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
