While the corporate world has made considerable strides in welcoming women to the workforce, the 2023 Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey showed less than 30 per cent of women hold C-suite positions and even fewer of those are women of colour. “I think fashion is a very visible, global industry where women have many opportunities to enter, build and grow, but unfortunately, then when it comes to leading some of the most prominent companies, there are still very few examples of female CEOs,” says Sabine Brunner, MCM’s president & global brand and commercial officer. “The industry needs to carve out opportunities to appoint women who can make decisions.” 

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All five women who spoke to Tatler hold top positions of power in very different companies and saw their businesses grow or overcome challenges in an increasingly unstable economy under their leadership. Yet, across the board, all of them share common experiences of doubt, be it by external parties or internal struggles with self-confidence. 

“I’ve once felt pigeonholed into being only a product person with great taste instead of being thought of as someone with business acumen and operational experience,” says Elizabeth von der Goltz, Farfetch’s chief fashion and merchandising officer. “I’ve found the antidote to this is being true to yourself and developing a true partnership with whoever you’re working with.”

Several have shared how sometimes breaking the mould requires adopting characteristics that could be uncomfortable or more often associated with their male counterparts. “Earlier on in my career, I would have taken the longer road to communicate the point,” says Elaine Chang, president of contemporary, New York-based label Tibi. “Over time and through sustained experience in management, I see that great leaders get to the point via the most direct route and they do it every time. To win consistently, there’s no time to waste beating around the bush.”

Brunner, who has headed up luxury brands including Tod’s Group, Roger Vivier and Bonpoint, shares a similar anecdote: “One of the most memorable comments I remember receiving from a business partner, which was intended as a compliment, was that I acted like a man,” she says. “It was a true reflection of the ‘machismo’ environment at that time.”

Throughout her formative years, Amy Williams, whose career spanned giant retailers such as The Gap and Macy’s before her current role as CEO of denim group Citizens of Humanity, was often pressured to “speak up” and “have the right answers,” but she’s learned that listening is just as valuable, if not more so. “It is really about the collective of ‘we’, and bringing together groups of talented people with different strengths and styles and being sincerely interested in what they have to say,” she says.

The overarching morals of all their stories? “You must have a thick skin and know what you stand for,” says Wen Zhou, CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim. “That is your superpower.”

Read on for the full interview with each woman, edited for clarity.