ABOUT ME
I was born in Hong Kong and was raised and educated in the UK before returning to Asia in 2000 as an International Business Management graduate. It was in China that I tripped and fell into the apparel industry. I subsequently lived and worked for over 15 years in China, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
Having spent much of my adult life navigating my way around the intricacies of doing business in Asia, I moved to the Netherlands in 2017. I have since carved out a professional niche where my passion for writing and communication plays a crucial role in how I assist companies across the apparel value chain to manage transformation projects.
I support apparel industry companies, Business Support Organisations and development programmes with project management and by contributing to strategy development, product & service development, market research and content creation.
From my humble beginnings performing QC for small brands in subcontracted Chinese factories, through opening a Merchandising & Sales office in Shanghai for a fabric converter, to creating Sales & Marketing strategies from the Indonesian factory floor of a global garment manufacturer, I have been lucky enough to have a unique window onto the global fashion industry, to work with many of the industry's leading brands and to have some interesting stories to tell.
Through these first-hand experiences, I have gained a thorough understanding of sustainable sourcing best practice and seen the outcomes of CSR policies at grass-roots level. In addition, I have developed a keen commercial acumen as well as in-depth knowledge of the various stages of the product lifecycle from materials processing to delivery of finished product.
The back end of the Fashion industry is cumbersome, disconnected and finding it incredibly hard to keep up with 21st century expectations and advances. As the need for change is increasingly recognised, the integration of new back end technologies and workflows into complex, global supply chains will be the most influential factor in bringing about transformation. That is what makes it such an exciting - and challenging - environment to be working in right now.
What interests me is communities of people and how they are organised and communicate - whether that be on the macro industry level or the micro organisational or team level. I'm interested in the language and process of a sustainable and optimised fashion value chain.
Get in touch for more information on how I might be able to help your business or project.
Leontina (LT)
