#29 JESSICA MICHAULT - from Suzy Menkes’ assistant to global fashion guru

02/28/20 • 21 min

A vision of a world built with integrity.

Towards the end of last year, we had the pleasure of working with a really great client, Puig (a third-generation family-owned fashion and fragrance business based in Barcelona and Paris, that owns brands including Dries Van Noten, Paco Rabanne and Christian Louboutin (beauty), to explore lots of topics close to our heart. It also gave us the opportunity to invite global fashion guru, Jessica Michault, to be part of our trip to Paris and Barcelona.

Having studied political science - not your typical route into an incredible career in fashion - Jessica’s first job at 23 was as a research assistant at the International Herald Tribune.

After about a year, ‘not knowing anything about fashion, nor who Suzy Menkes was’, Jessica applied for a job to be Suzy Menkes’ assistant. Her naivety was actually a blessing, as without it Jessica may never have had the courage to apply for and subsequently win the much-coveted job as assistant to the world respected fashion critic.

Working side-by-side Suzy Menkes for 16 years has given Jessica the best training a fashion journalist could have, which has led to her working with brands such as Miu Miu, Boucheron and Mulberry, plus having articles published in The New York Times, Business of Fashion and throughout multiple Vogue magazines worldwide.

Jessica is editor-at-large of the biannual fashion bible ODDA Magazine, SVP Industry Relations for Launchmetrics (the ultimate marketing platform & analytics solution for fashion and beauty), writer at L'Officiel Paris and Vogue Japan, and ignited digital fashion journalism with her 60 Second Fashion Reviews and Fashion Your Seatbelt podcast.

In our short and sweet interview, our founder, Jodi Muter-Hamilton and Jessica discuss:

What it’s like to work with Suzy Menkes for 16 years
The pace of fashion from 60 second fashion show reviews to collectable fashion publications
How data can support sustainability
If we still travel around the world to see for fashion shows in the future
How Jessica’s love of horse riding keeps her grounded www.jessicamichault.com www.blackneondigital.com

Having studied political science - not your typical route into an incredible career in fashion - Jessica’s first job at 23 was as a research assistant at the International Herald Tribune.

In our short and sweet interview, our founder, Jodi Muter-Hamilton and Jessica discuss:

What it’s like to work with Suzy Menkes for 16 years
The pace of fashion from 60 second fashion show reviews to collectable fashion publications
How data can support sustainability
If we still travel around the world to see for fashion shows in the future
How Jessica’s love of horse riding keeps her grounded www.jessicamichault.com www.blackneondigital.com

Previous Episode

#28 PIA STANCHINA - turning dreams into reality for Glossybox UK, British Fashion Council and Google, now it’s your turn

It’s now hard to imagine luxury fashion without online retail. However, it was not that long ago that we started to see the names of founders and companies emerging that would change the fashion landscape forever.

In June 2000 Natalie Massenet launched NET-A-PORTER. Matchesfashion launched its e-commerce website in 2006 to complement to its offline presence and in June 2007 José Neves launched Farfetch. Not forgetting - naturally not on the same scale, but still significant to our story - that Black Neon swimwear launched e-commerce in June 2011, which according to our founder, was certainly not as easy or cheap as you make it happen for today.

Considering today 97% of Matchesfashion’s sales come from online shopping according to Forbes we can see the power of online. But, how did we get from no online presence to being leaders in luxury fashion e-commerce?

Well, thanks in part to people like Pia Stanchina. Having launched her own sustainable luxury fashion label focused on fusing innovative design with biodegradable materials in 2009, Pia became UK Co-founder at Glossybox UK, a Rocket Internet start-up aimed at becoming the premier direct marketing tool for high-end, niche and professional Beauty brands where she was CMO/Creative Director. This was the beginning of Pia’s career as a fashion innovator. With her sights set high, Pia contacted Google and ended up landing a role as Google Industry Manager for Fashion, Beauty and Luxury. She later helped to set up a new Digital Acceleration Fashion & Luxury Retail team to help medium-sized British brands grow. In parallel, she was Digital & Innovation Board Advisor for the British Fashion Council. During this time, Pia became known for her big picture thinking combined with a focus on actionable insight. Pia’s talent has benefited many companies and female founders including, Semaine Founders Michelle Lu and Georgina Harding and also Sharmadean Reid MBE of WAH London, Beautystack and Future Girl Corp, the latter of which Pia had significant involvement in.

After a period of time out, rebuilding herself and taking time to focus on what she wanted her own future to look like, Pia trained in transformational coaching. Now as an empowerment speaker and coach Pia inspires companies and individuals ‘to tap into all our innate creativity, brilliance and wisdom’ to enable us to ‘fully become the person you were born to be and live the life you dream of.’

With Pia’s infectious positive energy and optimism, it’s easy to see how we can turn dreams into reality with her help. We hope you enjoy listening to Pia’s story and perhaps you may find yourself reaching out to her too!

https://piastanchina.com

www.blackneondigital.com

Next Episode

#30 TRACEY WOODWARD - from beauty counter girl to CEO with a cosmic shopping list

Having left school at 15 to work in a chemist then later moving on to the Clinique beauty counter in Debenhams in Croydon at 18, to recently stepping down as CEO for Aromatherapy Associates, Tracey Woodward’s career to date has been a story of sheer determination and passion.

Rising above a challenging upbringing and being illiterate till almost 15 years old, Tracey’s approach to life and her career in the beauty and wellness industry is positive, uplifting and playful.

Contributing to the development and success of many brands including Estée Lauder, Donna Karan and Marks & Spencer Beauty, Tracey is one lady who means business. At the age of 26, Tracey was in charge of - what was at the time the largest beauty hall in the world - Travel Retail at Heathrow Terminal 1, later increased Aveda’s sales from 800,000 to 10.8million in less than 4 years and delivered double-digit growth for Urban Retreat in Harrods year-on-year for 9 years.

Turning her hand to a new opportunity alongside her ex-husband, Tracey opened East Dulwich Deli, then later put an East Dulwich Deli cafe in Harrods. She has also worked with the Prince’s Trust, Action for Children, Beanstalk Literacy Charity, Terrence Higgins Trust, CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) and Eve Appeal to name but a few.

Tracey is incredibly inspiring and practical and believes ‘If I can do it, anyone can do it. You’ve just got to have a plan.’

In our podcast Tracey Woodward and Jodi Muter-Hamilton discuss:

Tracey’s prolific career and passion for learning and evolving
The importance of building strong relationships with yourself and others
The art of being vulnerable and asking for help
Mindfulness, empathy and kindness
Tracey’s go-to beauty products
Recently working on the UK’s first clean beauty store, Holland and Barrett in Birmingham

www.blackneondigital.com