Vanguards adds luxury fashion experts to team

 Fashion industry professionals from Alexander McQueen, Farfetch, and Bottega Veneta have joined the Budapest-based fashion holding group Vanguards and its portfolio brands. Vanguards is currently focused on growing its luxury segment.

Vanguards, the group behind European fashion labels Nanushka, Aeron and Sunnei, provides its portfolio of brands commercial, financial, and strategic guidance to allow founders to focus on creativity. Vanguards was established in 2020, and from the very beginning, it focused on carefully building a group of professionals with extensive fashion industry experience from all across Europe. The group brought on ex-Kering veterans and a vice president from Tom Ford, now two luxury fashion industry insiders joined the growing Vanguards team.

Candice Fragis, who was appointed as group fashion strategist, is an experienced fashion director and brand consultant with 15 years of experience. Besides launching luxury e-tailer The Outnet, she also worked as fashion and merchandising director at Net-a-Porter and Farfetch. Another addition to the team is Sarah Scalisi-Walsh, who will lead global wholesale. Scalisi-Walsh is an expert in global wholesale, franchise, and merchandising for luxury and lifestyle fashion brands with over 25 years of experience, having worked for world-leading luxury groups to independent companies, including Prada, Armani, Kenzo, Burberry, and Alexander McQueen.

Besides Vanguards, two of its portfolio brands, Nanushka and Aeron, have also welcomed new professionals into their leadership. The group’s flagship brand, Nanushka, has seen major traction in recent years. The label has strengthened its management team by adding William Oliver who joined Nanushka as chief marketing officer. Oliver has worked in various fashion and creatively led businesses over the past 15 years, most recently as global art and brand director for Bottega Veneta, helping to evolve and grow organizations and renew their connection and relevance to ever-evolving audiences. 

Budapest-based Aeron was joined by Veronica D’Souza who will support the brand as responsibility consultant. The fashion expert who launched sustainable Danish label Carcel, will lead a social responsibility strategy that supports the brand’s mission of pioneering sustainability and elevates Aeron into the limelight of the responsibility driven modern luxury segment.