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Net-a-Porter Rolls Out the Welcome Mat for Sarah Rutson

Some of fashion’s most powerful women—Jenna Lyons, Karlie Kloss, and Inez van Lamsweerde, among them—gathered at Indochine last night to toast Net-a-Porter’s latest hire, vice president of global buying Sarah Rutson. Rutson, who was formerly fashion director of Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford department store, wore a kimono, because, as she said, “There’s always Asia in my heart. But I’m not going to miss taking that Hong Kong-to-New York flight, seven trips a year!”

NAP founder Natalie Massenet made a speech. “I see the A to Z of everyone who has helped this company,” she began. “A, I have to say is Tamara Mellon. In 1999 I went to see her in the Jimmy Choo office and said, ‘What do you think of giving me some shoes to sell online?’ She said, ‘OK, cool!’ And the Z is, of course, Sarah, whom we welcome here tonight.” The move to Net-a-Porter marks a shift from brick-and-mortar to digital for Rutson. “What’s been interesting for me is that the extraordinary, special, and most expensive pieces are being bought online,” she said. “There’s always been a misconception that any luxury product above a set price, the woman wants to see and touch it in the store. I’ve learned now, that is such a myth. The reality is that the consumer has changed and that is the new reality.”

—Todd Plummer, Style.com

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