Introducing Viviane Paraschiv, TableCrowd Ambassador for Fashion

by TableCrowd October 1, 2018 3665 Views

We’re introducing Ambassadors to TableCrowd, who are passionate about their sector or industry.

This means there will be someone with their ear to the ground on the most interesting speakers, as well as a face you’ll recognise at every dinner for that industry. Find out more about Ambassadors here. Our Fashion Ambassador is Viviane Paraschiv. We interviewed her to find out a bit more about her:

Explain what you do in one sentence?

I work on the retail projects being developed in the Farfetch group (Browns and Farfetch), part of them being with Store of the Future tech. My job is about making sure that we integrate the technology and retail concepts in all aspects of the customer experience seamlessly.

What were you doing before your current role?

I was working at Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren on two things: first is customer retention & acquisition strategies and second is on how to implement new digital tools or processes that truly enhance the customer experience before they visit the store, when they’re in the store and after.

What’s your biggest ‘hindsight’ moment?

That your boss and your colleagues are just as important as the company you work for. The people surrounding you can make or break a project. Knowledge can be shared but the mindset is complicated to be taught or changed. Everyone needs to be sharing the same vision especially if you’re working on daring ideas.

What will the next year bring?

A lot of great projects and challenges for sure. The future is always exciting!

1 piece of advice for someone starting out in the fashion sector?

I would advise working on your network slowly but surely. It’s not about how many events you go to, how many business cards you give out or how many contacts on LinkedIn you get, it’s about creating meaningful relationships.

A previous boss once told me that if you get one meeting every week (a coffee, a lunch, drinks, whatever the format) for networking purposes within your company or outside, it’s realistic and will get you where you want to be in the long run. I’ve followed that advice ever since and it’s been very successful.

What are your favourite businesses in your sector?

I would say Farfetch is quite good 😉

In all seriousness, I think there are some startups that are doing some interesting things and disrupting an industry that needs it. If I had to choose one my favourites it would be Depop and Vestiaire Collective for two reasons: they are European businesses helping the fashion industry to be more sustainable and they give the power to the customer.

Why are you passionate about building TableCrowd’s fashion community?

Because I feel that tech is bringing new opportunities to fashion and the industry needs to embrace it right now. Not just sprinkle it on top. It needs to be completely intertwined with the rest of the operations, the way a store works, the way a company works. It’s challenging but exciting at the same time. And people who attend TableCrowd dinners are excited and curious too.

What’s your favourite London restaurant?

As I live in South London, I love Wright Brothers in Battersea. Amazing seafood. And if you go more East where I work then it’s either Homeslice with their XXXL homemade pizzas or On the Bab for delicious Korean food. There’s usually a queue but you don’t end up waiting too long and it’s so worth it!!