The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
This week, tennis superstar Serena Williams announced her imminent retirement as part of a cover story with American Vogue. Known in fashion circles for her on-court style, which included catsuits and denim skirts and a collaboration with late designer Virgil Abloh’s Off-White, Williams will have more time to focus on as her burgeoning business empire, including her fashion label S by Serena and a venture fund, Serena Ventures.
This week on The BoF Podcast, we revisit Williams’ 2019 conversation with BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed about how the mental toughness she has built on the court has prepared her for life as an entrepreneur.
“It’s really important for things not to come super easy for you, and to kind of accept that challenge, embrace it and then just roll with it,” said Williams.
As recession looms and retailers pull back, finding the balance between creativity and commerciality, growth and caution is existential for young brands.
Virtual fashion brand RTFKT rocketed from launch to Nike acquisition in less than two years. The man on the joystick isn’t a Silicon Valley geek but a French provocateur with a radical business vision and a warning for the fashion industry: ‘A lot of brands are going to die.’
The Bettencourt-Meyers family office is taking a minority stake in the Paris-based fashion label, whose sales have skyrocketed in recent years.
The multi-tasking actor, executive producer and beauty entrepreneur shares her personal journey with BoF’s Imran Amed and explains how she unlocked her full potential across a variety of pursuits.