Ms. Ross The truth is that we are all a product of our lived experiences, and you want to feel seen and heard in what you spend your money on as well as have a sense of selfhood. My experience as a C.E.O. with Pattern was that there’s so much data left off the table. And there was a demographic and a vast community and a consumer that was not being tracked appropriately. And so there was no way to actually buy appropriately because there was no data to confirm that these were people who were going to shop. We have to make a conscious effort to look into the consumers and really find out where the gaps are so that they feel seen and heard.
Ms. Wintour The more open and honest and direct you can be, taking responsibility for mistakes that you’ve made and how you intend to improve in the future, is part of the process we’ve all been going. I also feel the Zoom has brought us all together in a different, very humane way, a very open way. That’s the most important thing to me, that we don’t close the door on this time.
Ms. Ross The doors should not be closed. And that is part of a lot of my work with DEI. I always remind people it’s not just diversity and inclusion. It’s diversity, equity and inclusion. And the equity part of it is where fundamental change can occur. It’s how do we change the pipeline? How do we change the access? How do we open those doors and create a space where all of us can be around the table or other tables can be built because the ones that exist don’t actually match the world we live in. I think that’s the responsibility for all of us who have power, who have voices where we can make changes.
Mr. Neves I think the digitalization of the industry has democratized access to audiences and also wallets. This is extremely exciting. Back in 1996, as a designer, I had to convince the department store to have any chance to reach a consumer. Now a designer can come out of Parsons and in six months start selling direct on their own platforms, on Shopify or on Farfetch.
Ms. Wintour If something is well-made and crafted well, it does not necessarily have to be the most expensive. I think over 70 percent of the designers in the Costume Institute exhibition are young designers that represent the future of American fashion. I’m so grateful to Andrew Bolton, the curator at the Met, for really spotlighting that. So I actually feel, speaking particularly from the American point of view, that it has never been more inclusive.
Mr. Neves At Farfetch, we have 3,500 designers. The top 100 are maybe household names and large companies, but the vast majority are new designers and many times, family businesses. We cannot save lives. That’s not what we’re supposed to do or what we can do, but we can save businesses.