24HOURS SAR AH RUTSON
Net-a-Porter’s vice president of global buying shares her New York schedule. By Gerald Tan.
5AM It doesn’t matter what time I go to bed – I tend to sleep only around four hours. Even during the weekends! It’s a pain in the neck, actually. It’s never enough. There’s little chance of it going back to how it was, even on vacation. You increase the hours of sleep and then it’s back to work, and the vicious cycle starts again. I’m super fast when it comes to getting dressed. It takes me 15 minutes from start to finish. 5.30AM I always have a bath at night to relax, so the morning shower’s just to wake me up. I don’t get dressed in trends. Yes, I work in fashion, but my style is very natural and I don’t overthink it. My clothes are very chameleon-like and they work hard for me. When you travel as much as I do, you want versatile pieces that you can wear in four or five different ways. I always wear a large men’s watch such as a Rolex because I like that contrast. 6AM I cannot function before I have a cup of English Breakfast tea with three sugars. I have a sweet tooth. I go through five cups of tea a day. It’s not very New Yorker. I live in a corner apartment on the 20th floor with an amazing view of New York – I can see the Empire State building, the Chrysler Building ... even the Statue of Liberty! I look out the window and see what the weather’s like before dressing from the feet up. Shoes are my obsession. I have about 250 pairs all laid out. My life in New York means I walk a lot – the office is just two blocks away and I’m still able to walk in heels. 7.30AM I have a corner office, which means there are lots of windows. I go through some fashion publications, both print and online. I update myself and skim through all the magazines in my free time. I like to have a magazine in my hand because it’s something tangible. I tear things out that interests me. Mornings are spent catching up with London. We’re a tight team in New York. It’s not as big as Net-A-Porter’s headquarters, but intimate, quiet and we get a lot of work done. On an average, I receive 180
emails a day. Everyone wants a piece of
Rutson’s penchant for
structure in fluidity is amplified in this
versatile coat