Was there ever a time you daydream about founding a well-established business that makes you climb the corporate ladder of success from rags to riches? Being the chief executive officer (Fashion CEO) of a renowned company is no joke. It takes real sweat and blood to pull the whole thing off, realize your dream, and keep the business running amidst these challenging times.
Well, while this may seem too impossible to reach, there are still successful individuals who rose to fame in the fashion industry and have made billions of dollars as fashion CEOs of clothing brands and luxury garments. Not only do they make exemplary revenues, but these fashion CEOs were also able to make a lasting impact and contribution to the industry.
A Sneak Peek On Inspirational Fashion CEOs’ Stories
We are bringing you moving stories of fashion executives that will indeed amaze you right where you are. Get to know these fashion CEOs who thrived more in the middle of the messy crisis we are all in. While most are afraid to take the risk, these people have braved the pandemic and taken a step forward in the fashion industry.
Meet Eli Zied: The Teenage Fashion CEO Advocating Good Habits
You probably focused on your academic standing, on your fancy fashion makeovers and backyard barbecue hangouts in your seventeens, but not this guy. At 17, senior high school student Eli Zied founded Habits 365. It is utterly surprising how he was able to manage both with confidence, and without compromising the other. Awesome, isn’t it?
Having the entrepreneurial mindset at the age of 12, Zied started buying and reselling sneakers which sparked the flame for his interest in building his own brand. Thereafter, he followed streetwear fashion brands such as Bape and Supreme thus setting the kind of fashion sense he would want to cultivate and flourish in his own brand.
It was August 2017 when he pushed through a concept for a lifestyle brand that will be relatable to everyone, simply to increase his target market and be extraordinary in the industry. One interesting marketing strategy that he did was to ask his classmates and colleagues to be brand ambassadors or to be models for the apparel. His teachers have also been giving him great advice alongside the business thriving.
In an interview with Forbes magazine, Zied said, “Everybody has habits, but not all of them are necessarily positive,” he says. “Habits dictate your life, and the better your habits are, the more successful you will be in the long run. I believe that one day, Habits 365 will be one of the biggest streetwear brands in the world. We have a strong, relatable message to everybody who wants to improve and get better in whatever they do, every day, 365 days a year.”
Further, if you happen to visit their site, you’d see that the first-ever Habits 365 NFT Collab is now available for a limited time!
Marvel at José Neves, Farfetch CEO
Farfetch CEO José Neves
While the fashion industry’s sales slumbered and declined from the year 2020 there onwards, Farfetch CEO José Neves made billions of revenues and made his business a success! Jose has spent many years in order to build an online luxury store that aims to give an exceptional shopping experience to the consumers. In 2017, Jose envisioned offering a single online platform for independent fashion boutiques. This finally came to flourish even more when the clothing apparel company was forced to shut down physical store operations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
José Neves started off in his career by crafting shoe designs. Twelve years have passed by and now his ambitions have made him a billionaire and an icon in the fashion industry! What’s spectacular is that in the height of COVID-19, Farfetch was still able to sell $1 million worth of gold jewelry sets.
According to him, he has arrived at the conclusion that if you love fashion, you won’t stop loving fashion just because of COVID-19. He exclaims that there is no way out of being a fashion diva and one could not simply resist the urge to dress up and glamor up!
The Grandeur of Dior
Lo and behold, Christian Dior CEO Pietro Beccari!
Dior’s Pietro Beccari
When it comes to luxury fashion, we surely wouldn’t miss Pietro Beccari, one of the most renowned fashion icons we all look up to! Ever since being the CEO of the Dior brand in 2018, Pietro has been going the extra mile and pushing boundaries to achieve exceptional results.
According to Pietro, while some businesses are withdrawing and making cuts, he continued to lead the team in 2020 and moved forward. This strategy enabled them to reduce if not fully eliminate the decline in the brand’s organic revenue to only 3% in the final quarter of 2020 while some businesses still have a long way to go trying to rise from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
Pietro lives his life in confidence and creativity. During the pandemic, he pulled off a collaboration project with the Jordan Brand, launching a £12,000-trainer with Air Dior which would have not worked based on their research. And yet, in just minutes, 5 million consumers already patronized the pair!
The same thing happened with haute couture plans. While the world slumbers on pushing them, Pietro led the team to continue working on the collection. Dior’s designers adopted the lockdown rules and came up with clothing articles in miniature forms!
Pietro Beccari thus said, “We started to push forward when everyone else was stepping back, fearing for this crisis to last too long.”
Dior: The Fashion Luxury Icon
Fashion CEO Jennifer Hyman of Rent the Runway
While you’re still on it for inspiring stories of fashion executives, Jennifer Hyman is definitely one to watch for after having co-founded Rent the Runway in early 2000. It was during the recession that the business idea of renting an outfit for a special occasion worked perfectly well. However, this business concept isn’t suited amidst the pandemic where people have to isolate and stay and stay at home. Grand events and fancy get-togethers have been strictly prohibited.
Like lots and lots of luxury fashion brands [especially those that loan or rent out clothes for special occasions], Rent the Runway had to force the closure of its physical store in 2020. But Hyman believed that this was just a stepping stone for her business to become stronger in the future.
Thus, Hyman and her team worked hard to future-proof their brand. Their strategies include keeping physical stores closed and offering new styles to lend to consumers. Rent the Runway was the first brand hailed as the champion when it comes to second-hand clothing and circular platforms in the fashion world.
As Jennifer Hyman puts it, “Secondhand clothing is now completely normal.”
While some of us may fantasize about inspirational rags to riches stories, we will discover that it usually takes a significant amount of time to convert that dream and goal into a reality. The time span from the season of “rags” to “riches” may be long, but in the end, it will all be worth it. You just have to trust the process and endure the wait.
