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| Natalie Massenet | |
|---|---|
| Name | Natalie Massenet |
| Birth date | 1965 |
| Birth place | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation | Fashion entrepreneur, executive, investor |
| Known for | Founder of Net-a-Porter |
| Spouse | Arnaud Massenet (divorced) |
Natalie Massenet is an American-born British fashion entrepreneur, investor, and executive best known as the founder of the luxury e-commerce retailer Net-a-Porter. She has been influential across the fashion, retail, technology, philanthropy, and media sectors, interacting with a wide range of companies, institutions, designers, and investors. Her career links her to global fashion houses, investment firms, cultural organizations, and public figures in the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe.
Massenet was born in Los Angeles and raised in a family with ties to Hollywood, California and France, connecting her early years to transatlantic cultural centers such as Beverly Hills, Paris, Nice, and Cannes. She attended international schools and was exposed to the fashion worlds represented by designers and houses including Christian Dior, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, and Louis Vuitton via family proximity to the French Riviera. Her formative experiences intersected with media outlets such as Vogue (magazine), Elle (magazine), and Harper's Bazaar, as well as retail institutions like Selfridges, Harrods, and Barneys New York.
Massenet began her professional life in fashion journalism and public relations, working with publications and agencies associated with figures and organizations such as Tatler (magazine), British Vogue, WGSN, Condé Nast, Edelman (agency), Burberry, Alexander McQueen, and Vivienne Westwood. Her transition from editorial and PR roles brought her into contact with e-commerce pioneers and technology entrepreneurs at companies like ASOS, eBay, Amazon (company), Google, Apple Inc., and PayPal. She collaborated with designers including Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Prada, Miuccia Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Balenciaga, helping shape digital strategies and online merchandising models that paralleled shifts led by ventures such as Net-a-Porter, Farfetch, Zalando, and Shopbop.
In 2000 Massenet founded Net-a-Porter, an online luxury fashion retailer inspired by glossy magazines and linking couture labels to digital retail platforms, aligning with the trajectories of SilkRoad, YOOX, The Outnet, Matches Fashion, Mr Porter, Moda Operandi, Gilt Groupe, and Zappos. Net-a-Porter partnered with fashion houses including Saint Laurent, Céline, Balmain, Chloé, Hermès, Gucci, Fendi, Celine, Valentino, Lanvin, Alexander Wang, and Isabel Marant and collaborated with editors and stylists from Anna Wintour, Suzy Menkes, Imran Amed, Carine Roitfeld, and Edward Enninful. The business drew investment and commercial interest from institutions and investors such as Ralph Lauren Corporation, Richemont, Kering, LVMH, Silas Capital, Permira, and private equity firms active in luxury retail. Net-a-Porter’s model intersected with logistics and payment providers like DHL (company), FedEx, Stripe (company), Mastercard, and Visa Inc. while engaging technology platforms from Magento to Shopify in later phases. The company’s growth followed broader digital marketplace trends exemplified by Alibaba Group, Taobao, and JD.com.
After stepping back from day-to-day operations, Massenet has taken executive, advisory, and board roles with a wide array of organizations across fashion, technology, finance, and culture, including appointments and relationships with firms and institutions such as Farfetch, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Richemont, Chanel, Harper's Bazaar, Condé Nast, Sony Music Entertainment, Spotify, The British Fashion Council, V&A Museum, Tate Modern, Institute of Contemporary Arts, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Stanford University, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, SoftBank, and venture capital firms like Index Ventures and Balderton Capital. She has advised technology startups and venture funds involved with platforms akin to Instagram, Pinterest, Snap Inc., WhatsApp, and Uber Technologies, bridging creative industries represented by houses and designers such as Swarovski, Cartier, Rolex, Tiffany & Co., and Pandora.
Massenet’s personal connections span international cultural and business circles, including friendships and acquaintances with figures from Hollywood and British royalty, interactions with celebrities like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Victoria Beckham, David Beckham, Sarah Jessica Parker, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and public figures such as Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and politicians encountered through philanthropic and cultural engagements such as Theresa May and Boris Johnson. She has family ties to France and has resided in London, maintaining relationships with education and cultural institutions including Eton College, Oxford University, Cambridge University, and arts organizations like Royal Opera House.
Massenet has been active in philanthropic and cultural patronage, supporting causes and institutions including British Fashion Council, Design Museum, V&A Museum, Tate Britain, Serpentine Galleries, Save the Children, UNICEF, Cancer Research UK, Prince's Trust, Wellcome Trust, The Royal Hospital Chelsea, and fundraising initiatives connected to events like London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Met Gala, and charity auctions benefiting organizations such as Oxfam, Amnesty International, and Red Cross. Her honors and recognitions have placed her alongside recipients of awards from bodies such as Damehood (DBE), OBE, British Fashion Awards, CFDA Awards, Business of Fashion 500, Forbes (magazine), Time (magazine), and listings by The Sunday Times, Financial Times, and The Economist.
Category:British businesspeople Category:Fashion industry people