Marie Claire UK - 10.2019

60

Fashion first

OF A BUYING DIRECTOR

Ihave fun with my feet.My clothes are

‘classic with a twist’ – I love navy, camel, great

whiteshirts, blazers and sharp trenches – but

then I’ll make them pop with a crazy shoe.

Since I moved to London from New York,

I’vebecome a lot more adventurous with how

I dress. If you look in my shoe wardrobe now

it’sa sea of animal print, colours and texture.

I grew up in Hong Kong, and was always

very‘visual’, but I originally wanted to go

into the art world. I loved the creativity

of it, but after interning at an auction

house,I realised it wasn’t for me. At that

time,Hong Kong’s fashion mecca was

thestore Joyce. Founder Joyce Ma was

still running it when I was at school with

her brother, so I asked him to introduce

me to her. She said, ‘If you want to

pursuea career in fashion, you need

to move to New York.’ So I did.

I was very lucky to land a job as an

assistantbuyer at Barneys, which in

themid 90s was the pinnacle of New

Yorkstyle. Buying was the perfect mix

ofcreativity and art, and my job was in

thePrivate Label area, under [couture

designer]Ronald Van Der Kemp.

Usually in buying you don’t get to see

the design process, so it was a really great,

unusual opportunity to work with Ronald

creating the collection. It taught me about

everythingfrom buying fabric samples to

understanding shipping duties, taxes on silk

and cotton, getting to know all the fabric mills

Elizabethvon der Goltz is head of global buying for Net-A-Porter – and a self-confessed

boot fiend. Here, she talks heel heights, style hacks and what it’sreally like to be a buyer

andhow many metres it took to make a jacket.

I loved what I was doing so much, I quickly

worked my way up to more senior buying

roles, before moving to Henri Bendel, then

Bergdorf Goodman, and now to the UK for

my current job. Day to day, I can sum up my

role in one word – meetings! When we’re

‘in market’ [buying], I travel to New York,

Paris and Milan for showroom appointments

and business meetings with the CEOs of

brands we stock. When I’m at the office in

London, it’s non-stop internal meetings,

and I dress in a more relaxed way, but

comfort is a big thing when I’m travelling.

The reason I’m such a fan of boots is that

even ones with higher heels hold you

• I can run around in a boot for much
  longer. My collection is around 20 pairs
  and I mainly go for ankle boots as
  they’re more versatile, although I also
  love a good over-the-knee shaft boot
  to tuck trousers into. I don’t really
  buy flat boots, but I do have one
  pair: Chanel’s over-the-knee cowboy
  boots with gold tips and stars on the
  back − I wanted them as soon as
  they hit the catwalk. I have a few
  golden rules for buying boots. If
  they’re under the knee, make sure
  they don’t sit too near your kneecap.
  I also steer clear of any styles that are
  too tight on my calf. Footwear should
  flatter and elongate your legs, and
  boots are no exception.

BOOT SECRETS

Eli

za

beth’s top A

W 1

(^9) b
uys
THESUBTLE
SQUARETOE
Froma selection,
Khaiteat
Net-A-Porter
THESLOUCH
£1,370,
SaintLaurent
at Net-A-Porter
THESLIM
Froma selection,COMBAT
LeGres
at Net-A-Porter
THE COMFORT ZONE
£1,375,The Row
at Net-A-Porter
#SHOESFIRST
PHOTOGRAPHS BY GETTY IMAGES
THECOWBOY
£480,Isabel Marant
at Net-A-Porter