I Shop, Therefore I Am: The '90s, Harvey Nicks - and Me

Description:

It's the 1990s: Britpop dominates the charts, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell stare out from the covers of every glossy magazine, and British fashion is ripe for reinvention. Leading the charge is a twenty-something Mary Portas, who has been brought in to revitalise the department store Harvey Nichols, at the time more likely to be associated with dowagers than daring designers.

With department stores in decline and an alpha male leadership team watching closely, the pressure is immense: make it profitable and make it relevant. Mary steps into a world she doesn't fully understand - and at first, it shows. But what seems like vulnerability quickly reveals itself as vision. By the millennium, the store would be renowned for its outrageous, headline-grabbing window displays and patronage by Bolly-swigging duo Patsy and Edina of the iconic sitcom Ab Fab- no longer fusty old Harvey Nichols but Harvey Nicks, daaarling! This is the story of how she did it.

Mary takes us behind the shop window - to the people who kept the show on the road and the early lessons that shaped her career. Told with her trademark wit, grit and candour, readers will see first-hand how, armed only with the blank canvas of a shop window and her own creativity, Mary created an era-defining global brand destination.

A Guardian best book to look forward to in 2025.