WHAT'S THE STORY
L e a d i ng i n a n e w f u t u r e
She looks to the future in a progressive manner – and has ambitious goals to positively influence it in her various leadership positions.
“WE NEED TO NURTURE TALENT”
Stephanie Phair, one of those incredibly well-connected protagonists of our industry, is capable of setting key developments in motion via several levers at the same time. In her capacity as Chairman of the British Fashion Council (BFC), Chief Customer Officer at Farfetch, and member of the Moncler supervisory board, she leaves a lasting mark on the image of female leadership in the fashion business – especially through her dedication to versatility. Text: Isabel Faiss. Photos: Farfetch
W
e observe that the future of our industry is largely driven by women in leadership positions. You are the best example. But where do we stand on equal opportunities in our industry? I think that equal opportunity within the industry, especially opportunities that allow women with different experiences and from different backgrounds to add value to our industry, is much needed. It gives women a chance to explore so many different facets of the fashion industry that they might not have even been aware of previously, but when utilised, can help shape it positively. The British Fashion Council primarily promotes new talent and designers. How have their selection criteria
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style in progress
and requirements changed with regard to diversity, equality, and inclusion? Now, more than ever, it is important to champion talent and to support our emerging and young businesses that lead the way in environmental and community impact, while increasing the diversity of the talent pool. Our aim is to improve equality, equity, and opportunity so that the fashion industry remains open to all. Some of the changes we have made to the BFC’s talent and education initiatives programme to ensure diversity include, to name a few, the monitoring of panel judges, monitoring the diversity of applicants, and developing an outreach strategy to make sure young people from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to scholarship opportunities. Where do you identify the greatest potential that we really should not waste? The world of fashion must take the lead in behaving responsibly towards reducing the carbon footprint. The BFC has signed up to the Race to Zero and is encouraging others to do the same. The BFC has a critical role to play, acting as the initiator of change across actors in the ecosystem. It is uniquely placed to shape policy and industry regulations, particularly through dialogue with government and industry, as well as all other stakeholders in fashion’s ecosystem. To that end, the BFC has also launched the Circular Fashion Ecosystem, a vital report that sets a practical approach to reach a target state for a circular fashion economy in the UK. Farfetch is also committed to investing in sustainable solutions that allow our customers to enjoy the fashion they love whilst being mindful of our industry‘s impact on the planet. Farfetch has set ambitious sustainability goals for 2030, in addition to offering customers a range of conscious and pre-owned pieces to shop from, repair services to extend the life of the pieces they no longer need and a donation service that allows you to rehome unwanted clothing, whilst raising money for charity.
