CEO Talk | Jane Shepherdson, Chief Executive Officer, Whistles

| CEO Talk

Jane Shepherdson | Photo: Courtesy of Whistles

In our latest CEO Talk, Jane Shepherdson speaks exclusively to BoF about Whistles’ latest trading statement and shares her plans for the future of the business. LONDON, United Kingdom — Perhaps it’s not surprising that, in her spare time, Jane Shepherdson does flying trapeze in Hoxton, smack in the heart of achingly hip East London. Right from her earliest days in the fashion industry, Shepherdson has been known for taking

…Continue Reading

A Landmark Week for BoF

| Letter from the Editor

LONDON, United Kingdom — When we first launched our Twitter account back in December 2008, I have to admit I had no idea how BoF would use the nascent social media tool. Naysayers were already dismissing the platform. But as with many things here at The Business of Fashion, we decided to conduct an experiment and gauge the results for ourselves. Well, less than three years later, I am delighted to report that, as of today, our

…Continue Reading

CEO Talk | Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Fashion, Chanel

| CEO Talk

Bruno Pavlovsky by Karl Lagerfeld | Photo: Courtesy of Chanel

LONDON, United Kingdom — Of all the luxury fashion brands in the world, Chanel is perhaps the most famous, as well as the most secretive. Indeed, even inside the fashion industry, few have heard of its only shareholders, the discreet Wertheimer family, descendents of Pierre Wertheimer, an early business partner of Coco Chanel herself. In contrast, other luxury megabrands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Cartier are part of

…Continue Reading

CEO Talk | Aldo Bensadoun, Founder and Executive Chairman, Aldo Group

| CEO Talk

  • Aldo Bensadoun in the atrium of Aldo's Montreal Headquarters | Photo: Courtesy of Aldo Group
  • An Olive Tree sits at the heart of the Aldo campus | Photo: Fred Bouchard
  • ldo's 800,000 square foot distribution centre sorts and ships products for more than 1000 stores in North America | Photo: Stephane Grasso
  • Aldo designs thousands of shoes each year which then become part of an internal marketplace; less than 10% will make it into stores | Photo: Stephane Grasso

MONTRÉAL, Canada — Right at the heart of shoes and accessories giant Aldo’s sprawling, one million square foot global campus-cum-headquarters in suburban Montréal is an olive tree — not a common sight in a city with a climate that swings between frigid winters and hot, humid summers. “I like planting trees. I plant an awful lot of trees,” explains Aldo Bensadoun, who founded his namesake business 40 years ago, this year. “I find

…Continue Reading

Spring/Summer 2013 | The Season That Was

| Intelligence

Hedi Slimane versus Raf Simons, as see by the fashion media | Source: WWD, BoF, IHT and The Cut

LONDON, United Kingdom — Whereas previous fashion seasons were dominated by designer departures, meltdowns and final exits, this season the narrative focused on two of the fashion world’s most celebrated designers, Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane, and their respective ready-to-wear debuts at two of the industry’s most important houses, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. On the first day of Paris Fashion Week, BoF ran

…Continue Reading

89101112