How power players do fashion week: A day in the life of Net-A-Porter’s Sarah Rutson
Late nights, early mornings, countless shows, rainy days and a good set of legs for sprinting up stairs—it takes a certain constitution to not only get through Paris Fashion Week, but get through it in style. One of these fashion unicorns is Sarah Rutson, the vice-president of global buying at Net-A-Porter. From sun up to the wee hours of the morning, the British dynamo spins around the City of Lights—her dizzying schedule includes ready-to-wear shows, showroom appointments and meetings with designers, buyers and CEOs—leaving a trail of fashion fairy dust, and spring 2016 orders behind her. Like any superhero, Rutson’s uniform includes a cape—a chic one by Junya Watanabe. But it’s really just a cozy outer layer—this fashion super already knows how to fly.
For even more on Net-A-Porter’s Sarah Rutson, check out our November issue on newsstands October 12th.
Monday, October 5, 2015
5:45 a.m.
“I’m always up before my alarm goes off (which is set for 6 a.m.) even though every night we finish late with meetings. I was at the McQueen show last night and had a meeting with Andrew Rosen [CEO of Theory] afterwards, which went until 10 pm. Then I went through orders and budgets with my buyers, which took us till 2 a.m.”
6:00 a.m.
“My alarm officially goes off. I hop in the shower and then go through my schedule for the day. I make sure I have all the show tickets and map out the day in my head. Fashion week is a 35-day marathon, which includes 16-18 hour days, so it’s important to go into each day mentally and physically prepared. It’s pouring outside so I opt for flat brogues with rubber soles to help stay dry and comfortable. I plan on wearing my cropped For Restless Sleepers pyjama pants, Haider Ackermann oversized cashmere sweater with a silk back, and my Junya Watanabe cape. This will keep me warm and it’s practical for a busy, grey and rainy Monday.”
7:00 a.m.
“I start off with a breakfast meeting with one of my buyers who just arrived from Milan last night. We catch up on the brands she works on, as well as what orders she is working on for spring 2016. My breakfast consists of cereal, croissants with apricot jam and half a grapefruit. Caffeine is a given, and my preference is English Breakfast tea with multiple sugars—bad, I know, but it’s my much needed vice ahead of a busy day.”
8:00 a.m. “I have a meeting with our Global Head of PR to go through upcoming press initiatives, which includes an exciting trip to the Middle East to meet with our top customers and press in that region.”
8:45 a.m. “I stop by to see Alice Temperley and her collection. She walks me through the edit our buyer has done, along with their CEO, as well as goes through the business with me.”
9:40 a.m. “I head out to attend the Stella McCartney show which starts at 10 a.m. By the time the show starts it’s 10:30 a.m. and Stella shares divine colorful stripes and groups of plisse that we particularly love. I’m looking forward to seeing those pieces again at our buying appointment later this week.”
10:50 a.m. “I dash to the Sacai show. Chitose does what she does best—there is a cacophony of multi-dimensional pieces that need to be looked at from every angle. We love the bandana print dresses with lingerie lace details. We’re noticing a lot of lingerie lace details this season from a wide range of designers.”
11:50 a.m.
“I make a very quick stop to see the buyer who is placing our Preen order. We literally dash up three flights of stairs and don’t have more than 15 minutes before we have to get back in the car so we can head to the other side of Paris for the Giambattista Valli show.”
2:40 p.m.
“We just left the Giambattista Valli show and I realize I am starving! The driver makes a quick stop at this amazing French patisserie called Paul’s, and I grab a ham and cheese baguette, bottle of water and Twin Bar, which I eat in the car on the way to go see the Jacquemus collection.”
3:45 p.m.
“We finally arrive at Jacquemus studio and designer Simon Porte greets me at the door. We quickly catch up then go through the collection—I take mental notes so I remember everything when we place the order. While I’d love to stay longer, I need to dash to my next appointment with Japanese brand Toga.”
5:30 p.m.
“After our appointment with Toga, we head to the Sonia Rykiel show that starts at 6 p.m. A brief swipe through Instagram and the Net Set while in the car keeps me clued into what people are saying about the shows, and what our customers are loving from our site at the moment.”
7:00 p.m.
“After Sonia Rykiel we head to Esteban Cortazar’s show and then off to Saint Laurent which starts at 8 p.m.”
8:45 p.m.
“After the Saint Laurent show, I head to Café Marly for a celebration dinner that I organized for the buying teams at Net-A-Porter and Yoox. Today is our first day as a merged entity so I thought this would be a great way for everyone to meet and bond over a delicious Parisian dinner. The common theme of the evening stemmed around our passion for this industry, and of course, creating the future of fashion.”
12:00 a.m.
“I head back to the Westin Hotel with my team after dinner. We go through the orders from that day until about 2a.m. again, and then I finally depart for my room and take a hot bath before bed.”
2:30 a.m.
“Lights off, and alarm set for another busy day in Paris.”
 on Oct 7, 2015 at 3:01am PDT
Late nights, early mornings, countless shows, rainy days and a good set of legs for sprinting up stairs—it takes a certain constitution to not only get through Paris Fashion Week, but get through it in style. One of these fashion unicorns is Sarah Rutson, the vice-president of global buying at Net-A-Porter. From sun up to the wee hours of the morning, the British dynamo spins around the City of Lights—her dizzying schedule includes ready-to-wear shows, showroom appointments and meetings with designers, buyers and CEOs—leaving a trail of fashion fairy dust, and spring 2016 orders behind her. Like any superhero, Rutson’s uniform includes a cape---a chic one by Junya Watanabe. But it’s really just a cozy outer layer—this fashion super already knows how to fly.
For even more on Net-A-Porter's Sarah Rutson, check out our November issue on newsstands October 12th.
A photo posted by Sarah. (@sarahrutson) on Oct 5, 2015 at 2:45am PDT
Monday, October 5, 2015
5:45 a.m.
“I’m always up before my alarm goes off (which is set for 6 a.m.) even though every night we finish late with meetings. I was at the McQueen show last night and had a meeting with Andrew Rosen [CEO of Theory] afterwards, which went until 10 pm. Then I went through orders and budgets with my buyers, which took us till 2 a.m.”
6:00 a.m.
“My alarm officially goes off. I hop in the shower and then go through my schedule for the day. I make sure I have all the show tickets and map out the day in my head. Fashion week is a 35-day marathon, which includes 16-18 hour days, so it’s important to go into each day mentally and physically prepared. It’s pouring outside so I opt for flat brogues with rubber soles to help stay dry and comfortable. I plan on wearing my cropped For Restless Sleepers pyjama pants, Haider Ackermann oversized cashmere sweater with a silk back, and my Junya Watanabe cape. This will keep me warm and it’s practical for a busy, grey and rainy Monday.”
7:00 a.m.
“I start off with a breakfast meeting with one of my buyers who just arrived from Milan last night. We catch up on the brands she works on, as well as what orders she is working on for spring 2016. My breakfast consists of cereal, croissants with apricot jam and half a grapefruit. Caffeine is a given, and my preference is English Breakfast tea with multiple sugars—bad, I know, but it’s my much needed vice ahead of a busy day.”
8:00 a.m. “I have a meeting with our Global Head of PR to go through upcoming press initiatives, which includes an exciting trip to the Middle East to meet with our top customers and press in that region.”
8:45 a.m. “I stop by to see Alice Temperley and her collection. She walks me through the edit our buyer has done, along with their CEO, as well as goes through the business with me.”
9:40 a.m. “I head out to attend the Stella McCartney show which starts at 10 a.m. By the time the show starts it’s 10:30 a.m. and Stella shares divine colorful stripes and groups of plisse that we particularly love. I’m looking forward to seeing those pieces again at our buying appointment later this week.”
10:50 a.m. “I dash to the Sacai show. Chitose does what she does best—there is a cacophony of multi-dimensional pieces that need to be looked at from every angle. We love the bandana print dresses with lingerie lace details. We’re noticing a lot of lingerie lace details this season from a wide range of designers.”
A photo posted by NET-A-PORTER (@netaporter) on Oct 5, 2015 at 10:51am PDT
11:50 a.m.
“I make a very quick stop to see the buyer who is placing our Preen order. We literally dash up three flights of stairs and don’t have more than 15 minutes before we have to get back in the car so we can head to the other side of Paris for the Giambattista Valli show.”
2:40 p.m.
“We just left the Giambattista Valli show and I realize I am starving! The driver makes a quick stop at this amazing French patisserie called Paul’s, and I grab a ham and cheese baguette, bottle of water and Twin Bar, which I eat in the car on the way to go see the Jacquemus collection.”
3:45 p.m.
“We finally arrive at Jacquemus studio and designer Simon Porte greets me at the door. We quickly catch up then go through the collection—I take mental notes so I remember everything when we place the order. While I’d love to stay longer, I need to dash to my next appointment with Japanese brand Toga.”
5:30 p.m.
“After our appointment with Toga, we head to the Sonia Rykiel show that starts at 6 p.m. A brief swipe through Instagram and the Net Set while in the car keeps me clued into what people are saying about the shows, and what our customers are loving from our site at the moment.”
A photo posted by Sarah. (@sarahrutson) on Oct 4, 2015 at 11:09pm PDT
7:00 p.m.
“After Sonia Rykiel we head to Esteban Cortazar’s show and then off to Saint Laurent which starts at 8 p.m.”
8:45 p.m.
“After the Saint Laurent show, I head to Café Marly for a celebration dinner that I organized for the buying teams at Net-A-Porter and Yoox. Today is our first day as a merged entity so I thought this would be a great way for everyone to meet and bond over a delicious Parisian dinner. The common theme of the evening stemmed around our passion for this industry, and of course, creating the future of fashion.”
12:00 a.m.
“I head back to the Westin Hotel with my team after dinner. We go through the orders from that day until about 2a.m. again, and then I finally depart for my room and take a hot bath before bed.”
2:30 a.m.
“Lights off, and alarm set for another busy day in Paris.”){kind=link}