The collection is decided in the creative room. Whether it makes money is decided in mine.

As an independent merchandising and planning consultant for contemporary fashion brands, I work across the full commercial arc - collection briefs, range architecture, planning & trading frameworks, inventory strategy - so the business behind the brand is as strong as the product.

15 years at Burberry, Toteme, Puma, Nanushka, Swarovski and Pandora - most recently Director of Planning for EMEA at SKIMS.

work with me
work with me

Sound familiar?

If any of these sound like your brand, we should talk.

  • I rebuild the buy framework so the next season starts with a plan that reflects reality, not optimism.

  • I sit between the two — translating creative intent into commercial structure, and back again.

  • I build the function from scratch — tools, processes, team, and operating cadence.

  • I redesign the replenishment and allocation strategy to keep the right product available at full price.

  • I develop the channel and market strategy so each new door gets the right product, not just a copy of home.

  • I cover interim mandates at Director and CMO level — embedded from week one, no ramp-up required.

Latest on the blog

Blog
Most fashion brands report on their season. The best ones trade it.
Petra Kovacs
Most fashion brands report on their season. The best ones trade it.
Petra Kovacs

Most fashion brands invest enormous energy in planning and buying. And then the season starts, and they stop actively managing what they've built. They report on it, review it, and express concern about it. But they don't trade it. This post covers the three things that separate brands that trade from brands that just report: the weekly discipline, the KPIs that actually matter, and the mindset that makes in-season decisions fast enough to matter.

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Petra Kovacs
How to build a merchandising function from scratch
Petra Kovacs
How to build a merchandising function from scratch
Petra Kovacs

Most fashion brands build their merchandising function too late. By the time the problem is obvious: excess stock, broken size ratios, a buy that doesn't reflect what's actually selling, the damage is already done. This is the practical guide to building a merchandising function from scratch: the four stages, who to hire first and why, what tools you actually need, and the most common mistakes that set brands back by a season or more.

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Petra Kovacs
The engine nobody talks about: why the commercial side of fashion deserves more than a back seat
Petra Kovacs
The engine nobody talks about: why the commercial side of fashion deserves more than a back seat
Petra Kovacs

The commercial side of fashion (merchandising, planning, inventory strategy) is still treated in many businesses as a back-office function. The engine that keeps everything running, but not the thing anyone wants to talk about. After 15 years and six brands, I think that's a mistake. This post makes the case for why creative vision and commercial discipline aren't in competition, why the balance between them is harder to get right than most brands admit, and what it actually costs when the commercial side doesn't get the investment it deserves.

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Petra Kovacs
Who really decides what fashion looks like? The case for collection merchandising
Petra Kovacs
Who really decides what fashion looks like? The case for collection merchandising
Petra Kovacs

Fashion editors are influential, but they work with what's already been made. The collection was built before they saw it. The person who decided which silhouettes to develop, which categories to invest in, and which styles to produce in volume is the collection merchandiser. This post makes the case for why collection merchandising is one of the most powerful - and least talked about - forces shaping what fashion actually looks like.

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Petra Kovacs