“I felt I could handle it…” with Jane Shepherdson

My guest this week has been called “the most influential woman in fashion”. We both met starting out at Topshop in our 20s, before Jane Shepherdson went on to put Topshop at the beating heart of cultural relevance in a way no other high street brand had been before. But then – to the surprise of the outside world – she walked away from it all. To me, Jane is a beautiful misfit because we share something very important – she was not driven by money, or growth, but instead by creative instinct. As fast fashion grew, and the internal culture of the company under Philip Green became too much to bear – Jane needed to find distance from the machine she now saw as a monster, and sought out a new way to channel her creative energy.   She explains the anger she felt at having to let go of her “baby”, the protection she had to put around her team, and why she’s dedicated her career ever since, to doing fashion differently.  Follow Mary Portas on: Instagram: @maryportasofficial Facebook: Mary Portas And to get in touch with team Portas, email us at: [email protected] and you can subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration.

Om Podcasten

Beautiful Misfits don’t accept the status quo. They know instinctively the way we’re living today is broken. But they believe the world can be a better place. And they fearlessly take the imaginative leap to change it. Join Mary as she talks to the authors and businesspeople, designers and poets, who are using their unique perspective to create a better, more beautiful, future. Their life lessons are sometimes funny, at others moving, but always insightful. And one thing is clear: we’ve never needed these beautiful misfits more. A Pixiu production.