Natalie Massenet in her Net-a-Porter 'living room' 10 June 2010 | Source: BoF

LONDON, United Kingdom —”I’m more excited about this than anything we’ve ever done,” says Natalie Massenet about the new Mr Porter menswear shopping destination announced to the fashion world today in Women’s Wear Daily.

Just when some might have thought she was on cruise control after Richemont stepped in to acquire the majority of the Net-a-Porter business, fashion blogosphere, twittersphere and watercooler conversations were once again fixated on this remarkable woman who — lucky for us — is also our special guest for the next BoF Live Fashion Pioneers event which is already close to selling out only three days after it was announced.

As we settled into her ‘living room’ in the brand new Net-a-Porter headquarters to discuss Mr Porter — 10 years to the day since the launch of Net-a-Porter at 9pm on 10 June 2000 — bouquets of flowers were arriving from friends, colleagues and partners to congratulate Massenet on yet another big announcement.

But only BoF has the backstory on how the idea for Mr Porter was born, where the brand name came from, and who’ll be scouting the men’s shows with her this season to suss out the Spring/Summer 2011 collections.

Oh, and by the way it’s pronounced Mr Port-ER, not Mr Port-AY — a perfect masculine British riff on the feminine French Net-a-Porter. It’s no wonder that this backstory begins with a brand name.

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MR PORTER Coming Soon | Source: mrporter.com

Net-a-Porter announces first menswear site (Telegraph)
“The Net-a-Porter group has announced the launch of a dedicated menswear site – the first global shopping destination of its kind. The site, to be called Mr Porter, will launch for the spring/summer 2011 season.”

Oh, to Be Young and a Star (NY Times)
“While established designers recognize a need to promote new talent in the industry, they may be pushing too hard when it feels like anyone with an initial spark is expected to deliver fireworks.”

A sartorial strategy for growth (FT)
“There is no question that football can sell fashion – Louis Vuitton’s current heritage campaign… was chosen, according to the company, specifically because of the “universality” of the sport’s appeal. But can fashion sell football?”

Record sales put Asos on target to hit £1bn by 2015 (Independent)
“A decade after Asos set up as a small online retailer for people who wanted to dress like celebrities, the group has taken a crucial step towards its target of £1bn in sales with plans to move to a bigger warehouse, as it unveiled record annual results.”

Britain’s got fashion talent (Times Online)
“Showing for Graduate Fashion Week… this is much more than a callow crop of students showcasing their sartorial juvenilia – this is the world’s largest showcase of graduate fashion.”