At first sight, Lauranne’s look is striking. She has DARK HAIR, wears RED LIPSTICK and wears a very stylish pair of BLACK FRAMED GLASSES. She is also FRENCH and exudes that certain je ne sais quoi. Lauranne is the MANAGER of the Scarf Hall in the prestigious LIBERTY store in Oxford Circus. She is known for her styling sessions on the shop floor and is now making a name for herself by offering tutorials on the internet on how to tie your scarf the perfect way. Her look is so distinctive that now Liberty’s press team has even created a caricature of her in their scarf styling guide. PAY ATTENTION! Styling a scarf in the right way is an art!

 

FROM NIMES TO LONDON. 2003. Lauranne moved from Nimes to London. What originally started out as a plan to stay a few months to improve her English and have an experience abroad turned into a love for the nation’s capital and she decided to settle for a while. She built a small network of friends and started working in the catering business.

2007. She decided to pursue her true passion- that of fashion- and attended Westminster College alongside a part time sales assistant job at the high street store Jigsaw.  Here she began to hone her skills, by not only selling but also styling her customers. Seeing her potential, Liberty offered Lauranne a position with them, and challenged her to rejuvenate the Scarf Hall. She developed styling within the department. She built a knowledgeable and capable team. She turned the Scarf Hall into a destination department.

2010. A marketing buzz started to surround the Scarf Hall and Lauranne. “The buyers and I developed an idea….to create short videos on how to style our scarves step by step.” The first videos were filmed as a bit of an experiment. No one would have predicted their success, they have been viewed thousands of times and customers have started to come into the store asking for the famous Lauranne! The styling concept was then developed in three ways- in a scarf photo shoot for Liberty’s own seasonal magazine, a small pull-out guide on how to style a scarf, and the next series of online videos. The videos’ release were timed to coincide with the release of the magazine were filmed on the set of the scarf photo shoot. Click HERE to see them. Sales have sky rocketed and the Scarf Department has migrated from a small corner room  to the heart of Liberty’s store, the most impressive and largest room in the very centre of the store.

A SCARF IS ART. Seeing Lauranne style a scarf, I can really see that styling scarves is an art. She is passionate about her product and has truly mastered styling scarves in an endless number of ways. Her love for scarves started at an early age. She tells me: “I remember my brother used to buy my mother beautiful scarves. She would never wear them, she thought they were too precious. Instead she would frame them to admire on the walls as works of art.”

However now Lauranne laughs: “I would rather wear them myself!”

« RICHARD WESTON is a designer that I love a lot- I like the way he applies his passion about minerals to fashion. His process is to polish rocks, scan them then print it onto fabric. Fashion isn’t his first interest, he’s a professor above all and it is just so refreshing to have found a designer from a different background to many of our other designers. I’ve always liked Weston’s scarves since they first arrived, I fell for both the concept and the beauty of the prints. But since the series ‘The Next Big Thing’ aired the scarves have taken on a national interest! We have had so many requests for it and the stock is flying off the rails. I’m so pleased to witness his success and see that our customers love them as much as I always have done.”

Designed by Richard Weston, Professor of Architecture in Cardiff

 

HER PERSONAL APPROACH : LEARNING BY DOING. Lauranne’s personal approach is to learn by doing. She has character and a strong determined open mind, it’s obvious. Lauranne is a role model and self made woman. Thanks to her positive attitude, Lauranne has been at the helm of the Scarf Hall for two years now. “At first I was scared that my personality didn’t suit a luxury establishment like Liberty but they assured me that my friendly, dynamic and approachable character is what they required to turn around the new Scarf Hall.”

HER MANAGEMENT STYLE.  Lauranne has worked really hard to continue evolving in her role and assessing her management style: “It’s important to me to have a good working relationship with my team members but to always keep it professional. I try to organize events where we can do things together, for example recently I had invitations to a V&A exhibition so I took members of my team. I am very proud of my team and respect each member for their individual strengths.”

HER (SHORT-TERM) PROJECTS. Finally I asked Lauranne what her personal ambitions were. Before joining Liberty, Lauranne dreamt of opening her own vintage shop and customizing key pieces. This is still one of her ambitions but for now everything seems to be going well for the Scarf Guru at Liberty with her own Facebook page and scarves blog in progress and a few fans too! She seems to have found a way to perfectly use her know-how, creativity and that French touch to represent the prestigious Liberty in a fresh and inviting way that has got customers coming back for more.

And last but not least …I asked Lauranne « According to you, what is the major FAULT in a scarf ? »

“As the Manager of the Scarf Hall, I should wear a scarf at all times but when summer comes, it definitely keeps me too warm! That’s my only concern!”

HERE Lauranne, the guru in action for FAULT Blog

ET VOILA.