With a career in fashion spanning 5 decades, Florence Deschamps has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, and Kenzo Takada. Florence is passionate about finding and mentoring creative talent. In her Paris showroom, she introduces emerging designers and their collections to the world's top buyers.

Florence works closely with her young and hip showroom director, Marina Lyritzi. Marina is a talented content creator and branding specialist. Through her work as a stylist and online influencer, Marina tells the story of designers and their products, with a youthful and joyful voice.

In this episode:

Part 1 - Florence

Dressing up in her grandmother's designer wardrobe in Connecticut.
Florence studied at Sarah Lawrence College and La Sorbonne. She also studied dance with George Balanchine.
Florence began her fashion career working as a model in the late 1960s.
With photographer Sarah Moon she learnt the art of photography.
Working in public relations at French fashion house, Dorothée Bis, was very formative.
In the early 1980s Florence discovered Comme des Garçons and met Rei Kawakubo. She became the president of Comme des Garçons, and launched the brand internationally.
Today Florence presents and sells her young designers' collections to the great fashion stores around the world, including Rei Kawakubo's Dover Street Market, and Blake in Chicago.
Good proportion, a sense of harmony, and a sense of humour and playfulness are important in a designer's work.

Part 2 - Marina (27m40s)

Marina met Florence at Paris Fashion Week when she was interning with an Italian bag designer.
Marina had a fashion blog for several years, before shifting to Instagram.
She collaborates with fashion brands and recently won first prize in Marie Claire Greece blogger awards, and has worked with H&M.
It's more effective for consumers to see fashion products on real people, rather than very tall and thin models.
It's important for designers to have a good connection with their showroom.
Strong brand DNA and a clear target market are very important for commercial success.

Bonus audio – What the dog thinks (36m10s)