Retail Therapy

Online retailer Farfetch’s Candice Fragis talks to sheena khemaney about brand sourcing, her personal inspirations and why Alessandro Michele is leading the pack

- Sheena Khemaney

THERE ARE TOO MANY things that we love about shopping online. Whether you’re searching for a pair of sneakers or a sit-down dinner dress, you now have access to hundreds of choices, wherever you are and at any time, with the simple click of a button. With plenty of channels available nowadays (and trust us, there are a lot), one of our go-to online shopping destinations is London-based company Farfetch.

Unlike the other existing luxury e-tailers, however, Farfetch – founded by tech-savvy Portuguese José Neves – runs its business by partnering with more than 750 designers and fashion boutiques across the globe, carrying womenswear and menswear from more than 1,500 luxury labels. What sets this company even further apart? Farfetch doesn’t hold any physical stock of goods, so once an order is placed on the site, the product gets sent directly from the partnered boutique to customers all over the world. According to our research, this means rarer, limited items may pop up here, when not listed on other sites.

On a rainy day, in the midst of Paris Fashion Week, we meet with Farfetch’s stylish buying and merchandising director, Candice Fragis, who works closely with the boutiques and brand partners as well as the company’s editorial, fashion and marketing teams. When she’s not at fashion weeks in New York, Milan and Paris, Fragis’s day-to-day-role at the Farfetch London headquarters involves looking at markets, analysing online growth strategies and discovering new and emerging talent, among other activities. With more than 12 years of experience in the industry, Fragis is just the person we want to talk to – about style, wish lists and searching for the next big thing.

DO YOU SOURCE ITEMS STRAIGHT FROM THE RUNWAY?