British retailer John Lewis has strengthened its own fashion brands with a landmark recruitment decision. On Monday, the group announced that Queralt Ferrer has been appointed to the newly created post of director of design for fashion. The aim of the appointment is “to support the development and growth of all own brands,” the company said. According to the group, these include the John Lewis & Partners label and the Anyday line, which was launched last year.
Ferrer can look back on a long career in the clothing industry: from 1995 to 2012 she was design director for women’s fashion at the label Massimo Dutti, which belongs to the Spanish Inditex group, after which she spent five years as design director, womenswear, lingerie and beauty, at the British Retail group Marks & Spencer worked. In recent years she has worked as a freelance consultant and designer for the children’s fashion brand Five of Us, which she founded.
Kathleen Mitchell, Commercial Director at John Lewis, explained the strategic rationale for the appointment: “Queralt’s appointment underscores our commitment to further strengthen John Lewis’ design profile and our commitment to invest in our own brands,” she said in a statement. “She brings outstanding, world-class design expertise that will add to the creative energy and talent we already have in our team.”