about team

WGSN has a team of more than 200 experts across the world who design, analyse, photograph and write about style, fashion, sourcing, distribution, cultural trends, consumer insight and more. Our team comes from industry - from womenswear, menswear, kidswear and interiors, to sport and youth, accessories and footwear and intimates/swimwear. All have a deep understanding of their specialist areas, delivering creative intelligence across the supply chain.

Chief Executive Officer
Neil Bradford
Neil Bradford came to WGSN with a wealth of experience in managing growth and diversification in companies providing major international information services. As chief executive he has oversight of WGSN's worldwide expansion and continued business growth and development. He oversees a team of 250 researchers, analysts and account managers based in London, with regional headquarters in New York and Hong Kong.
Before joining WGSN, Neil was founder and CEO of OrderWork, a venture fund-backed technology start-up that connected consumers with local IT resources. Prior to that, he was president of the Americas for Forrester Research, the global technology research company. He joined Forrester when he sold them his company, Fletcher Research in 1999. Neil started his career at management consultancy McKinsey & Company.
PA to CEO
Charlie Craggs
Content Director
Juliet Warkentin
Juliet Warkentin is a communications strategist, marketer and editor. She has introduced change programmes, worked on brand regeneration and managed client relationships at a senior level in many of the industry’s top companies.
Since joining WGSN in 2007, she has led content strategy across web and consultancy, heading a team of 110 experts in four creative hubs and as a senior content contact for clients across the world. Juliet has also been a speaker at industry events in Paris, Hong Kong, São Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and across Canada.

Prior to joining WGSN, Juliet spent five years as editorial director at Redwood, the UK’s leading publishing agency, producing editorial content for clients including Harvey Nichols, Marks & Spencer, Sotheby’s, Virgin, Boots, British Telecom, The Co-operative Group and the NSPCC.

Previously Juliet was a partner at creative strategy consultancy The Fourth Room, working with Coca-Cola UK and RHM and was managing director, marketing and internet development at the Arcadia Group. Her editorships include the UK edition of Marie Claire, UK fashion trade bible Drapers Record and Toronto Life Fashion in her native Canada.
Creative Director
Barbara Kennington
A trained designer, Barbara is the one founding members of WGSN. It was her early experience of the late 70s/early 80s design scene in London and her work with design consultancies for The Bureaux, Textile View and Marks & Spencer that helped inspire the foundation of what has become the world’s leading creative intelligence provider. Barbara is based in London.
Global Managing Editor - Trends
Catriona Macnab
Based in London, Catriona manages the WGSN’s Trends team, responsible for identifying upcoming fashion and lifestyle trends and the motivations behind them. She works with WGSN clients in a consultancy role running in-house trend sessions to pinpoint the key trends and their relevance for different businesses.
In past roles she has been responsible for trend and product development, most notably at The Woolmark Company, where Catriona also managed strategic alliances and analysed colours two years ahead of the current retail season. Possessing extensive experience of international textile, fashion and interior industries, Catriona has BA and MA degrees in textiles from The Glasgow School of Art and The Royal College of Art.
Global Managing Editor - Youth, Street & Sport and Think Tank
Maria Janssen
Maria is a creative thinker with a strong product background, experienced in translating visionary ideas into strategies and everyday reality. Having joined WGSN in 2007, she became the Global Managing Editor for Youth, Street & Sport and Think Tank in the same year and now leads these teams in identifying and translating emerging trends and influences into a cohesive WGSN creative direction.
A former design director at Nike, Maria has strong creative credentials in premium sportswear and luxury high-street brands, working for Pringle, Marks & Spencer, Michiko Koshino and lecturing at the BA fashion course at Kingston University. Maria is a key speaker at global seminars and closely works with some of our biggest clients on strategy and creative direction.
Born in the Netherlands, Maria holds a degree in fashion design from London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Global Managing Editor - Business, Reporting & Analysis
Sandra Halliday
Sandra Halliday is an experienced business writer, editor, consultant and commentator covering the international fashion, retail, duty free and cosmetics sectors. In her 10 years at WGSN, she has edited and developed the News area of the site, introduced the Trade Shows directory and co-launched the Beauty directory. She is now focused on developing WGSN’s business and celebrity reporting, as well as our future thinking Think Tank area and driving our entry into the market report segment.
Sandra has also commented regularly for news organisations, including the BBC, on fashion and retail industry issues. Prior to joining WGSN, Sandra edited a raft of business and consumer magazines in English and German, including Cosmetics International and Hair & Beauty. She also authored market reports for the haircare category and acted as a consultant for Japanese companies seeking acquisitions in Europe.
Global Managing Editor - Retail & Events
Ashleigh Burnside
Ashleigh Burnside is a fashion analyst, buyer and information specialist. With an award-winning degree from the Scottish College of Textiles, she worked at Harvey Nichols on the menswear and women’s accessories buying teams before joining WGSN. Ashleigh has worked across the information side of WGSN as an analyst and writer, and currently runs the Retail & Events division of the service. She recently led WGSN’s newest product launches, WGSN Store Finder and WGSN Image Search and speaks regularly at seminars across the world.
Head of Design
Billy Tennent
Billy has over 20 years of design industry experience, with more than 10 of those in new and interactive media. As Head of Design, Billy is responsible for all visual aspects of WGSN products, which include Web+, WGSN Live and WGSN Community. He acts as our creative lead and speaks and consults on behalf of the company.
Billy is former creative director of The Edge Picture Company and Paper Tiger, where his clients included Amazon, Tesco, Tate Modern and Channel 4. He is a former Perrier Photographer of the Year and has works in the National Gallery of Scotland permanent collection.
Content PA
Tamsin Phillips
DIRECTORY TEAMS
Think Tank/Trends Research
Ruth Marshall-Johnson, Senior Editor
Ruth is a journalist and fashion analyst focusing on far-reaching future trends. Trained at London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, she has worked on The Telegraph Magazine, The Fashion and Elle. Ruth was also assistant to fashion historian Judith Watt, researching books on Ossie Clark as well as a collection of books called Writers in Vogue before joining WGSN on the Womenswear team. As leader of the Think Tank directory, Ruth is responsible for WGSN’s forward- thinking agenda. Ruth regularly speaks at international conferences and recently appeared on the BBC documentary, British Style Genius.
Jane Kellock, Senior Trend Consultant
Jane has 20 years’ experience as a trend forecaster and designer. After achieving a degree in fashion & textiles she worked first in manufacturing, then at Topshop as head of design, identifying trends and managing the design team. Jane has worked freelance for many big retail chains and major forecasting companies. At WGSN she coordinates the Colour, Trends & Research team and identifies emerging trends and translates them into inspiring, informative and usable information.
Womenswear - Future Trends
Mark Watson, Senior Editor
Mark Watson is a visionary thinker and accomplished designer with over 15 years’ experience in fashion design and future trends forecasting. After graduating from the Royal College of Art with a Masters in womenswear fashion, Mark went on to design couture and ready-to-wear collections for international brand Escada and spent four years based in Germany.
Mark joined WGSN in 1999 and is one of the original team members. An experienced designer, illustrator, colour specialist and stylist, Mark has extensive fashion history knowledge and pattern -cutting skills. No stranger to the world of glamour, Mark’s previous roles have included designing couture wedding dresses and red carpet Oscar attire for Hollywood stars including Jennifer Lopez, Angela Bassett and Kim Basinger. He has styled France’s First Lady Carla Bruni and designed costumes for international ballet performances.
Jude Weaver, Associate Editor
Jude has worked for 15 years as a designer and trend consultant in the forecasting industry. A senior designer at d.cipher, and IN.D.EX, her clients included Liz Claiborne, Fred Perry, The Gap, Levi’S, H&M and Marks & Spencer. Supplying colour, surface and lifestyle trend information to Sony, Nokia, Nike and Abercrombie & Fitch, she has produced menswear trend directions for Textile View Magazine for over 10 years and womenswear trends for both House of Fraser and Debenhams.
Melanie Plank, Associate Editor
Melanie has worked as a fashion editor for International Textiles Magazine Trend, a consultant to Bodywear magazine, and has served as a member of the International Colour Authority board. As design consultant for the World Bank in Cambodia she assisted local fairtrade organisations with designs and marketing.
Kathryn Kenny, Associate Editor
Graduating as a footwear designer from Cordwainers at London College of Fashion, Kathryn has worked for UK-based company Georgina Goodman and developed design collaborations with Evans, Alexander McQueen, New Look, Casadei and Pollini in Italy.
Elise Slater, Associate Editor
Elise is an internationally experienced womenswear designer and trend consultant for brands in both the UK and Australia. Following an honours degree in fashion and textile design at the University of Technology in Sydney, Elise was a designer for Bonds Australia, where she developed a range of sustainable lingerie - while her other forays into sustainable design are on display at Sydney’s Powerhouse Design Museum. Since joining WGSN’s London team Elise helped start up the Close- to-Season directory and is a member of the Womenswear and Think Tank teams.
Womenswear - Close-to-Season
Ruth Chapple, Senior Editor
Womenswear consultant with extensive knowledge of all aspects of the design process, from initial concept through to branding and marketing and all levels of pre-production. Experience covers all market levels from mass market to catwalk across all areas of trend direction, design, print and graphics, wovens, jersey, denim and knitwear - specialising in women's casualwear. Previous clients include Primark, Esprit Europe, Sainsbury's and Foot Locker. Ruth Chapple also spent three years working as a stage manager for Riverdance.
Rosario Chan, Senior Editor (Maternity Cover)
Since graduating in 1994, Rosario has worked as a freelance fashion designer of smart/casual womenswear for many well-known names on the high street, including Marks & Spencer, Zara, Next and Milliondollarbabe. Her experience covers each stage of the production process, from concept to point-of-sale, including comparative research, pattern cutting, fabric and print sourcing and presentations to buyers and clients.
Tammy Shemesh, Junior Womenswear Designer
Graduating with a degree in fashion design and technology from Manchester Metropolitan University, Tammy has worked in the design teams at Burberry and Boxfresh. Tammy joined WGSN as a retail analyst travelling the globe for WGSN’s What’s in Store directory, gaining extensive global retail and brand knowledge which she now applies to her role in Close-to-Season. Tammy has an eye for spotting the hottest celebrity style that will influence future fashion trends. With her passion for windows and display, Tammy also contributes to the Visual Merchandising directory.
Jacqui Walker, Womenswear Designer
After completing a fashion degree at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Jacqui worked abroad designing for an international denim manufacturer and then subsequently designed ladies’ casualwear for a leading Marks & Spencer supplier.
Photini Anastasi, Graphic and Print Designer
Graduating as a print designer from Chelsea College of Arts, Photini went on to win the Print Prize in 2003 awarded by Texprint, allowing her to freelance and work on commissions for various designers and companies including Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Gap, Topshop, WGSN, Bedeck and Liberty, to name a few. Photini has also worked for a major supplier for the UK high street focusing on print trends and design.
Menswear
Volker Ketteniss, Senior Editor
Volker joined WGSN from global brand Timberland, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge of the menswear industry. His role as senior designer included research and design for the Timberland Boot Co and mainline apparel collections for Europe and Asia. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in London in the late 90s, he went on to work for Griffin Studio, developing consultancy projects for global clients such as Kenzo. He then moved to Fake London Genius designing premium denim and jeanswear collections.
Douglas Gilbey, Associate Editor
Douglas’ particular strengths lie in trend, colour and knitwear direction, skills he honed in his 10 years’ experience as a menswear designer for leading UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, Jaeger and Burton Menswear (Arcadia Group, UK).
Ben Perdue, Associate Editor
With 10 years’ experience as a fashion journalist and trend consultant in print and web media, Ben previously worked as a TV stylist for the BBC and directed commercial projects for Topman, Ben Sherman, Levi’s and adidas. He began his career at Sleazenation, the iconic fashion and lifestyle monthly magazine based in London.
Perry-John Parker, Menswear CAD Designer
Since graduating from the prestigious Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, Perry has collaborated with Lanificio Cerruti, producing work in progress for future collections, while also consulting on fabric development with the Cerruti team. Working with London-based designer Todd Lynn, Perry brought his strong experience within the menswear industry to produce all of Lynn’s CAD packages. Perry joined WGSN in 2008.
Footwear/Accessories
Suzanne Huey, Senior Editor
Sue is an MA graduate from the Royal College of Art in London with 11 years’ experience in footwear and accessories design. Before joining WGSN in 1998 Sue headed up the footwear and accessories department of international brand Escada, spending five years in Germany. Sue has also worked on major advertising productions for TV commercials and music videos and recently co- authoured New Shoes, a book on new young footwear talent published in July 2007. She is currently in the process of writing her second book, about luxury bag designers, due for release in October 2009.
Jacqui Ma, Associate Editor, Accessories
With a business degree and graduating from industrial design from the University of Canberra in Australia and Les Ateliers in Paris, Jacqui has designed “soft” products that integrate technology, for Nokia, Microsoft and Motorola. Her transition into accessories came via designing airline interiors with London design consultancy Opius. With seven years’ experience in accessories design, Jacqui has been responsible for luggage design at Tripp for Debenhams and its collaboration with Jasper Conran, before her most recent role as senior accessories designer for Puma International.
Claire Foster, Associate Editor, Footwear & Accessories
Since gaining a fashion design degree at UCE in Birmingham, Claire has been involved in a number of creative and womenswear design-based roles and projects. She established a womenswear design collective and retail space, which culminated in running her own womenswear and accessories label No Dice.
Rachel Jones,Trends Consultant, Footwear & Accessories
Graduating from Glasgow School of Art with a BA (Hons) in textile design, Rachel went on to complete a postgraduate in Footwear Design at the prestigious Cordwainers at London College of Fashion. With over eight years at WGSN she is a highly experienced member of the trends team specialising in Footwear, Accessories and Colour and is a key contributor to Think Tank and consultancy projects.
Rachel started her own footwear brand, Rae Jones, in 2008, which is currently stocked in Poste Mistress, Harvey Nichols and selected independent retailers. She has co-edited a book for DAAB called Shoe Design and continues to design footwear and accessories on a freelance basis.
Ima Campbell, Associate Editor, Footwear & Accessories
After gaining an honours degree in graphic and media design from London College of Printing and a diploma from Central Saint Martins, Ima had five years’ international experience as a colour and graphic designer in footwear at adidas in Germany. Her role included graphics, forecasting and research, and she worked with Yohji Yamamoto and Stella McCartney. Ima has also worked as a designer at Lacoste, designing women’s and sports footwear, as well as helping to create the first full children’s line for the company.
Intimate Apparel/Swimwear
Cat van Baal, Senior Editor
Bringing 10 years of experience from the lingerie and swim industries, Cat has broad experience working in design, trends and pattern cutting for leading retailers, most recently on collaborations with Jasper Conran, Julien Macdonald and Frost French for Designers at Debenhams. Prior to embarking on a career in lingerie and swimwear design, Cat achieved a first-class degree in contour fashion from the specialist course at De Montfort, Leicester and won New Designers 1999. This led to various commissions to produce conceptual fashion sculpture projects to create work that has toured alongside milliner Dai Rees and Caroline Broadhead. Since joining WGSN in January 2007, Cat has recruited a new team of specialists and plays a part as a key member of the WGSN Colour team and as a contributor to consultancy projects and Think Tank.
Jo Lynch, Associate Editor
Jo has worked in the fashion industry for over eight years. Since graduating from Kingston University with a fashion design degree, she has created concepts and designed collections for Diesel while living in Italy for four years. Jo has also worked as a casualwear designer and denim specialist for Topshop, Fake Genius, Timberland and Blueblood, and held responsibility for design, production and seasonal research trips that have taken her all over the globe. Now a lingerie specialist for WGSN, Jo also explores her passion for design, vintage and music through her own lingerie label, Bela’s Dead, stocked by Selfridges in London.
Lucy Ball, Associate Editor
Lucy designs seasonal lingerie, sleep and swimwear future trends for the WGSN Intimates team. She brings six years’ experience of pattern cutting and manufacture after working for Aura Ltd covering designs for French Connection, Debenhams, Myla and Contessa Lingerie. She then went on to work for the small luxury brand Frankly Darling, before joining lingerie pioneers Agent Provocateur designing ranges seen in campaigns with Kate Moss, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine Bailey and Daisy Lowe. Lucy graduated from The Nottingham Trent School of Art and Design with a degree in fashion and knitwear.
Ellie Hay, Assistant Editor
An experienced trends editor, Ellie has worked on fashion forecasting projects for Nike and Anterior Insight. Ellie has produced installations for London’s b Store as well as creative projects for Simon Thorogood and smaller niche designers. She has also worked as a fashion editorial assistant for Pop magazine, Hussein Chalayan, Wonderland and Harpers & Queen. Ellie graduated from The Surrey Institute of Art & Design with a BA (Hons) in fashion promotion & illustration.
Kidswear
Fiona Coleman, Senior Editor
Fiona is a childrenswear expert with 20 years’ experience in colour, trend forecasting and product development. A strong conceptual designer, she has worked globally for a number of brands and retailers at all market levels - including four years as senior designer at Paul Smith, working on childrenswear collections in the UK and Japan. Fiona joined WGSN six years ago, while continuing to consult for companies such as Oilily, Evisu, Fat Face and Naturino as well as working in Tokyo for mega brand Uniqlo. Since taking over the role as Senior Editor in 2006, Fiona has revolutionised the world of kids’ trends for WGSN, as well as being a key member of the Think Tank colour team.
Molly Price, Associate Editor
Molly joined the WGSN Kidswear team after spending four years working as childrenswear designer for Baby Gap and Gap Kids, in both New York and London. After graduating from London College of Fashion, Molly worked for companies in the UK and US, incluing Macy’s and American Eagle Outfitters, focusing on the kids’ market.
Allison Goodfellow, Associate Editor
Prior to joining WGSN in 2007, Allison worked within the UK/European and Asian supply and manufacturing sector. With a total of 10 years’ fashion design and development experience within childrenswear, youth and womenswear, she has worked on accounts for retailers that include Ted Baker, Inditex Group, Next, Bershka, Republic, New Look, Tesco, Adams and Primark.
Ellen Kirkhope, Associate Editor
Having graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design with an honours degree in graphic design, Ellen has over six years’ experience in print, design and trend gained through a varied and creative background designing for small independent companies as well as large global organisations including The Walt Disney Company. Ellen has extensive knowledge of the kids’ and youth markets and has vast licensing expertise.
Interiors
Louise Chidgey, Senior Editor
Completing a history of design degree with a thesis on Terence Conran, Louise began her career working for the man himself. Working her way up the ladder, Louise became senior buyer for the textiles, glass, bed, bath and seasonal departments, focusing on brand and product development for the Conran Shops and Conran Collection worldwide. After working for Tom Conran for a number of years, Louise worked as a buying/retail consultant for Absolute Flowers, Nicole Farhi Home, The Nest and Wolff Olins before moving to a permanent position with Vittorio Radice. Louise joined WGSN in 2005, and since holding the position of senior editor has implemented new product categories to the directory - including downloadable artwork for all surface pattern - and presented trends seminars at international trade shows in the UK, Europe and the US.
Sarah Shepherd, Senior Trend Consultant
Sarah is a BA graduate in printed textiles from the Glasgow School of Art and has 20 years’ specialist experience in the industry. Starting her career designing scarf and swimwear textiles Sarah then moved to Debenhams where she worked within the homewares department developing product, colour and trend packages. After a year exploring China and India, Sarah returned to London to work for an international design consultancy with retail and manufacturing clients in the UK, US, Japan and South East Asia. Since joining WGSN in 1999, Sarah has been a pivotal member of the Interiors team. She is also a key member of the WGSN Trends team and a contributor to Think Tank.
Gail Bryson, Print Designer
Gail graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a degree in printed textile design. She began her career at The Conran Shop where she was the textile designer and colourist. After four years with Conran and a stint working in New York, Gail joined London-based design and branding agency The Nest where she became design director. Gail joined Neal’s Yard Remedies in 2005 to become brand director, and in 2006 started working for herself on a variety of product and packaging design projects including work for Heal’s, Habitat, Pedlars, Mandarin Oriental and Jamie Oliver. Gail acts as a consultant for WGSN and is shareholder in start-up bathlinen company Balineum.
Claire Walsh, Associate Editor
Claire Walsh began her career at London design consultancy The Nest, where she worked on photographic and interiors projects for Miller Harris, BA Shopping the World, Neal’s Yard and Coles Myer. Claire then moved to Melbourne to work as an interiors stylist, before returning to the UK a few years ago. Researching and writing for the Interiors team, Claire also works as an interiors and still life stylist - working for clients including Habitat, Seven Squared Publishing and Elle Decoration.
Knitwear
Helen Palmer, Senior Editor
Helen is a knitwear expert with 14 years’ experience in knitwear design, colour and textile trend forecasting. She was formerly creative director of a London-based knitwear studio creating rapid-response, high-fashion knitwear for the high street. At Woolmark Design International she collaborated on innovative product development programmes with leading industry partners in yarn and knitwear development. Helen has acted as knitwear consultant to Peclers and to International Textiles Magazine, and is currently a visiting lecturer in knitwear design at The University of Brighton.
Carly Walker, Assistant Editor
Since graduating at the University of Central Lancashire from a fashion design degree, to date Carly has worked as a design assistant for Burton Menswear, Arcadia Group and at Burberry Prorsum as a product developer covering both menswear and womenswear design.
Denim
Sue Barrett, Senior Editor
Sue Barrett joined WGSN in 2005 as a Senior Editor and set up the WGSN Denim directory in May 2006. A highly experienced and well-respected denim and trend analyst and forecaster, with a strong background in fashion design and brand positioning, Sue has a cultural awareness that transcends fashion, bringing the voice of the street into the corporate mix and focusing it into a relevant commercial tool. With 15 years’ experience in the denim and casualwear markets, Sue has a strong global knowledge of denim and casualwear textiles, washes and manufacturing. She has worked as a senior designer creating pan-European and global ranges for leading denim brands and manufacturers, including Wrangler, Lee, Tommy Hilfiger Europe and Firetrap.
Amy Leverton, Associate Editor
Amy joined WGSN in 2007 as Associate Editor of our Denim directory. Amy has six years’ experience in both men’s and women’s denim and casualwear markets, working for brands such as Oki-Ni, Next Sourcing, Warehouse and Ungaro. Amy has a sharp eye for emerging street trends and styles, and in her spare time directs music videos for successful avant-garde bands. Amy graduated from Kingston University, London in 2003.
Active Sports
Martin Davis-Skjoth, Senior Editor
Martin brings 14 years’ experience to WGSN as a seasoned apparel/lifestyle designer across three continents. His role at Nike in Hong Kong covered the whole Asia Pacific region and with Reebok WHQ in Boston he launched global as well as domestic apparel lines.
Lucesca Holmes, Associate Editor
A first-class honours degree in fashion promotion and three years’ industry experience in the global activewear sector have enabled Lucesca to use her market-specific knowledge and passion for sport to provide expert trend analysis for the performance, lifestyle and youth markets at WGSN.
Laurie Robertson, Consultant
With three years’ experience in trends forecasting, Laurie contributes substantial trends expertise to the editorial content covering Think Tank, Active Sport and Youth. Graduating with a first-class honours degree, Laurie went on to train at London's Royal College of Art in printed textiles. She also runs her own outdoor accessories brand, Anorak.
Youth
Laura-Jane Preston, Editor
A widely travelled London College of Fashion-trained youth fashion specialist, Laura-Jane is a leading authority on directional street style and its interpretation into commercial trends for the fashion industry at large. An integral member of the WGSN team since 2000, Laura-Jane ensures that the global Youth offering is consistently fresh, inspiring and exciting - co-coordinating WGSN's extensive global street style coverage from over 60 key events and cities each year.
Sonia Ferrer, Associate Editor
Sonia joined WGSN in 2009 as Associate Editor in Youth on the back of 10 years’ experience as a designer and trend forecasting consultant. Having worked and collaborated with leading brands and retailers including Oysho, Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka (Inditex Group), Sonia relocated from Barcelona to London to join the Youth team and brings with her extensive knowledge of the fashion industry. Passionate about graphics trends and the underground music industry, Sonia’s expertise contributes to WGSN’s analysis of youth street trends.
Print and Graphics
Chris Coleman, Senior Editor
Chris joined WGSN in 2005 as Senior Editor of our Graphics directory and is based in London. A highly experienced graphic designer, Chris has spent 13 years in the fashion and packaging world with companies such as Firetrap, Big Hit (owners of Kangol, Admiral Sportswear and the MTV T-shirt label), Arcadia Group, Kuyichi and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as designing for record labels including Fierce Panda, Firefly Recordings in the UK and Defiance Records in Germany.
Alice Clarkson, Assistant Editor
Since graduating from a fashion/textile degree at Brighton in 2004, Alice has been involved in trends consulting for companies including Peclers in Paris and d.cipher in London. An expert print designer Alice has worked for Tom Cody Design, Criminal, Zara and Gio Goi.
Materials
Philippa Wagner, Materials & Innovation Consultant
A pioneer in bringing together the world of textiles, fashion and technology through her work as senior design consultant for Philips Electronics, Philippa is a consultant for many key companies. She has brought in innovations and strategies for companies including Nike, Marks & Spencer and Orange. Currently she is a visiting lecturer at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art, London.
Sarah Dennis, Associate Editor
With an MA in printed textile design, Sarah is a trend researcher who specialises in researching new innovations and developments within the industry, tracking emerging designers and working on material, surface and graphics/print concepts for future trends.
Catwalks
Sue Evans, Senior Editor
Since graduating from the Royal College of Art, Sue has had a long and distinguished career in trend forecasting and fashion consultancy, working with international retailers and manufacturers including Onward Kashiyama, Isetan, Bloomingdale’s, Coca-Cola, Shiseido and Arcadia.>
Sue has been with WGSN since its launch in 1998 and was instrumental in creating the Catwalks, What’s in Store and Close-to-Season directories. During catwalk season, Sue’s analytical skills bring a compelling commercial perspective to the 20,000 images she edits. Sue also presents WGSN trend seminars around the world and has been a contributor to Textile View magazine for the past 15 years.
News
Nigel Taylor, News Editor
Nigel is a news and business journalist specialising in fashion, retail and cosmetics and joined WGSN in 1999. Since then he has focused his 30 years of experience on growing our news reporting around the world and turning the news desk into a 24/7 operation. Nigel has tracked the ups and downs of the international retail and merger and acquisition segment for a decade and is also a specialist in the international automotive and cosmetics industries, co-launching our Beauty directory. Prior to joining WGSN, Nigel reported from around the world for Conference & Incentive Travel, Cosmetics Business World, Retail Jeweller and Hairdresser’s Journal.
Andrew Jobling, Deputy News Editor/Technology Editor
News and business journalist Andrew joined WGSN in 1999 and is currently Deputy News Editor, reporting on and analysing events across the international retail, business and textile industries. He is also a specialist in consumer electronics, sports and materials innovations and, through his dual role as Technology Editor, is a frequent reporter from industry events and conferences around the world, keeping both eyes on the future by analysing and interpreting the latest forward-thinking developments.
Business Resource
Angela Rumsey, Senior Editor
Angela joined WGSN in 2006 as Senior Editor of the Business Resource directory and is based in London. An experienced business-to-business journalist, Angela has reported on international business, marketing and media since launching her editorial career in 2001, making full use of her degree in modern languages from the University of Manchester. Before joining WGSN she was deputy editor of Emap’s Media & Marketing Europe. Working with a network of global contributors, Angela oversees our business content and is also co-editor of WGSN’s Fashion Reports.
The Magazine & Beauty
Alice Leeburn, Style, Media & Beauty Editor
A first-class honours graduate of textile design, PG Cert in fashion & lifestyle journalism and RSA student design award winner, Alice has worked as a fashion stylist for music videos and television, and stylist/writer for print and online publications including Cosmopolitan, FHM.com, FHM, The Face, Arena Homme+, Your M&S and The Independent.
As senior editor of The Magazine and Beauty directories, Alice is responsible for WGSN’s extensive red carpet, celebrity style, entertainment, media and advertising coverage, as well as WGSN’s daily international Fashion Press Bulletin. For Beauty, Alice has built up a strong contacts book and provides subscribers with the latest global trends in products and styling, new technology, retail and advertising, as well as essential market reports, trade show coverage and seasonal product and gifting round-ups.
Jodie Ball, Associate Style, Media & Beauty Editor
An award-winning journalist with a first-class degree in fashion journalism, Jodie has an unerring eye for spotting the hottest celebrity and style trends that will influence the brands and looks consumers will buy next. She travels extensively with WGSN, providing daily show reportage from the major European Fashion Weeks. Jodie is also a successful freelance journalist, having written for titles as varied as The Fashion & Textile Museum arts magazine and Dubai fashion glossy Emirates Woman.
Libby Banks, Assistant Style, Media & Beauty Editor
A talented writer who can turn her hand to style reports, business features and beauty trends - having previously written for glossy consumer magazines, hard news agencies and national newspapers. Libby travels extensively to report on the latest developments in the creative industries and has experience of the Asia Pacific retail market, having spent time as a fashion journalist in the region.
Rachel Arthur, Assistant Style, Media & Beauty Editor
A first-class honours graduate from London College of Fashion, Rachel also has a postgraduate diploma in journalism, which has seen her write about entertainment and style for local newspapers and international celebrity magazines. Since joining WGSN in mid 2007, she has helped build up the site’s Beauty directory and reported from around the globe at industry events. Rachel now focuses on media and showbusiness, covering everything from the red carpet to the hottest new TV shows.
Retail
Lorna Hall, Senior Editor, Retail Talk
Lorna is a business journalist with 11 years' experience of writing about and commentating on the fashion market. Before joining WGSN she was the executive editor of the UK’s award-winning fashion trade magazine Drapers. As Senior Editor of the Retail Talk directory, Lorna is responsible for keeping the industry informed on best practice and innovation across all forms of retail. Lorna speaks at and chairs international apparel conferences and seminars, most recently she chaired a luxury fashion retailing session at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona. She is a regular commentator on the fashion trade via international media.
Amanda Carr, Senior Editor, Store Design & Visual Merchandising
A fashion merchandiser with 18 years’ industry experience, including global visual merchandiser at Laura Ashley, fashion merchandiser at the Whistles Group and senior fashion merchandising manager at Liberty, Amanda combines deep industry knowledge with her journalistic skills. Amanda has acted as a merchandising consultant for numerous UK retail brands and is a guest lecturer on the fashion industry at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and London College of Fashion.
Jayne Bibby, Assistant Editor
Trained fashion journalist Jayne Bibby has spent the last two years sourcing product trends from across the world for What’s in Store. Now part of the Retail Talk team, Jayne combines retail knowledge with her fashion buying experience at Kookaï to spot the best-selling products and trends for the season ahead.
What’s in Store
Francesca Muston, Senior Editor
Francesca runs WGSN's market-leading What's in Store team, ensuring that 10,000+ retail photos are filed on a monthly basis from cities across the world. An experienced fashion retail analyst, Francesca’s eye is honed by daily coverage of the international retail scene. A graduate of The University of Central Lancashire’s fashion promotion course and a Graduate Fashion Week Award winner, Francesca worked in graphic design before joining WGSN in 2003.
Katie Sturch, Associate Editor
Trained textile designer Katie Sturch thrives on analysing hot retail and merchandising trends. Katie worked alongside our Interiors team before joining What’s in Store in 2006.
Claire Dickinson, Assistant Editor
Trained in styling and photography, London College of Fashion graduate Claire Dickinson brings her in-depth product knowledge to WGSN’s comprehensive product tracking directory.
Trade Shows
Gemma Harker, Senior Events Editor
A multi-tasking senior editor/journalist, with stints at Condé Nast Traveller and Sunday Times Style under her belt, Gemma coordinates WGSN’s unrivalled events coverage. Gemma’s extensive annual schedule includes attending and editing over 80 trade shows and 20 international fashion weeks a season.
Caroline Attwood, Associate Editor
MA-trained fashion journalist with experience of setting up Australian magazine UV and working at The Daily Telegraph, Caroline helps coordinate WGSN’s extensive trade show coverage providing seasonal overviews of the hottest brands to buy each season.
City by City
Jo Marshall, Senior Travel & Arts Editor
Trained in fashion and lifestyle journalism at the London College of Fashion, Jo is a seasoned style journalist, having been editor of WGSN’s Asia and Europe reporting teams with extensive reporting from Milan, before heading up the City by City directory. Fluent in French, Spanish and Italian, she has lived and worked in Europe and South America and continues to travel extensively, updating the directory’s 140+ city guides and reporting from major art fairs and events.
Lindsey Dupler, Associate Travel & Arts Editor
With a background in luxury travel PR and nearly five years spent honing her coolhunting skills for City by City, perennial traveller Lindsey Dupler is an expert on where to go and what to see. Her favourite cities? Berlin "for its bohemian hedonism", Milan "it’s a city that grows on you more and more each time you visit" and London "because there's no place like home".
Catrin Davies, Associate Travel & Arts Editor
A London College of Fashion-trained journalist with a background in styling for UK titles including The Sunday Telegraph, Catrin has been clocking up the airmiles for the City by City team over the past four years, filling her little black book with the best hidden addresses on the global fashion and arts scene. Well-versed in covering exhibitions and international arts fairs, Catrin is also an experienced arts writer.
Generation Now
Cassie Fitzpatrick, Associate Editor/EDU Editor
With her finger on the pulse and an expert eye for detail, Cassie thrives on discovering new talent for the Generation Now directory. Cassie also works as a freelance stylist for established and up-and-coming musical talent.
INTERNATIONAL TEAMS
US - East Coast
Helen Job, Head of East Coast Content
Helen Job oversees WGSN’s editorial operation on the East Coast of the US, managing a team of trend forecasters, journalists and designers. She is highly regarded for her expertise in trend analysis and forecasting, most notably in the youth, denim, street and graphics markets.
In addition to her editorial responsibilities, Helen is a member of WGSN’s trend forecasting research team, has served as a presenter at WGSN’s fashion trend seminars and spoken at a number of conferences worldwide.
Helen is a professor on the fashion marketing AAS programme at Parsons The New School for Design and serves on the advisory board for the Capsule trade show. She has featured as a trends expert in international publications including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and appeared on ABC and NBC news.
Claire Hamilton, Editor, Retail & Events
Claire Hamilton is responsible for WGSN’s East Coast retail news, city guides and art reviews, as well as coverage of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York and catwalk shows throughout South and Central America. Claire has contributed to CNN International and Forbes.com, and her background includes tenures with Gap and Victoria’s Secret working in product sourcing and development, as well as experience in the cataloguing and appraisal of antique decorative arts. She graduated with a BA in humanities from McGill University.
Vilislava Petrova, Associate Editor, Youth, Street & Sport
Vilislava Petrova is responsible for all East Coast-based reporting on active sports, menswear, footwear and accessories. Vili comes to WGSN from Puma where, as an accomplished colour and trends designer, she handled the development and design of Puma’s women’s and streetwear product lines. Prior to that, Vili worked in creative development for retail spaces, ads, catalogues and packaging as a graphic designer at Reebok. Vili has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in graphic arts from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.
Anu Athri, Associate Editor, Trends
Anupama Athri focuses on womenswear, close-to-season and long-term trends, reporting for WGSN throughout the eastern region of the US. Anu has significant experience in fashion design and product development and has held senior design and product development positions at India’s Gini & Jony Apparel Private Label Ltd and Gokaldas Images Ltd, and served as a guest lecturer on womenswear design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), India’s premier fashion institution. Most recently, as design and product development manager at Gokaldas Images USA, she created over 500 styles annually for the in-house menswear and womenswear collections. Anu has a Masters in fashion and textiles from Nottingham Trent University and a graduate diploma in fashion design from NIFT.
Ann Larsson, Editorial Assistant
Ann Larsson reports primarily on youth culture in New York including inspirational artists, musicians and street style. In addition, Ann covers visual merchandising and retail trends and New York hot spots and events. Ann has held merchandising positions at interiors boutiques and at vintage store Wochdom in Paris, and has also worked at Louis Vuitton in New York, where she supported its in-store art initiatives. Ann has a bachelor of business administration degree in design & management from Parsons The New School for Design, and has also studied at Oxford and La Sorbonne.
US - West Coast
Sally Lohan, Head of West Coast Content
A talented journalist and designer with degrees from University College London and the London College of Fashion, Sally has a wealth of experience in fashion trend analysis, as well as print and online media. She has worked for the Sunday Times, the Independent and the Daily Express and has spoken at trend conferences worldwide. She also teaches trends at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in LA.
Allyson Rees, Associate Editor, Retail & Events
Christy Wu, Associate Editor, Youth, Street & Sport
With five-plus-years’ experience in apparel design, Christy has worked extensively in the contemporary sportswear sector, most recently as designer of womenswear at Paul Frank Industries. Before coming to the West Coast, Christy worked for Taiwan-based company Jun Menswear and New York-based Banana Republic, with a focus on intimates/swimwear. She is a fashion graduate of Parsons The New School for Design.
Europe
Anna Laub, Europe Editor
Having gained experience in the fashion world working behind the scenes with designers including Hussein Chalayan and companies such as GenArt and Aurelia PR, Anna went on to spend her formative journalistic years setting up bilingual youth culture magazine, PURE, in France. Anna went on to hone her skills working at Arena and Condé Nast Traveller, as well as fashion editing at The Daily Mail. Anna now regularly contributes to The New York Times: T magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald and The LA Times. Anna’s European experience extends from the high-end fashion markets of Paris and Milan, to the underground scenes of cities such as Stockholm, Berlin and Barcelona.
Hong Kong
Angelia Teo, Head of Content, Asia Pacific
Based in Hong Kong, Angelia oversees an expert team and a network of freelancers across the Asia Pacific region. She is skilled in assessing and analysing up-to-date information on retail, trends, business and regional hot spots. Coming from a consumer lifestyle background, Angelia has a wealth of experience across a variety of topics, from travel to technology. A Singaporean, Angelia is best known at home for her work with Harper’s Bazaar and her involvement in FashBash, Singapore’s celebrated cult shopping event.
Amy-Ling O’Heney, Head of Trends, Asia Pacific
Amy-Ling relocated from our London HQ to Hong Kong to head up our trends coverage for the Asia Pacific region. A highly experienced designer before joining WGSN, Amy-Ling worked in the luxury accessories sector consulting leading brands including Fabergé and Moschino. Originally working in Italy as a footwear designer for J.P.Tod’s and then Furla, Amy-Ling went on to specialise in accessories at the Royal College of Art in London before joining Asian brands Evisu and Oki-Ni as the design director of the deluxe accessories lines. As Head of Trends for the Asia Pacific region, Amy-Ling is responsible for hunting out all the newest, shiniest trends from Asia and feeding them back to our London headquarters.
Frances Henzie, Associate Editor
Frances is an experienced writer and editor, whose areas of expertise include business, marketing, culture and technology. She has a talent for spotting the latest business trends and news stories for Asia Pacific and is also currently responsible for WGSN’s city guides and art reviews specific to the region.
Ng Yi Lian, Associate Editor, Retail & Events
A trained journalist, Yi Lian has styled for and reported on the fashion and beauty industries in the South East Asian market. Working to deliver up-to-the-minute retail analysis in the Asia Pacific region, Yi Lian has a strong sense of retail and product trends and is an expert navigator around the region’s major shopping districts.
Tokyo
Reiko Kuwabara, Japan Correspondent
London College of Fashion graduate Reiko has experience as a London correspondent for Japanese publications including Elle Japon, Elle Girl, Senken Shimbun, Spring, Jille and InRed. She has also worked as an assistant buyer for the Tokyo-based multibrand boutique Side by Side.
CONSULTANTS
Yasemin Kreidlmayer, Footwear & Accessories
Sarah Zigrand, Footwear & Accessories
Having studied at Cordwainers at The London College of Fashion and the Royal College of Art, Sarah is now a footwear designer for Hussein Chalayan. Sarah is also developing her own line, an artisan range of footwear and accessories made by hand in Luxembourg, to be launched in 2009. Previously she was head of footwear and accessories at Dries Van Noten.
Russell Pinch, Interiors
After graduating from Ravensbourne College of Design, London, Russell Pinch worked as Sir Terence Conran’s design assistant and in 1995 became a senior product designer for the Conran Group. Here he was responsible for developing a diverse range of products for the Conran shops and restaurants and many of the designs for the Conran Collection. After five years with Conran, Russell co-founded The Nest, a multi-disciplinary brand design agency with clients including British Airways, MFI, WHSmith, Rip Curl and Selfridges. In 2004 a return to furniture design beckoned and PINCH, a furniture, product and interior design company, was born. The first collection of furniture was launched at 100% Design, London to great acclaim. Russell was awarded the Blueprint/100% Design Best Newcomer award and the Design & Decoration Furniture Award 2005.
Petra Boase, Interiors
Petra Boase designs and sells an eclectic range of naïve- and vintage-inspired wares, including mugs, lampshades, children’s T-shirts, wall art, greeting cards, knitted bits, stationery, wrapping paper and more. Petra’s products are available from stores internationally and through her online shop www.petraboaseshop.com.
Andrea Trapani, JAA Design, Trends - Illustrations
Specialising in trend research and illustration, Andrea Trapani has enjoyed more than 20 years in the fashion industry as an illustrator, designer and colour consultant. Before moving to the UK he spent 15 years working in Italy for top fashion companies including United Colors of Benetton, Fila, Stefanel and Valentino. His special interest is vintage.
Amanda Macmillan, Trends - Illustrations
Amanda has been working in the fashion industry for over 20 years. After graduating from Trent Polytechnic, Amanda gained a wealth of experience working for both major UK high-street brands and trend forecasting companies such as Topshop, River Island, Next, Design Intelligence, Index and Nigel French. Amanda is currently working on a range of different projects and is art director for Boden Catalogue and does illustration for WGSN Kidswear.
Anne Prahl, Active Sports, Materials
Anne has been working in the sports and leisurewear industry for 20 years as a designer, design manager and, most recently, freelance design consultant, enjoying a challenging and exciting career working for brands in the UK, Hong Kong and Europe. She is currently undertaking the MA for textile futures at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, which will enable her to focus on innovating and developing concepts for sustainable textile design for future implementation in the activewear industry.
Stephen Banks, Active Sports
Norsea Industries’ creative director Stephen Banks has been working in the fashion industry for nearly 20 years, heading up design teams in the US, Europe and Asia.
SabotagePKG, Graphics
A London-based design studio with an exceptional approach to trend and material research, SabotagePKG specialises in packaging and graphics. Experienced in luxury brands, FMCG and food for clients that include Nokia, Hugo Boss, Reckitt Benckiser, Hasbro, La Senza, Tezenis, Intimissimi, The Body Shop and Habitat.
Ros Hibbert, Denim
As an experienced consultant to woven textile and fibre producers, Ros Hibbert’s understanding of fabric and product-related industries has been gained through extensive international practice. Her company Line is a specialist consultancy focused on the area of denim and cotton products. She is also the author of Textile Innovation: Interactive, Contemporary and Traditional Materials, and is a visiting lecturer at UK textile and fashion colleges.
Joanna Sindle, Denim
As an illustrator and design consultant specialising in denim and jeanswear, Jo worked for some of the industry’s most prominent brands including Levi’s, Michiko Koshino, Diesel, Nike and Kuyichi, before starting her own graphic and apparel design consultancy. The Goodhood Consultancy now operates successfully, working for a range of influential global clients and is run together with her lifestyle concept store Goodhood, in London’s Hoxton.
Denise Ford, Think Tank
Denise Ford is a textile consultant and is internationally recognised as an authority on colour, yarn, fabric and lifestyle trends for the apparel, interiors and automotive markets. Throughout her career she has worked with major fibre and fabric companies in Europe, the Far East, Australasia and the US, all with a wide and varied product base. In the 90s Denise formed her own independent design company. Working with international clients she has specialised in design research, forecasting and strategic marketing guidance coupled with technical and creative expertise. Denise is UK-based with a studio in a gallery complex in Hampstead, London.
Zoe Miller, Knitwear
Freelance knitwear designer Zoe Miller is a specialist in developing structural knitted fabrics, using a combination of material and yarn. Zoe uses a variety of knit techniques, strong colour and texture to create fabrics that highlight properties of flexibility and integral form in the creation of bespoke items for fashion and interiors accessories.
Sophie Steller, Knitwear
Located in central London, the Sophie Steller Studio specialises in knitwear designs that combine creativity and commercial viability, offering designs with strong colour, yarn and stitch development. The studio designs for the womenswear, menswear, kidswear and accessories markets.
Gary Rooney and Julia Hinds, Knitwear
Gary Rooney and Julia Hinds produce a portfolio incorporating sophistication with strong creativity. Employing a wide variety of stitch and colour development, the swatches are aimed at the women’s, men’s and interiors markets and utilise all machine gauges, as well as hand-knitting, crochet and swatch dye treatments.
Zinc Design, Knitwear
London-based Zinc Design is a partnership of RCA graduates Donna Payne and Dominique Coiffait, specialising in knit and embroidery. Established in 2000, the company has developed a team of talented designers with clients worldwide and a global reputation.
Nellie Ryan, Kidswear
After graduating with a degree in visual communication, Nellie started her career producing quirky watercolour paintings and then worked as a fashion designer for Jasper Conran for eight years. She has now embarked on a new career as a freelance illustrator, recently writing and illustrating children’s drawing books, Beautiful Doodles and Fabulous Doodles, and working with a wide range of clients such as Penguin, Harper Collins, the BBC and Peugeot. Current projects are the follow-up book Fashion Doodles and illustrations for a series of children’s books with Darcey Bussell.
GLOBAL CONTRIBUTORS
Asia Pacific
Anna Jones, Retail & Events
Hitomi Mitsui, Materials
Kanako Kajihara, Materials
Kate Atkinson, Retail & Events
Kin Liu, Retail & Events, Active Sport
Leeyong Soo, Retail & Events
Shirley Pong, Youth
Veronique Saunier, Business Resource
Victoria Zamora, Youth
Americas
Aaron Tang, Generation Now
Alessio Boni, Womenswear
Bonita Halm, Youth, Kidswear, Active Sports, Denim
Brad McCann, Active Sports, Retail & Events
Flavia Vasconcelos de Mendonça, Intimate/Swim, Think Tank, The Magazine
Lisa Di Napoli, Kidswear, Retail & Events
Mark Wiesmayer, Denim
Pelin Yeter, Retail & Events
Europe
Amber Butchart, Womenswear
Astrid Blake, Intimate/Swim
Becky Turl, Generation Now, Intimate/Swim - Prints
Bernhard Musil, Trends
Coquitto Cassibba, Youth
Craig Thomas, Retail & Events
Dean Mazo Davies, Menswear
Elena Ilicheva, Retail & Events
Fiona Harkin, Think Tank
Fran Hunt, Generation Now, Retail & Events
Geraldine Dormoy, Retail & Events, Trends, Youth & Denim
Guy Dittrich, Think Tank, Retail & Events
Helen Castell, News
Imogen Matthews, Beauty
JAA Design, John Puddephat, Womenswear, and Andrea Trapani, Menswear & Intimate/Swim
Jainy Gans, Generation Now
Janet Hart-Da Silva, Trends, Retail, Beauty
Jasmine Serrieur, Retail & Events
Johan Soderlund, Denim
Johannes Sjoberg, Trends, Retail & Events
Jojo Cook, Active Sport
Josefine Samuelsson, Trends, Retail & Events
Katya Kovtunovich, Retail & Events
Kenzie Burchill, Retail & Events
Liz Miller, Retail & Events, Business Resource
Lucia Giacani, Trends
Mark Tungate, Retail & Events, The Magazine, News
Martin Wuttke, Retail & Events, Trends
Martina Pomponio, Trends, Retail & Events
Melissa Taylor, Materials
Michael Wylie Harris, Youth
Nicky Ashwell, Generation Now
Paula Feferbaum, Retail & Events
Paula Gaviria, Trends, Retail & Events, The Magazine
Rachel Lasebikan, Think Tank
Robb Young, Retail & Events, Business Resource
Ros Hibbert, Retail & Events
Sara Maggioni, Retail & Events
Scott Wright, Youth, Magazine
Sejal Sukhadwala, Think Tank
Sonia Ferrer, Youth
Steve Cook, Footwear & Accessories
Tamsyn Gambell, Materials
Tess Hannam, Kidswear
Tim Jackson, Business Resource
Toby Rayfield, Active Sports