self-awareness within the industry about its impact on the environment leading to the rise of more sustainable fashion. The blurring of sartorial gender lines and brands grouping their menswear and womenswear shows together have changed the landscape even further. All of this has transformed the way the world interacts with fashion.

Helping The Camera, as insiders like to call it, weather these profound changes is its president Carlo Capasa. Appointed in April 2015, Capasa has, in the space less than three years jump started to the way The Camera operates. Dusting off the institution and putting into overdrive new initiatives designed to build a global engagement with Milan as a fashion capital.

His strategy has been to focus on three key areas:

Promotion and supporting emerging Italian design talent with initiatives like MILANO MODA GRADUATE, which highlights the best young talents coming out of the most prestigious Italian fashion schools.

The Green Carpet Awards, designed to underline the importance and wide reaching potential of sustainable fashion.

And he introduced a new Digital strategy that saw The Camera’s website get a facelift, its social media platforms also became a priority and a powerful tool for promoting Italian fashion online. The Camera’s Instagram feed alone now counts more than 150 thousand followers.

But here he talks about his plans for the future of The Camera in a fashion world that is more fluid, flexible and forward thinking than ever.

Jessica Michault 1/26/18 Jessica Michault 1/26/18

🎙️ Stephen Jones

There are some people who work in fashion that you could just listen to for hours. Their knowledge about the industry, both institutional and anecdotal make them treasured sources of information and education. And if there is one person working in fashion today who does this, pretty much better than anyone else its Stephen Jones.

Stephen has been a milliner for 40 years and during that time he has become the go to hat maker for…well…just about everyone. From fashion designers and celebrities to rockstars and royalty, Stephen has created the finishing touch for thousands and thousands of outfits. Clients include everyone from Boy George, Mick Jagger and Madonna, to Beyoncé, Victoria Beckham and Rihanna. Not to mention all the royals who have donned one of his designs including Diana, Princess of Wales.

But it is via his numerous collaboration with fashion designers that Stephen has been able to let his creative imagination really run wild. The hats he crafted for John Galliano during his Dior years, the headgear he has created for Thom Browne and headpieces he has concocted for Rei Kawakubo to complete her Comme des Garçons collections are the stuff of legends. They are often gravity defying designs that are objet d’art in their own right.

Stephen’s talents have been recognized by Her Royal Highness, Queen Elisabeth II. She bestowed on him an OBE for his services to fashion, and his work has been the subject of fashion exhibitions around the world.

But as extraordinary as all his hats are, Stephen himself has a very distinctive look. Yes he is always dapperly dressed, but it’s his balled head, which he started shaving back in the 1980s, that makes him instantly recognizable in a fashion crowd. Stephen decided to make this dramatic choice when he discovered that his head was the perfect stock size, which instantly made it easy to test out all of his hats…on himself.

Getting to chat with Stephen about his life’s work as a milliner was such a treat for me. And I know you will be tipping your hat to him too by the end of this podcast.

Jessica Michault 12/19/17 Jessica Michault 12/19/17

🎙️ Angela Missoni

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Angela Missoni’s reign at the head of the family owned Missoni house. During those two decades she has proven over and over again that there is always room for creativity, even within the confines of a house that has such an iconic DNA.

In the case of Missoni, the brand’s hallmark colorful knitwear, in zigzag shades, has been the upbeat foundation for countless collection. Each one a master class in color blending, knitwear innovation and feel good fashion.

Speaking from first hand experience, having attended pretty much every single show that Angela Missoni has done over the past two decades, I can attest to the fact that she has been incredibly agile and adept at adapting the signature style of the house to the ever evolving fashion tastes. But what I appreciate even more is how this matriarchal house, founded by Angela’s mother and father Rosita and Ottavio, has flourished in her hands and how her own children have also joined the family company. Bringing with them the knowledge of a third generation that are digital natives and are helping bring the brand’s message to crop of consumers.

Angela has also become something of an activist and has focused her energies on finding ways, including her own Missoni take on the Pussy Hat revolution, to empower women. Something that in today’s climate, is resonating even more profoundly than ever.

I spoke with Angela at the Missoni headquarters in Milan as she was in full swing of preparing her commemorative 20th anniversary show. It was a time for reflection for the designer, where she took stalk of everything she has accomplished so far. But also a moment for making plans and getting clear about what she wants to do next.

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Jessica Michault 12/4/17 Jessica Michault 12/4/17

🎙️ Cedric Charlier

Belgian designer Cédric Charlier is about to celebrate two milestones in his life, the 5th anniversary of his brand and his 40th birthday. Both dates have kind of snuck up on him. This is because he is a designer who is so incredibly focused on the work.

In fact, this has always been the case with Cedric, who studied at the famous La Cambre fashion school in Belgium and worked on the design teams at Celine during the reign of Michael Kors and perfected his craft alongside Alber Elbaz during his Lanvin years. From there he became the artistic director of Cacharel before the Italian fashion giant Aeffe came knocking at his door making him the dream offer to back the launch of his own signature brand.

Since then Cedric has built up a name for himself not only for his beautifully cut garments in attractive graphic designs that made real world clothing look and feel special, but also the way in which he approaches the fashion system itself. He presents his menswear and womenswear together, and has made the conscious decision to only product two collections a year…instead of the endless slog of pre-collections, runway collections, capsule, cruise or resort collections that have filled up every waking hour of most modern designers’ lives.

Instead he takes the time to be inspired, find interesting partnerships to build creative collaborations with, like his new t-shirt collaboration with Fruit of the Loom, and his choice shows his clothing in a presentation format so that buyers and journalists can have an up close and personal interaction with his work all underline that Cedric has his own elegantly understated approach to the business of fashion.

I caught up with Cedric as his favorite French bistro to talk about his career, the choices he has made and why being a fashion designer might not be a lifelong pursuit.

Jessica Michault 9/30/17 Jessica Michault 9/30/17

🎙️ Julie De Libran

Designer Julie de Libran has breathed new life into the iconic French fashion house Sonia Rykiel since she became the creative director of the brand in 2014. Her ability to reinterpret the codes of the label for a new generation of empowered women has made her one of the few designers who is able to honor a house's past while blazing a bright path into the future.

During this interview, Julie opens up about a childhood split between France and California, what she learned from working with designers like Gianni Versace, Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada, before joining Rykiel and what her goals are for the house.

Jessica Michault 9/10/17 Jessica Michault 9/10/17

🎙️ Leaf Greener

To the ill-informed she might be seen as just another concrete catwalk celeb with a bright smile and bubbly personality who looks great in her eye catching outfits. But Leaf is so much more than this.

Leaf Greener is a fashion force of nature.

After a six years as the senior fashion editor of Elle China She launched her digital magazine " LEAF", which she publishes on the leading Chinese platform WeChat. A move that helped transform her into one of China’s most influential independent fashion editors.

She is endlessly being courted to consultant leading western luxury houses on how to work in China and has made a business out of educating her compatriots on the art of fashion while she continues to fight for more creative freedom in her home country.

But what I like most about Leaf is how unabashedly frank she is. She speaks from the heart and says what she thinks…damn the consequences…which is a rare and refreshing thing in our industry.

So get ready to experience a real fashion treat as, between puffs on her cigarette in her hotel room, Leaf lays down the law about what is working and not working in this industry that we both love.

Jessica Michault 8/21/17 Jessica Michault 8/21/17

🎙️ Joanne Palmaro

Joanne Palmaro is a budding actress of Italian and German descent who looks like a modern day boho version of Peggy Lipton with just a soupçon of Bridget Bardot. This twenty-something is in the ingénue phase of her career having had just a few acting roles under her belt in some short French films like "Errance" and the TV mini series "Addict". And she has been featured in short films for brands like Miu Miu, Armani, Jour/ne and H&M.

But like any good contemporary feminist she is taking her future into her own hands. She has already written a short film called “Fille Dentaire” in which she stars and co-directs. And she has also started working on a new script for a full length film, where again she plans on playing the protagonist.

We sat down to talk about her career, how fashion effects what she does and the impact her grandmother had on Joanne’s choice to become an actress.

Jessica Michault 7/21/17 Jessica Michault 7/21/17

🎙️ Marie Mas

Marie Cabirou is the talented woman behind the fledgling French fine jewelry house Marie Mas. She has the pedigree and the skills to become a leader in luxury jewelry design. Cabirou studied at the prestigious École Duperré and the IFM (French Fashion Institute) in Paris. And you probably already love her work, if you took a shine to the artistic and asymmetrical jewelry that was a hallmark feature of the Dior shows during the reign of Raf Simons at the house.

Jessica Michault 7/12/17 Jessica Michault 7/12/17

🎙️ Felipe Oliveira Baptista

On the eve of the 85th anniversary of Lacoste, the company's creative director, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, talks about the special place Lacoste has within the fashion world, Novak Djokovic, the brand's new ambassador, and why he decided to close his signature label to focus all his energy on the renowned French house.

Jessica Michault 6/9/17 Jessica Michault 6/9/17

🎙️ Olivier Rousteing

Olivier Rousteing, the creative director of Balmain, talks about his new collaboration designing costumes for the Paris Opera house, the debut of his make-up line with L'Oreal, his childhood, his friendship with Kim Kardashian and where he wants to take the Balmain brand.

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