The Business of Fashion Podcast The Business of Fashion

At every juncture of her extraordinary professional journey, Leena Nair has authored a series of 'firsts’. Growing up in her home country of India, she was part of the first cohort of female students at her school, at Unilever she was the first woman to lead global human resources, responsible for 150,000 employees and in January 2022 she became Chanel’s first-ever global CEO of Indian-origin — making her the only woman of colour leading a major global luxury brand.  
Nair is leaning on the lessons from her people-centric career to lead Chanel into the future as the post-pandemic luxury boom comes to an end. “I really believe if you look after people, their growth and development, their dreams and aspirations, they will look after the business. They will help you with ideas and really care about the institution they're a part of,” says Nair.
Nair sat down for her first public talk with BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed at BoF VOICES 2023 to share her vision for Chanel, philosophies on leadership and advice for women who feel like outsiders.   

Key Insights: 

Growing up in her home country of India, Nair frequently battled gendered stereotypes. “After a point I had to stop listening. …Gender roles were so strong. …One of the most [common] comments I would get is, ‘You're so talented. You should have been a boy,’” she recalls.  
Acknowledging that she is a fashion-industry outsider, Nair is conscious of fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment. “Lift as you climb. … I feel the responsibility of making it easier for those who come after me,” she explains. 
Nair intentionally welcomes insights from diverse perspectives. “I really feel the days of the superhero leader with all the answers is way behind us. … How can one individual have the answers?” she asks. “Collective problem solving, collective creation, collective ideation … is really important to me.”
Sharing her vision for Chanel, Nair outlined her three pillars for the brand’s future. “One is to have a positive impact in the world. … The second is, in the world of AI, to be relentless in protecting human creation, human creators, human relationships. And third, to always be part of what's next, to shape what's coming.”
Nair’s advice to young women finding their voice in whichever industry they are drawn to is straightforward: “Be unafraid to try and express your ambition and what you want to do. … Be intentional to say I want this, because if you can't express ambition in those words to yourself, to your CEO, to your mentor, to someone who supports you, how can it ever be translated into reality?”
Additional Resources:
Chanel’s Three Pillars for the FutureWhat Fashion Can Learn From Chanel’s New Global CEOChanel to Double Capital Investments, Bolster ‘Ultimate Luxury Experience’ as Sales Surge
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The stylist and fashion editor reveals to BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed why she resigned from Vogue and how she is channelling her influence and energy to support that next generation of fashion talent.
Background:
In the dynamic world of fashion magazines, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson stands out. Karefa-Johnson has always stood out, growing up as a self-described loud, weird, driven kid. Karefa-Johnson’s first Vogue cover was Paloma Elsesser for the January 2021 issue of Vogue, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Later that year, she worked on the cover shoot featuring US Vice President Kamala Harris. 
But recently, Karefa-Johnson decided to leave Vogue. “The truth of the matter is we grow and sometimes our containers don't grow with us. And so I am excited to build a new container for all of these ideas and this energy,” Karefa-Johnson says.
This week on The BoF Podcast, Karefa-Johnson joins BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed to discuss her professional journey, how she harnesses her creative energy in a high-pressure industry and why she is laying the foundation for the next generation of fashion creatives. 
Key Insights: 

On excelling in the demanding, hyper-creative world of fashion media, Karefa-Johnson avoids burnout by focusing on her inner self. “Staying true to who you are and… really maintaining the purity of that creative exchange is something that keeps me grounded,” she says.
Looking back at some of her most challenging assignments, Karefa-Johnson recalls the 2021 cover shoot during the Covid-19 pandemic with US Vice President Kamala Harris. “It's very hard to communicate with your subject, which is super crucial in executing an image. You need to have a relationship and a rapport and there needs to be mutual trust,” she explains. “But it's hard to establish that between 15 masks, because it was during Covid, 14 secret service agents, a press secretary and a chief of staff.” 
Reflecting on her decision to leave Vogue, Karefa-Johnson is excited about what lies ahead. “I just hope that whatever comes to be of this career of mine is something that models possibilities for the next Gabriella Karefa-Johnson,” she explains. “I can't wait to take those tools and apply them in ways that are really just true to who I am, serve me and serve people who look like me.”
Karefa-Johnson is passionate about nurturing emerging talent and has used her network to support the development of Central Saint Martins graduate Torishéju Dumi. “It's very easy to feel invisible in these cities as a young designer, period. Full stop. But as a young black female designer, I knew that the hurdles she was up against would be exponentially bigger than some of her colleagues,” Karefa-Johnson says. “I wanted to be able to bridge the gap. I wanted to be able to give her a leg up, which I think in a lot of ways is something that has produced so many of the most enduring young designers.”
Additional Resources:
Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman Appears on Cover of American Vogue | BoF Ye Lashes Out at LVMH and Vogue Editor After ‘White Lives Matter’ T-Shirt Draws Criticism
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The pioneering set designer speaks to BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed about how she’s set the stage for some of fashion’s most talked-about immersive experiences.
Background:
In the world of set design, Es Devlin is a trailblazing, unstoppable force. Her remarkable career has seen her craft stages for global superstars like Beyoncé, U2 and Adele as well as immersive experiences for Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent and most recently, Gucci which recently brought its Cosmos exhibition to London’s 180 The Strand.
But to describe Es as a set designer only feels somewhat reductive. She is a deep thinker who approaches her work like a creative philosopher, examining critical questions about the world.
This week on The BoF Podcast, Devlin joins BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed to discuss her career and her impressions of fashion — as well as her advice for young creatives. 
 
Key Insights: 

Devlin approaches work through multiple lenses. “The practice is to see it through my own eyes, then see it through my collaborators eyes, then finally to see it through the audience's eyes,” she said. “Building on all of those converging and colliding… viewpoints… I think it's a very helpful muscle to learn just in living.”
In creating bespoke environments, narrative is a central part of Devlin’s process, particularly in working with fashion companies. “What I've learned… is how to tell a story about the history of a house through an experience that an audience will walk through,” she says.
For creatives who may not have the budget of established fashion houses, Devlin encourages leaning on scarcity as a tool to harness creativity. “You can make a gesture by picking a place and turning all the lights out. You could make a gesture by just doing everything in one colour,” Devlin says. “Make your limitations… be the point, be the advantage.”
As AI plays a bigger role in her own work Devlin is studying the technology to learn more, rather than work with it without context. “My approach generally is to learn to read as much as I can rather than speaking from a position of inaccuracy or ignorance.”
Additional Resources:
Gucci Cosmos Exhibition Arrives in LondonAt Saint Laurent, Far From Fashion Week 
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BoF founder and editor-in-chief Imran Amed sits down with Anaita Shroff-Adajania, Bandana Tewari, Lakshmi Menon and Bollywood superstar Katrina Kaif to explore the country’s evolving beauty landscape.
Background:
It’s been 16 years since Vogue India’s inaugural issue put a global spotlight on India’s fashion and beauty industries. Today, the beauty sphere in particular is in the midst of a transformative shift, embracing inclusivity and making an impact far beyond its borders. 
“This is a 5,000-year-old culture of great style and heritage,” said Bandana Tewari, journalist, former fashion features director of Vogue India. “We had to do things to tell the outside world … what our cultural heritage of style and fashion is, that it existed over time.” 
This week on The BoF Podcast, Imran Amed explores the changing dynamics of the Indian beauty industry through conversations with Tewari as well as Anaita Shroff Adajania,former fashion director of Vogue India; model Lakshmi Menon and Bollywood superstar Katrina Kaif on stage at the second annual Estée Lauder Beauty & You Awards in Mumbai, India. 

Key Insights: 
Featuring Australian model Gemma Ward front and centre, flanked by actresses Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra, the first cover of Vogue India “did not really nail diversity, did not nail India. It was trying to package India into some kind of modern context without any of its own culture in play,” Menon says.
On the other hand, an inside story shot by Prabuddha Dasgupta showcased traditional Indian beauty, rather than in contrast to the westernised interpretation on the cover. “We had a lot of freedom because it was a space where the western powers didn't know what I was meant to do, so we were left to be ourselves and we were ourselves and we celebrated it,” says Tewari. 
Colourism is still an issue in the Indian beauty industry. The industry is driven by skin whitening products and Menon recalls a time she turned down a contract which included whitening cream. “It's not always about the money. It's also about who you are and how you want to put yourself out there, especially coming from a country like India, you know, who's had a huge colonial past.”  
Over time, the need for greater diversity in all aspects of the beauty industry is also essential, beginning in product development. “One thing that came out repeatedly was that there's no research on women of our skin colour. … I feel [the global industry] underestimates the power of the beauty revolution that's happening here,” says Shroff Adajania.
For Kaif, authenticity is the key for success in the beauty market in India and beyond. “No amount of advertising can substitute the fact that the consumer and our audiences can see the truth. … They can sense what has been sold to them and what is genuinely coming from a place of authenticity,” Kaif says.
Additional Resources:
Decoding The Indian Beauty Landscape: Amazon Bets on Indian Beauty BrandHow India’s Nykaa Aims to Beat Sephora

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This week on The BoF Podcast, Condé Nast Britain’s chief business officer speaks with purpose and intuition coach Mory Fontanez about leading as an outsider in the modern workplace.
Background:
In 2017, Vanessa Kingori became British Vogue’s first female publishing director. Since then, she has become a mother, received an MBE and stepped into the additional role of chief business officer of Condé Nast Britain.
At BoF VOICES 2021, Kingori shared her leadership lessons with Mory Fontanez, purpose and intuition coach and founder of consultancy 822 Group. They discussed the importance of trusting intuition in the workplace to bolster data-driven decisions while also challenging conformity to allow for creativity.
“With the wonderful thing that is hindsight, I’ve realised it’s okay to be intuitive,” said Kingori. “It’s actually great to lean into your differences rather than try to push to assimilate too much.”

Key Insights: 

Throughout her life, Kingori has leaned into being a newcomer, “I think I've been extremely fortunate in that I have lived a life where I am used to being an outsider. I've been in an organisation now for over 12 years and in every single facet of my work at Condé Nast, I've been the outsider,” Kingori says. 
For Kingori, being different has not only been personally beneficial, but also forms part of her business philosophy. “I think conformity is the enemy of progress and creativity in business. It's completely strange that we're all sort of desperately trying to belong to a tribe, think the same, and all of those things.”  
Intuition is a cornerstone of Kingori’s leadership philosophy. “Let your intuition be the starting point. Intuition is about a subconscious understanding of something, but that subconscious understanding comes from somewhere. It's not magic… It's that you have experienced or observed something that underpins a strong belief,” she says.
BoF VOICES, our annual gathering for big thinkers, returns from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30, 2023. The entire event will be livestreamed for BoF Professional All-Access members. Register now to join us.

Additional Resources:

Power Moves | Vanessa Kingori’s New Role at Condé Nast, Everlane’s Founder Leaves CEO RoleVanessa Kingori’s Commercial Reboot of British VogueThe September Issue Gets an Overdue Makeover

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The South Sudanese model reflects on her path from a Kenyan refugee camp to travelling the globe as an international top model.
Background: 
South Sudanese model Adut Akech has made her mark on fashion, having appeared on countless international magazine covers and on the runway for brands including Chanel and Prada. But Akech’s story begins worlds away from fashion shows and Vogue cover shoots: The model was born while her family was fleeing war in South Sudan and spent her early years in a Kenyan refugee camp.
"I will always be a refugee, because that's who I am," she told BoF's editor-at-large Tim Blanks on stage at BoF VOICES in 2018. "No amount of money or my status or how famous or whatever the case is... I'm always going to be a refugee and I'm proud of who I am."
This week on The BoF Podcast, revisit Akech and Blanks’ conversation, where they discuss Akech’s childhood and journey to the fashion industry. 

Key Insights: 

Though she spent part of her childhood in a refugee camp, Akech recalls those years being mostly happy. “I didn’t know I was in a refugee camp, I had cousins there, I had friends… some of the best memories are just running around and playing,” she says. 
Her first experience modelling was in a small fashion show put on by her aunt, who was a fashion designer. That moment made her realise she wanted to model professionally. “I just fell in love instantly," she says. "When I’m on the runway, I’m a whole different person."
Growing up, Akech idolised Black models Naomi Campbell and Alek Wek. Now, she serves as a source of inspiration for the next generation of Black models. "I have people messaging me saying I inspired them to love their Black skin, that I inspired them to chase their dreams," she says.
BoF VOICES, our annual gathering for big thinkers, returns from November 28 to November 30, 2023, uniting the movers, shakers and trailblazers of the fashion industry with the thought leaders, entrepreneurs and inspiring people shaping the wider world. The entire event will be livestreamed for BoF Professional All-Access members. Register now to join us.

Additional Resources:
Adut Akech, Top Model: On InclusivityDapper Dan, Adut Akech, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Chika Are Our #BoF500 Cover StarsHow Valentino Embraced Diversity
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