Fanny Moizant is the co-founder of Vestiaire Collective, a luxury resale website that allows fashion-lovers to buy and sell pre-loved items. Launched from the floor of her Paris apartment in 2009, Vestiaire Collective has become a global phenomenon with community members submitting 4000 new products to be listed every day. Fanny is currently based in Hong Kong, where she oversees the expansion of Vestiaire Collective in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia.
On her typical morning
We wake up quite early in the morning. I have a husband who works in finance so our house is awake around 5.45am. The kids take the school bus at 6.50am. Some days I will go to the office super early, but with Vestiaire headquarters being in Europe, I often have really late meetings and it’s not unusual to finish around 10 or 11pm. On those days I try and pace myself. I basically try to fit in as much family time as I can in the morning.
On her style
I would describe my style as ‘edited’ and also ‘classic with a twist’. In Europe I wore a kind of uniform based on skinny jeans and a sweater in winter, and a t-shirt or shirt in summer time.
I’ve had to adjust for the weather in Hong Kong, because you can completely forget jeans [because of the humidity]. So I do a super-large trouser, like these old Celines in wool. I have a bunch of others in cotton or linen.
On her travel schedule
Right now, I travel three weeks out of every month. It’s really bad. I’m in Paris every month for a week, I’m in Australia a lot, and in and out of Singapore.
On avoiding jet lag
When I moved to Asia 18 months ago I was obsessed with trying to manage jet leg, and I was taking very strong sleeping pills. Now, I try not to fight it. I have one tip: a French cough syrup called Toplexil. My doctor in France gave it to me, and it really works. It’s my new thing.
I’m addicted to being challenged – whether it’s a personal challenge or a professional one
On balancing work and family
It’s very tough. Yesterday my daughter called me and said, ‘Mummy I miss you.’ But I have two things that keep the family grounded. My husband, who also travels a lot, and I are never away for more than two days at the same time. (We have a nanny.) And we talk with the kids as much as possible. But it’s a tough balance.
On what drives her
I’m addicted to being challenged – whether it’s a personal challenge or a professional one. I need to find new, exciting projects to feel alive in a way. Changing roles and changing countries [with Vestiaire] is an exciting part of the business. Maybe one day I’ll be tired but for now I’m still excited.
On managing emails
I’m the worst. I think I get between 200 and 400 emails a day, which is literally impossible. And now, living in Asia, I double up with a lot of Whatsapp and private messaging on Instagram. With my team, I tell them you can WhatsApp me and you can text me but you can forget about me emailing back.
On why maternity leave changed everything
I was really, really happy to stay at home [with the children] for three years. They were 18 months apart and I did fashion school in between the two girls. That period at home gave me the energy – the crazy energy, actually – to build something. And it gave me confidence, actually. I’m a pretty shy person but when you [become a mother] and stop being at the centre of your own life, it kind of puts things in perspective. It did for me, at least. You just care less about other people’s opinions.
I also realised that to take time away from the kids I really needed to feel passionately about what I was going to do. So I decided to create my own job. Vestiaire couldn’t have happened at another period of time for me.
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BY Anna Saunders
Anna is the co-founder of PRIMER. Since interviewing Fanny she now spends inordinate amounts of time scanning Vestiaire for old Celine pants like Fanny's.
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