Since joining the family business in 1995, Nadja Swarovski has overseen the brand’s successful repositioning within the fashion industry as a leading crystal purveyor for brands such as Maison Martin Margiela, Victor & Rolf and Versace. She has also entered into a series of creative partnerships and collaborations with emerging designers such as Mary Katrantzou and Prabal Gurung . Nadja Swarovski is the first woman to join the company's executive board.
Having initiated the company’s sponsorship of both the CFDA as well as the British Fashion Council , Swarovski spearheaded specific awards such as the Swarovski Emerging Talent Awards for ready-to-wear at the British Fashion Awards and the CFDA/Swarovski award for accessories design. The businesswoman also launched the "Atelier Swarovski" ethically sourced, laboratory-created jewellery line in 2007, expanding into a home décor range in 2016. In 2019, the fine jewellery line launched an exclusive line in London's Harvey Nichols.
Ms Swarovski began her career working at the Gagosian art gallery in New York. Having completed an undergraduate degree in art history from Southern Methodist University, she had initially moved to the city to take a graduate course in fine arts from Sotheby’s, followed by a course at the Gemological Institute of America.
Swarovski’s first foray into fashion came through American PR guru Eleanor Lambert. Having seen the benefits of connecting customers and brands, Swarovski quickly began establishing links between emerging designers following her move to the company and in 1999 oversaw the appointment of the late fashion stylist Isabella Blow as the company’s fashion consultant. Blow established links with prominent designers such as Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy and Julien MacDonald, reasserting the historic brand’s prominence within the fashion industry.
Swarovski spent several years serving in both the New York and Hong Kong based offices, before moving to Britain for her role in the company's communications division. 2012 also saw Swarovski take the lead on the company's sustainability efforts in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, emphasising Fairtrade and recycled gold, as well as responsibly sourced diamonds. In 2013, she established the Swarovski Foundation, chairing the funding of various charitable projects including Water aid, scholarships and supporting cultural institutions. Under her supervision, the brand has also become signatory of the United Nations’ Women's Empowerment Principles and joined the UN Women UK National Committee Corporate Advisory Group. In 2015, Swarovski was named the UK ambassador of the Women for Women International non-profit, becoming the German ambassador four years later.
In 2018, the brand published a landscape review study on women in the jewellery supply chain in collaboration with the non-profit, Business for Social Responsibility. Swarovski's "Waterschool" conservation project also released a 70-minute Netflix documentary in the same year. In 2019, Swarovski received the Fashion Institute of Technology 's Social Impact in Sustainability Award.
