Serious Buy-In – Exclusive interview with Lea Cranfield, Chief Buying & Merchandising Officer at YOOX NET-A- PORTER

SERIOUS BUY-IN

Lea Cranfield, Chief Buying & Merchandising Officer at YOOX NET-A-PORTER has come full-circle, rejoining the ecommerce platform to drive the direction of buy on a global scale. We discuss taste-making, market trends and supporting emerging brands

How do the core values of NET-A-PORTER transition into the buy each season and what is the most challenging aspect of the role? As the world’s leading luxury e-tailer we strive to continuously o er our customers the very best curation of fashion, beauty and lifestyle from across the globe, bringing emerging brands and power designers together into one seamless shopping destination, resulting in a fresh yet varied assortment, so there really is something for everyone.

We always consider our sustainability and social impact which really shapes everything we do from a product perspective and beyond, and so with each seasonal buy we consider all these principles to ensure we are delivering the most inspiring and immersive shopping experience for our customer. Understandably this comes with challenges due to having a very specific criteria our brands and products must meet each season, especially with our dedicated sustainability edit, NET SUSTAIN, but we thoroughly enjoy the process along the way! We work hard to seek high quality items that support current trends and cultural movements, all whilst having an element of longevity, and of course never compromising on quality or style. How do you discover new brands and what do you look for in terms of a brand you know will be globally relevant? Our incredible buyers have a strong eye for new talent, and we discover these brands from a variety of outlets, from social media, to word of mouth, Fashion Weeks, and more. We carefully consider a brand’s ethos and values, and if they align with ours – but also o er the customer something they haven’t seen before. There is also now this huge desire to focus on global cultural movements to remain relevant to our customer and we believe shopping with a purpose is truly the way forward. Our commitment to a more positive and sustainable future is always front of mind, and we o en work collaboratively with brands, o ering our expertise and advise on how to withstand and respond to the latest pressures and demands, and so helping brands reach that level of relevance worldwide. Which new brands are you most proud of discovering and bringing to the platform? At NET-A-PORTER our discerning edit places special emphasis on new talent, highlighting the creativity and promise of the next generation of fashion designers. Our mentorship programme, The Vanguard, champions emerging brands and helps shape the future of the fashion industry by highlighting their unique and individual stories, as well as the diverse creative communities around them. In September we presented our Class of ʻ21 Vanguard designers, including KHIRY FINE, Renaissance Renaissance, Sindiso Khumalo, Connor Ives, Interior and Lukhanyo Mdingi. We are proud to provide these brands with a platform whilst watching them evolve and gain a global presence. We also recently introduced The Vanguard Education Fund in partnership with British Fashion Council (BFC) which aims to foster greater diversity for final-year university students across multidisciplinary creative courses by o ering financial support. Are there brands which consistently drive sales season after season and do these di er in terms of trends you see relating to the Middle East? We want our buy to reflect the very best from the runway shows, and so brands such as Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, The Row and Loewe consistently perform incredibly well globally. And then there’s the more contemporary designers such as Peter Do, Khaite and Totême which are also hugely popular each season.

When it comes to the Middle East, we have identified unique patterns in our customers’ shopping habits, reflected in the top performing brands in the region such as Chloé, Valentino, Gucci and Zimmerman. Our GCC shopper loves to stand out with confident and classic looks, whilst purchasing the more niche pieces alongside (uniqueness is a key purchase driver). How do you hone in on brands which will be relevant for a global market and how do you partner in order to support them to be able to scale? As a business we have access to incredible insights from a forecasting perspective and a unique window into what’s selling globally. We can anticipate what’s next in terms of worldwide trends and how the industry is shi ing, and so we use this wealth of knowledge to help guide brands in the right direction. Our talented designers are the leading creative forces behind the fashion industry, however our input on what sells can help inform their product offering each season. Our exclusive capsules are even more collaborative, and our teams will o en fully emerge themselves in the design journey which is very exciting. This is The Timelessness Issue – what or who is timeless to you? My answer is time itself… To have quality time, to travel again and to spend time with the people you love. But from a product and fashion standpoint, investment pieces like a classic Saint Laurent Trench, a gorgeous Manolo Blahnik shoe, the perfect Wardrobe NYC blazer and a great pair of jeans – but really there’s too many incredible brands to choose from. This year we celebrate the UAE’s 50th Anniversary – what makes this region unique to you? It goes without saying that the Middle East is an extremely unique and valued market for NET-A-PORTER. We have experienced so much success built on tailoring the shopping experience specifically for this region, which involved localising and nurturing communities around each of our brands. We also have some incredible new and local talent such as our new Vanguard brand, Renaissance Renaissance, and new NET SUSTAIN brand, Benchellal, that recently launched and evidence how exciting, unique and interesting the region is to us. This year we celebrate Emirates Woman’s 40th anniversary. How would you now describe the brand and how does it support women in the region and beyond? We would describe Emirates Woman as a slick exhibit of luxury and talent, bringing Middle Eastern women the most desired fashion, beauty and lifestyle. We love the title’s ongoing dedication to elevate women, bringing more joy into their everyday lives through expertly curated editorial content and sharp visuals. Like the ‘Incredible Women’ featured in our PORTER editorials, Emirates Women interviews strong female leaders globally and from the region, focusing on their personal journey and celebrating their unique talents.