TheIndustry.fashion & TheIndustry.beauty Podcast

Adam Dooley learnt his trade at long established traditional menswear independent Robert Old in Bournemouth, a family run business founded in 1909. He started as a sales assistant and learnt the old way, eventually working his way up to become the buyer.

But manufacturing was always the direction he wanted to take and, spotting an opportunity along with investors to take over another long-standing menswear business, Frank Rostron Bespoke Shirtmakers on Princess Street in his native Manchester – a business that had been going since 1968, he took the plunge in 2007 and never looked back.

Having agreed terms on a new shop twice the size at 38 King Street in Manchester before the pandemic struck, and with a quarter of a million investment on a complete refit, Dooley opened his rebranded Dooley & Rostron store on April 12, the day of reopening for non-essential retail following Lockdown 3.

Selling made to measure suiting – of which mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham is a customer - and bespoke shirts – with a larger shirt factory on site and complete with a coffee shop on the ground floor,  Dooley says he had four record weeks since the opening.  Here’s his story so far.

Sandrine Deveaux has always been at the vanguard of the digital retail revolution, having spotted the potential for luxury fashion to embrace technology to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital realms many years before it became a mainstream pursuit.

Her career in luxury fashion began with Matchesfashion, helping to launch what was then an independent retailer into a global online force.  After that she moved to luxury department store Harvey Nichols before meeting founder of Farfetch, the great visionary Jose Neves.

She joined Neves in his groundbreaking business which gives the world’s best fashion boutiques access to a global market through its platform.  Farfetch also works with leading luxury players, such as Chanel and its own boutique Browns, helping them to enhance the luxury shopping experience through the application of digital technology.

As Executive Vice President of Future Retail at Farfetch, it is Sandrine’s job to head up this side of the business.

Sandrine speaks to Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion about why luxury boomed during the pandemic, how consumer behaviour has changed for good, and why, despite being a digital retail trailblazer, she still believes in a bright future for physical retailers.

The Covid pandemic has been brutal for fashion, there is no question. However, while many established names have struggled and, in some cases disappeared from our high streets altogether, others have taken this opportunity to bring something new to a market that was ready for a shake-up.

Skye Harrison is one such person. As Co-founder of fashion and beauty PR and wholesale agency K&H Communications, she understood the challenges that independent brands have in gaining cut-through in a crowded market, and wanted to offer them an alternative route to a new customer.

With her business partner Charlie Boud, she set up KHOEO, a new e-commerce business based on collaboration between brands, designers and influencers operating a lower-risk drop-ship model.

The platform takes time to tell the stories of the featured brands – which span fashion, accessories and lifestyle - and offers exclusive edits created in partnership with leading influencers.

Harrison tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in Chief, of TheIndustry.fashion why she felt there was a need for a new model for e-commerce that sits between the global luxury players and the fast fashion specialists. She talks about what inspired her to set up another business during a pandemic and what her ambitions are for the future.

David Hodgson is Creative Director at quintessential British handbag and accessories business Lulu Guinness,  where he has been entrusted to take the brand forward after is founder decided to take a step back.

David had barely launched his new vision for the brand when the Covid crisis hit but he was surprised to discover that some of the brand’s best known pieces, such as quirky evening bags and bold luggage, remained strong sellers during the lockdown periods, as consumers dreamt of better times ahead.

Now, as it seems we are emerging from the crisis, and apparently set for the “Roaring 20s”, Lulu Guinness seems as well positioned as ever with its optimistic designs, high quality and accessible price points. 

David talks to Lauretta Roberts, editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion, about his outstanding career which takes in some of the industry’s best known fashion and accessories businesses – from Loewe to Coach, Joseph and Roland Mouret – and he discusses his future plans for this iconic and most British of brands.

In this, the latest episode of ‘The Beauty Edit’ podcast from TheIndustry.fashion, Antony Hawman speaks to James Lamb, CEO of Zelens, the high performance skincare brand based on scientific evidence and active ingredients with clinical proven efficacy. 

We caught up at a super busy and exciting time when Lamb was in the middle of plans to take the brand though its relaunch, which has been labour of love for the Zelens team.

In his 20 year career, James has  worked with an enviable list of brands including Clinique, Bliss, Mac, Dior, Kate Somerville and many more. 

James gives his view on being a CEO and how maybe not complying with the ‘text book corporate CEO style’ can really be a benefit in today’s progressive world.     

Sarah Curran-Usher is an online fashion pioneer, having first made her name in the UK with the establishment of the trailblazing accessible luxury fashion site my-wardrobe.com, before moving on launch Very Exclusive for the home shopping giant The Very Group. 

Curran has also been a consultant and a non-executive director for a number of big names and for the past year, she has been managing director of EMEA for fashion personalisation platform True Fit – a role that combines her twin loves of data and ecommerce.

True Fit’s data-driven personalisation platform for footwear and apparel retailers uses rich connected data and machine learning to enable personal experiences for fashion retailers, and ensures consumers feel confident to buy the right product first time, leading to a better experience for the customer and fewer returns for the retailer.

In this episode of ‘In Detail’ Sarah tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion, all about her new role while also looking back on her career and looking forward to what’s next for the dynamic online fashion market in the post-pandemic word. 

Unusually for a leading beauty industry figure, Claire started her career as an artist and worked for many years as a mural painter, mostly for the nightclub industry.  

It was during this time that Claire met the award-winning hairdresser Umberto Giannini, who in the mid-90s commissioned her to design his latest salon. 

The rest is history as the pair went on to became partners and have two children.  
In 1998 and with Claire’s help, the Umberto Giannini product range was launched, featuring the iconic lipstick shaped bottle designed by Vogue Creative Director Robin Derrick.  

Soon after Umberto’s tragic death in 2001, Claire took over the running of the business, bringing to it her artistic flair as well as her strong vegan and ethical views.  

In addition to being Vegan, Cruelty Free and PETA certified, all Umberto Giannini products are also UK-made, with sustainability front-of mind at all times.

In this episode Claire talks to TheIndustry.fashion's Contributing Editor Gaelle Walker about the brand’s colourful history and its recent achievement of BCORP status for demonstrating the very highest commitments to numerous social and environmental standards. 

In today’s episode of Stores: The Next Generation in partnership with Critizr we're talking to Liz Houghton, CEO and Co-founder of premium women’s fashion brand and retailer Mint Velvet. The brand was born out of the last major crisis to hit Britain’s high streets, the financial crash of the late 2000s.

Houghton founded the brand, with a focus on relaxed glamour for the 30-plus woman, with two former colleagues Lisa Agar-Rea and Jane Rawlings in just three months,  filling a gap in the market and becoming an almost instant success. 

Today Mint Velvet is available on its own website, its chain of more than 40 stores and at John Lewis and Next.

The brand's aesthetic has proved a hit during the Covid-19 lockdowns with online sales skyrocketing but its stores, often based in local neighbourhoods where staff know their customers personally, are crucial to its success. 

Houghton tells Lauretta Roberts, Editor in Chief of TheIndustry.fashion, how the business has fared over the past 12 months and why she’s optimistic about the future of retail.

Critizr has produced a spotlight report for the Fashion and Beauty market, called The New Retail Journey, that can be downloaded here and the findings of this report have driven the content of these podcasts.

Ning Li is a globally renowned entrepreneur and made his name in the world of business founding the disruptive online furniture retailer Made.com, though this wasn’t his first start-up – that was a trailblazing e-commerce business called MyFab, specialising in interior décor, which he sold to the Paris-based conglomerate that is now Kering.

For his third venture he is taking on the world of skincare with Typology, a gender neutral skincare line that aims to demystify what has become an increasingly complex world for the consumer.
 
Typology has stripped back its products to contain only the necessary natural ingredients, housed in recycled and recyclable packaging. Consumers can log on to the Typology website and via a questionnaire have a complete skincare regime prescribed in mere moments.
 
Li was inspired to take on the world of skincare – dominated at one end by huge conglomerates and crowded at the other by a multitude of start-ups and independent brands – while shopping for a cream for his baby daughter.
 
He was inspired to set up a direct to consumer business offering high quality, natural products at an affordable price.

In the latest episode of ‘The Beauty Edit’ podcast, he tells Lauretta Roberts Editor in chief of TheIndustry.fashion, his story of serial entrepreneurship, about how his business has operated during the pandemic, and what his ambitions are for the future.