Fashion entrepreneur Nicole Farhi wins Lifetime Achievement Award

by Kate Pritchard - Thursday, 12th June 2008 - (2) comments

“I’m sure thousands of women have dreamed of receiving something from Bill Nighy,” joked fashion designer Nicole Farhi as she accepted a gong from the British actor at the Real Business/CBI First Women Awards last night. “But I’m not sure an award from the Confederation of British Industry is quite what they had in mind.”

Born in Nice, trained in Paris, and established in London in the early seventies, Farhi’s collections are known as the iconic “working woman’s weekend wardrobe”.

Last night as she picked up the Lifetime Achievement award, she paid tribute to French Connection founder Stephen Marks, for whom she was principal designer for over a decade: “Anything I have achieved is because of him,” she said. “Few young designers today have the financial and moral support that I was lucky enough to receive.”

The First Women Awards, organised by the CBI and Real Business, celebrated the pioneering contributions of Britain’s businesswomen. The winners included an impressive line-up of female entrepreneurs.

Margaret Manning, founder of London-based digital communications agency Reading Room, picked up the Science and Technology award. Described by the judges as “not just any entrepreneur – but a proven leader”, Manning has built a £7.2m-turnover businesss and plans to take on digital giants such as FTSE 100-listed WPP.

Kelly Hoppen, interior designer and current squeeze of celebrity hairdresser Nicky Clarke, won the Retail & Consumer trophy. She made her first foray into the world of professional interior design when she was just 16 years old and has single-handedly created an £18m-turnover global homeward brand.

“Here’s the funny side: for all these years, I've banked with Lloyds TSB [the sponsors of the evening],” she told the audience. “I must have put at least four of the company's bank managers in The Priory!”

The Property award went to construction veteran Sandi Rhys Jones, the founder of Greenwich-based RhysJones and non-executive director of construction and development company Simons Group.

Presenting her trophy was Baroness Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the House of Commons. “I have some idea of what it’s like to compete in a man’s world,” she said. “We can do it, girls!”

Rhys Jones’ address to the audience was equally inspiring. The self-confessed “compulsive builder” said: “Why should we be housewives when we can be housebuilders?

“Why should we go shopping when we can build whole department stores?”

For more information about the First Women Awards and details of all the winners, click here.

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2 Comments

June 19, 2008 12:47pm
Kate Pritchard Says:

Thanks for your comment, Kathryn. The term “current squeeze” is meant as a conversational reference rather than a derogatory phrase – and it’s certainly not intended to “denigrate women”. We referred to Grant Bovey as “Mr Anthea Turner” on the cover of our November edition! While successful entrepreneurs in their own right, both Liz Hurley and Kelly Hoppen are famous partly because of their celebrity relationships. It does raise an interesting debate of whether women entrepreneurs receive worse press than men. We’d love to hear your views…

June 19, 2008 12:17pm
Kathryn Colas Says:

When will you lot stop denegrating women by referring to them as "the current squeeze" of somebody or other. You used this same phrase in your magazine when describing Liz Hurley presenting an Asian Women of Achievement Award. Your journalistic skills are in the gutter you should be ashamed of yourselves; hailing women entrepreneurs in one breath and slapping them down in another. Deal with it!