Jane Elizabeth Shepherdson

CBE 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 ...

(born 23 August 1961 in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-ea ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

businesswoman. she was the chief executive of UK clothing brand Whistles, and had been the brand director for high-street women's wear store

TopShop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...

. She grew up in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

where her father was head of the mathematics department at the university, and her mother was a biochemist. She was educated at Clifton High School, where she began customising her clothes. She studied Business Studies at the

University of North London The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the No ...

, joining the Burton Group (now the

Arcadia Group Arcadia Group Ltd (formerly Arcadia Group plc and, until 1998, Burton Group plc) was a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London, England. It was best known for being the previous parent company of British Home Stores (BH ...

), after being inspired by her mother's story of a fashion buyer friend. Shepherdson started as a warehouse picker sending stock to stores, and was then promoted to become a buyer in the jersey department. She ordered a shipment of tank tops, of which 500,000 were sold in a week. Her initiatives at TopShop included: *TopShop Freshers' Week party - to attract teenaged customers *TopShop To Go - delivering items from a list of 100 *TopShop Express - fast online motor scooter delivery ''The Times'' quoted her views on the need for speed in introducing fashion in 2006, at TopShop. A week after TopShop owner

Philip Green Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company the Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. As of Ma ...

announced that

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

Kate Moss had signed a deal to design clothes to be launched in 2007, Shepherdson resigned from Topshop, and was producing, unpaid, a fashion chain for Oxfam, aimed at "ethically conscious shoppers". She has hit out at "cheap, cheap" clothes that exploit workers in developing countries, possibly referring to Kate Moss's range. In January 2008 Shepherdson bought a 20 per cent share in Whistles and was appointed chief executive. Shepherdson is married to a criminal defence lawyer, and cycles from their flat in South London to work. She lists her hobbies as running, horse riding, skiing, and shopping. Already a

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), she was appointed

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to UK retail business.2015 New Year Honours List

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherdson, Jane 1963 births Living people Businesspeople from Bristol Alumni of the University of North London English businesspeople in fashion Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Clifton High School, Bristol