I am honoured and excited to be taking on the role of chairman of the British Fashion Council.

I have donated money to campaigns. And I have been known to take to the street in protest. But I am more committed to my immediate politics than general politics.

Print is at the very, very top in the fashion business - of course it is.

As a woman, I feel it's important to support causes that are important to my core customer, who is also a woman, as well as causes that resonate with me personally.

Britain has the most creative, dynamic and nimble fashion industry in the world.

I always thought I looked kind of like Keith Richards, and sometimes I think I look like Michael Jackson in his mug shot. But as I think Keith Richards is pretty great-looking, I'm embracing that part of me.

Bling is good.

I don't work out but generally I am fit, which is why I don't work out.

I don't have a mentor in the strict definition. I take as much advice and inspiration as I can from the people I am close to.

Brands will increasingly handle their own e-commerce and rely less and less on local distribution partners. Why should they give away their profit margins?

Moving to L.A. when I was 11 was when my entrepreneurialism started because it's the land of the American dream.

Every year I go to the Google Zeitgeist conference, which is invite-only, and I'm one of about 20 women and five fashion people out of the 400 there.

I attend Internet conferences all the time, and they literally make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I love that I love my job, and from what I'm told, that others who I work with do, too.

Audrey Hepburn has influenced me.

When I was a teenager, a psychic told me, 'Your biggest challenge will be life-work balance.' That's certainly turned out to be true!

It's interesting to see how some of the womenswear designers that we have long worked with at Net-A-Porter are developing menswear collections - Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders and Richard Nicoll.

I think there will be an increasing convergence between content and commerce, that it will be about following consumers instead of making consumers come to you, and I am especially excited about the various platforms that will allow more and more access to customers.

Even if I am predisposed to shop online, I see bricks and mortar as part of marketing.

I borrowed a creaky laptop from my husband, went into the web, and never came back.

I've taken the love of fashion from my mother, and journalism from my father.

I attended private Catholic schools in Paris and Los Angeles through high school.

Don't let the American accent fool you. I am British.

I think fashion is actually very good training for being in the tech world, because it's all about moving on to the next thing, looking for the next thing, not getting stuck in the past.

I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with an English literature degree and travelled for a year before going to work.

People ask if I walk around and pinch myself. Yes, I do.

Once you start a business, you have to grow it and grow with it - starting a business is not just for Christmas.

I'm supporting the School for Creative Startups because the project's ambition - to boost innovation and the culture of entrepreneurship - is something I feel strongly about.

Grown-up clothes are more appealing because customers need to be able to project themselves into them.

You can get a slouchy woman's tunic at different price points. But if you want a great pair of trousers or a dress with delicate pleating, you're going to have to spend a little more.

I envision a day when a businesswoman will be having lunch, and then her phone will ring. When she opens it up, she will see an image of the latest Marc Jacobs coat that just arrived in stock. With a click of a button, she can purchase it and then find it waiting for her when she gets back to her office.