Debra Lysette Bourne is a communications expert, brand consultant and

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

for diversity in fashion. She co-founded All Walks Beyond The Catwalk, is a brand consultant, a former board director at

Lynne Franks Lynne Joanne Franks (born 16 April 1948) founded a public relations consultancy in the early 1970s and is a communications strategist, writer and spokeswoman on women's issues, sustainability and consumer lifestyles. Early life Franks was ...

PR and Executive Fashion Editor at

Arena Magazine ''Arena'' was a British monthly men's magazine. The magazine was created in 1986 by Nick Logan, who had founded '' The Face'' in 1980, to focus on trends in fashion and entertainment. British graphic designer Neville Brody, who had designed '' ...

and

Arena Homme Plus ''Arena Homme +'' is a fashion magazine for men published biannually since 1994. The first issue was published in Spring/Summer 1994.Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the New Year Honours for services to diversity in the fashion industry.

Lynne Franks PR

At the age of 20, Bourne started working as an intern for leading consumer PR consultancy

(the inspiration behind

Absolutely Fabulous ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...

character, Edwina) before becoming a board director at the age of 27. Clients included

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, ...

Swatch Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the "quartz crisis" of the 1970s and 1980s, in which i ...

, Knickerbox,

Pepe Jeans Pepe Jeans London is a denim and casual wear jeans brand established in the Portobello Road area of London in 1973, and now based in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain. Carlos Ortega was the CEO, and owns more than 20% of the company. History Pepe ...

, Ghost, John Richmond, and

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

All Walks Beyond The Catwalk

Launched during

London Fashion Week London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London twice a year, in February and September. Showcasing over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers, it is one of the 'Big Four' fashion wee ...

in May 2009, when Susan Ringwood, the then chief executive of

Beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

, asked: It was the mix of Bourne's experience in the fashion industry and her longstanding commitment to psychotherapy training that lead her towards developing the idea for All Walks with

Caryn Franklin Caryn Franklin MBE (born 11 January 1959) is a British fashion and identity commentator and visiting professor of diverse selfhood. She was former fashion editor and co-editor of ''i-D'' magazine in the 1980s and long-time presenter of BBC te ...

and

Erin O'Connor Erin O'Connor, MBE (born 9 February 1978) is a British fashion model. Early life O'Connor was born and brought up in Brownhills, West Midlands, where she attended Brownhills Community School. She was brought up Catholic and her father is fro ...

as a campaign vehicle to inspire and empower change in the fashion industry. Before fashion and diversity became hot topics for big business and consumers alike, All Walks shared the vision to encourage the shift towards a more enlightened position, through highlighting the responsibility that the fashion industry had in recognising the psychological impact of its messaging upon the minds of young women and men. Notable collaborators include

William Tempest William Tempest is a British fashion designer. Early life Tempest was born in Crewe, UK, and studied for a National Diploma in Fashion Design & Textiles at Mid Cheshire College. He moved to London at the age of 18 to study at the London Colleg ...

Giles Deacon Giles Deacon (born 1969) is a British fashion designer, Creative Director and Founder of Giles Deacon group, a fashion enterprise. Deacon joined the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Deacon has been known to challenge the traditional ideas of womenswe ...

Vivienne Westwood Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood came to public notice when she m ...

, Hannah Marshall,

David Koma David Komakhidze ( ka, დავით კომახიძე) known as David Koma (stylized as DΛVID KOMΛ) is a Georgian fashion designer based in London, England. Celebrities, including Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Cara Delevingne, Kendal ...

, Jade Parifitt, Mark Fast,

Georgia Hardinge Georgia Victoria Hardinge (born 4 February 1984) is an English fashion designer based in London. Biography The_Honourable#United_Kingdom, The Honourable Georgia Victoria Hardinge was born in London, daughter of List of Old Harrovians, Old Harr ...

, Rankin and

i-D magazine ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue'' art director Terry Jones in 1980. The first issue was published in the for ...

. Bourne was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to diversity in the fashion industry.

References

External links

*
AllWalks

i-D Magazine Coverage

Vogue CoverageDiversity Network Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourne, Debra 1960 births Living people British fashion journalists British women journalists Alumni of Middlesex University Members of the Order of the British Empire