Emma Watson has joined the board of French luxury fashion conglomerate Kering.
The actress, who has long been a champion of eco fashion, will take a role on the Board of Directors as Chair of the Sustainability Committee.
The hire represents a major coup for Kering, the parent company of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen among others, at a time when its brands need to demonstrate a commitment to acting more sustainably.
The 30-year-old star is not only a high profile women’s rights advocate and UN goodwill ambassador, but she’s also used her influence to champion sustainable fashion as the face of Good on You app, which rates fashion brands on their ethical and sustainability credentials, and through championing Livia Firth’s Red Carpet Green Dress challenge, by wearing secondhand gowns and designs made from eco fabrics to film premieres and other events. She also recently promoted a collaboration with secondhand clothing website ThredUP to launch a new ‘Fashion Footprint Calculator’ tool.
Hiring Watson will demonstrate to Kering’s customers that the luxury fashion behemoth is committed to making serious and lasting change when it comes to nurturing planet-friendly fashion businesses.
Alongside Watson, the company also appointed Tidjane Thiam, former CEO of Credit Suisse Group and Jean Liu, the president of multi-modal mobile transportation platform Didi Chuxing.
"Their respective knowledge and competences, and the multiplicity of their backgrounds and perspectives will be invaluable additions," Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault said of the appointments.
