Biography
The new chair of the British Fashion Council is tasked with building on London’s status as a global fashion hub and brings years of experience in the fashion and luxury sector as chief strategy officer at Farfetch, founder and former president of Net-a-Porter’s discount site The Outnet, and previous experience in communications roles at Vogue and Issey Miyake .
Born in Mexico, Phair is half-Argentinian, half-Canadian and began her career as an account executive at Siren PR in New York. She then moved to communications positions at Issey Miyake and Vogue, where she worked closely with editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and was involved in the launch of the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund and the Costume Institute Gala. In 2005, Phair moved to start-up Portero, an online luxury marketplace for pre-owned accessories, and three years later relocated to London to launch The Outnet, Net-a-Porter’s discount site.
As president of The Outnet, Phair grew the business from 2 employees to 150, positioning it as a high-end designer site and introducing collaborations with the likes of Oscar de la Renta and the site’s own private label Iris & Ink. In November 2016, Phair left her post to join Farfetch as chief strategy officer, charged with leading and developing a long-term vision for the Farfetch Group. Phair is also a member of the advisory board of venture capital firm Felix Capital and sits on the board of Italian luxury brand Moncler.
In May 2018, it was announced Phair would be succeeding Natalie Massenet as chair of the British Fashion Council. “It’s about keeping that balance between supporting the grass roots and what British fashion stands for, while thinking globally because that’s how business works and how digital works,” she told BoF at the time.
Phair holds an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University. She speaks four languages and lives in London with her husband and three children.