Hey guys! I am so sorry for my complete lack of posting recently, I just arrived back from Switzerland where I had an intense week of skiing with my family therefore giving me no time to post ( Holiday post to follow)! Recently, I had the greatest pleasure to interview the VP ( Vice President) of Ralph Lauren, I am not allowed to write her name for copyright reasons, do enjoy the interview!
1. What is your daily routine?
I don't have a specific daily routine since I manage quite a few areas and everyday something new comes up. However, Monday thru Thursday mornings we have fittings with our Design team so I normally attended those. Then my days is spent following up with my teams in development, production , and purchasing, as well as any issues which may come up throughout the day.
2. What advice would you give to those who want to break into the fashion industry?
I did not go to school for fashion--I have a degree in Journalism and History, and a minor in Political Science. Many of the staff who work for me attended the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) here in NY to learn specific areas on fashion--Product Development, Illustration, Merchandising. The best advice is to get experience working in the industry. I started here 32 years ago, taking sales orders and worked my way up, learning as I go. Many things happen that you don't anticipate,but if you have "street sense",and work hard, you can go far.
3. As VP of Ralph Lauren, what is the main purpose of your job?
To oversee the development and the production of the Ralph Lauren Women's luxury lines(Collection,Black Label and a new premium denim line we will break in June called Black Label Denim), through the inception of the line from Ralph's direction, through the development of the product and the delivery of the garments to the store. I am responsible for Product Development, Production and Raw Material Purchasing.
4. How long does it usually take to finish a collection of clothes?
Design usually presents a concept to Ralph about 4-5 months before we start to make patterns and samples. They first look at fabrics, and then ides they may get from what is fashion for a particular season, adding the Ralph Lauren "spin" on it..Ralph is a master stylist..he can take a trend and turn it into his own ideas of what it should be--obviously he has been very very successful since we are a billion $ company.
5. How did you break into the fashion industry?
As I said, I went to college for a non-fashion degree. I wanted to get into advertising or work at a magazine. I could not get a job in that field so I took a job at a company who had the license to Ralph Lauren(we paid him royalties for his designs) When that company went bankrupt, Polo took all of us over to work for them. That was 16 years ago and I have been moving up the ladder so to speak. I have done everything here from Merchandising to production to development--everything except sales.
I have also been fortunate to travel all over the world- Hong Kong, Thailand , Singapore(one of my favorite spots!) and many places in Italy. We are beginning to produce our Collection line in Italy so I will be travelling there more and more, which is not too much of a hardship!
6. Have you attended fashion week before? If so, what was the experience like?
I go to every show(twice a year) because my team and I are directly responsible to put it on--we work very very closely with the Design team and as it gets closer to a new line opening or a show, we work daily with Ralph. We make all of the patterns and samples here in NY so we are part of the process from the beginning.
We do not have our shows where everyone else does(previously it was the tents in Bryant Park, now Lincoln Center) Ralph has a space in SoHo where we show..more intimate.
7. What is it like working with Ralph Lauren?
Fantastic. He is a wonderful, creative person..I have worked closely with him, as well as fitting his wife and daughter for many years. Wonderful, down to earth people.
8. Runway shows are often described as whole different scene backstage with all the chaos, can you relate to that?
I use to work behind the scenes at the show but now I enjoy it from the second row!!
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It's been such an honour interviewing her, and I really hope this gives inspiration to those who want to make it into the fashion industry!
