Net-a-Porter Backer Launches Couture Lab

Carmen Busquets wasn't the first backer of Net-a-Porter, but for a time she was the largest. Busquets was running a retail business in Argentina before the economic collapse and would mail -- snail mail -- her rich clients photos from the collections. They would tell her what they wanted and then she would place the order, meaning, of course, she took next to no risk. When Natalie Massenet explained her idea of selling clothes online, she got it right away. "I read the business plan on the beach on holiday. I put ticks on the entire thing going 'yes!', 'yes!', 'yes!'" she said. She knew women would buy based on photo alone. Since she also had contacts in the fashion houses (Natalie had been a magazine stylist), she travelled with Natalie to convince designers to come on board. No easy task in 2000.

Now Busquets is launching her own retail site (though she still has a 31 percent stake in Net-a-Porter). It's called Couture Lab and it's a more grown-up, more exclusive version of Net-a-Porter. Everything is sold in very small volumes, limited by the amount of work that goes into each piece. The site is divided typically as Man, Woman, Child, but also by lifestyle, Ethnic, Bohemian, Modern, etc. The designers include Mick Jagger's girlfriend, L'Wren Scott and some personal favorites Duro Olowu and E2. I'm warning you now -- the stuff ain't cheap. But it is lovely.