Gemma Metheringham

What was your first job in retailing?

Graduate designer at Marks & Spencer.

Which retail company do you admire most and why?

Prada. I find its quality of product breathtaking and its shopfits are consistently beautiful. I love the way it reinvents itself every season. Every collection is different and shifts your mind.

What is the trait you least like in yourself and why?

I can be blinkered about things. Sometimes my first response to ideas is to be protective or defensive. I sometimes need to go away and sleep on it.

Who have you learnt most from in your retail career?

Karen Millen executive chairman Derek Lovelock – he’s guided me in becoming a managing director. He’s such a pragmatist. In a very different way, Karen Millen founder and All Saints chairman Kevin Stanford has also influenced me. He’s uncompromising in his standards.

What advice would you give someone starting out in retail?

You need to be prepared to go that extra mile. You need to have a passion for it. It’s not a nine to five job, you think about it all the time.

What keeps you awake at night?

People. I think of Karen Millen as my family, so I worry about people and whether they’re given the right opportunities.

What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Being out in the design studio and creating the range. I love the creative process.

What’s your proudest achievement?

The fact that we’re trading in 44 countries. We still get excited about every international opening.

What job would you have done if you hadn’t become a retailer?

I would have researched history and, in a dream scenario. I would write some great tome that revealed something enlightening.

What was your last purchase?

A little black dress from Karen Millen. Sorry, but it’s true.