Young, female, Asian ... Fashion is finally diversifying as global leaders, including Gucci and Chloe’s owners, get Chinese females executives on board – at last

Ten years ago, a standard executive boardroom at a top luxury company would mostly consist of white men. But in recent years, fashion’s lack of diversity in relation to race, gender and body representation has come under fire. The global luxury industry’s external marketing, imagery and messaging have a long way to go in this regard, and internally, it has struggled to put diverse faces into executive positions of power.

But as new plus-size and black markets continue to grow and China gains in economic power, the current lack of racial and gender diversity within many luxury company executive boardrooms has rendered those companies powerless to connect with a different range of communities.

Recently, pivotal appointments have signalled that companies are trying to remedy the disconnect between their leadership and consumer demand. Notably in the Chinese market, several trailblazing female leaders have started to break through that predominately white and male-dominated executive culture by earning a seat at some of the industry’s most impressive luxury board tables.

Earlier in July, Judy Liu was appointed executive board member of the e-commerce fashion platform Farfetch after serving as the company’s managing director in China. She will manage multiple cross-functioning departments, including marketing, operations, and products.

With over 15 years of relevant experience, Liu’s insights into business development, digital marketing and the changing e-commerce ecosystem should be a valuable asset in Farfetch’s growth plan for China. “This is a great responsibility the board and our founder Jose Neves is giving me,” Liu said. “It shows Farfetch’s commitment to the China market and the importance of the Chinese consumer in the luxury industry.”