Biography
Ralph Toledano is the chief executive of Victoria Beckham and the former president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, appointed in July 2014. In his role, Toledano officially succeeded Didier Grumbach , who led the federation for 16 years, as president on September 1. In 2019, Toledano also became a partner in the London-based investment firm, Neo Investments, following a £30 million one-third stake investment into Victoria Beckham in 2017.
Prior to his appointment, Toledano gained experience at the French fashion trade association by heading up the Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode, the federation’s couture arm. While there, Toledano focused on maintaining Paris’ status as an “unrivalled capital of fashion”, while also advocating for the need for increased financing to fund educational initiatives, cultivating and supporting new talent and training programmes.
Concurrent to his duties at the Fédération, Toledano was president of Puig’s fashion division where he was responsible for the conglomerates fashion strategy, encompassing brand strategies for Jean Paul Gaultier , Caroline Herrera, Paco Rabanne and Nina Ricci. In March 2018 he was appointed chairman of Victoria Beckham. Prior to joining Puig, Toledano was president of Chloé for nine years. The Frenchman is widely regarded as a something of specialist in recasting waning brands for modern consumers. Toledano oversaw the label’s emergence as an international brand, under the creative directorships of Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo . In addition, Toledano has successfully reinvigorated Guy Laroche in the past, and has worked with Karl Lagerfeld on the designers namesake label.