Natalie Massenet, founder of luxury fashion e-tailer Net-A-Porter and street style photographers’ catnip, has resigned from the company she founded.
Natalie Massenet, founder of luxury fashion e-tailer Net-A-Porter and street style photographers’ catnip, has resigned from the company she founded.
The news has shocked the fashion world as she leaves in the middle of a merger with Italian e-tailer Yoox, in which she was due to be chairman and oversee editorial content of the combined company.
Natalie, who turned 50 in May, leaves on a high, however, as her Net-A-Porter empire celebrated 15 years of booming business in June. She also leaves with over £100million in her haute designer purse, which should keep her in Louboutins for a while…
When Net-A-Porter launched in 2000 the fashion world predicted a flop – ‘who on earth would want to buy designer clothes on the internet, without trying them on?’ we all asked. (Ha!)
But over a billion little black boxes later, she’s the undoubted winner of the luxury online retail game, is executive chairman of the British Fashion Council and is an inspirational leader for many in the industry outside of her own company.
In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Natalie hinted that she might be looking for pastures new. ‘Since the day I started the company, I have thought about what it will take for this business to have momentum and keep going forward regardless of who is in the company,’ she said, saying only that she plans to lead a ‘happy and innovating and thriving’ life post-Net.
But something tells us that Natalie, really the ultimate fashion businesswoman, is unlikely to retreat completely. We look forward to discovering what she’ll do next.