Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1982173/moment-lisa-aiken-net-porter-fashion-director Luxury
A moment with Lisa Aiken, Net-A-Porter Fashion Director
The fashion guru tells us her styling tips for next season's most challenging looks.
This is your second time in Hong Kong. Does the experience give you a new perspective when it comes to buying?
Absolutely. Talking to everybody, learning about what your focus is and what everyone’s wearing, how women shop here. It’s been really insightful.
Is buying for an e-commerce site a lot different from buying for a brick-and-mortar store?
We have very global customers at Net-a-Porter. The difference here is I love the variety of styles that I see. There’s a really broad spectrum. Accessorising is clearly huge. It speaks to my own style as well. I like unexpected accessories.
Are you expanding into fine jewellery as well?
It is a very interesting area of growth for us right now. The launch of Tiffany just happened. We also did Chanel Coco Crush last year. In terms of fine jewellery, the shopping mentality has changed. It used to be very gifting-oriented – men shopping for women. Now women feel very confident, and love buying jewellery for themselves. They see it as an extra accessory. Fine jewellery has to be timeless. We see a very strong fashion aesthetic coming from our fine jewellery. There’s also a trend shift in how women wear fine jewellery. There’s a lot of stacking, rings and mixed-metal. We just launched Maria Tash’s designs. And we sell all her earrings as singles because that’s what she believes [is the way]women wear jewellery today –mix and match. Anita Ko hoops, for example, are also perfect for mix-and-matching. I also think fine jewellery is the finishing touch to elevate your personal style and make it something unique.
Yes. I love it. I sometimes even find new designers through Instagram. There are still lots of ways discovering new designers. I still get look books and check out showrooms. But now social media definitely has a huge impact on how we are able to find new talents. We put a new brand on the platform and [it] achieve the amount of coverage that it wouldn't otherwise have achieved so early in its development. I have recently found The AtticO. The designers themselves Giorgia Tordini and Gilda Ambrosio are influencers and I followed them on Instagram. When I saw they had a new post announcing an upcoming project, I messaged them directly. They are launching exclusively with Net-a-Porter in July.
What are the top challenging trends for the season to come?
We are seeing a lot of interesting ways to add print and colour. It takes some confidence to really play with it and make it your own. There are different ways to embrace it – you can embrace the trend by adding a pair of statement shoes, or an elaborate bag.
Also, many people look at the streetwear trend and thinking that it looks so cool but is it for me? I would say absolutely yes but it's all in the balance – juxtaposing something more tailored to elevate something more sporty. The bomber jacket is an instant update; it's also very now.