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Family before fashion

Contrary to the cold ‘Devil Wears Prada’ ego you may expect Ms. Portas to have as a fashion trade guru, she is headstrong on prioritising parenting over business. She insists on leaving work at 5pm to meet her daughter from school, and she will kick a potential powerbrand client to the curb if it does not respect the sanctity of motherhood. “I didn’t turn up to a meeting with Armani because it was Milo’s [her son] sports day. I didn’t get the job, but I never regret that. You must keep that balance. The people who won’t let you put your kids first, are they the people you want to work with? I don’t think so,” declared mama Mary.

Dramatic career change

Portas’ early aspirations were more thespian than fashion retail. At 18, she joined the ranks of budding actresses at RADA, but her acting training was cut short by the death of her father, only two years after her mother had been struck by fatal meningitis. She exited stage school to become a surrogate parent to her younger brother and switched to the more vocational track of graphics and visual display at Watford School of Art. Recently suggesting that retail should be staged like “the best kind of theater", it appears that Mary’s dabble in dramatics proved fruitful in understanding the landscape of her chosen career path.

Adding slick to Harvey Nicks

Having worked as a window dresser and merchandiser for John Lewis, Harrods and Topshop, a 30-year-old Portas earned her board-level retail stripes when she joined London’s Harvey Nichols department store as Creative Director in 1990. She masterminded the trendsetting ‘Fifth Floor’ bar, enlisted artists to create wow-factor window displays and shipped in big-name labels like Vivienne Westwood to woo new cutting-edge clientele. The results were monumental, and Portas turned the flagging store into a flagship fashion emporium populated with A-list celebrities, fashionistas and aspirational wanabees.

‘Absolutely Fabulous’ idea

One of Mary’s most inspired strategies to position Harvey Nichols at the epicentre of glamour was her collaboration with the 90s hottest Britcom, ‘Absolutely Fabulous’. She granted the show’s writer and star, Jennifer Saunders, access to the store for research and filming in return for a scripted name-check. “Harvey Nicks, sweetie” became a catchphrase of the outrageous ‘Ab Fab’ PR/fashion twosome, Patsy and Eddy, and helped shape the store as a symbol of desirable decadence in the minds of the nation.

Witty one-liners

Sparkling turns of phrases and no-nonsense quips have earned Mary quite a comic reputation, both as a retail columnist for the ‘Telegraph’ newspaper and as TV’s guardian angel of boutiques on the brink of bankruptcy. Priceless Portas comments include complementing Abercrombie & Fitch for being Gap in a nightclub, and wryly asking a retailer who was defending his line in dressing gowns on the grounds of his store being close to a hospital: “So, what else are you selling? Catheters? Drips?”

Personal turnaround

In the late 90s, Mary divorced the father of her children after falling for Melanie Rickey, the Fashion Features Director of ‘Grazia’ magazine. Despite tabloid attempts to sensationalise the story, she was adamant not to let her sexuality overshadow her professional prowess or trash 13 years of happy and sincere wedlock. “I had an amazing marriage. It’s an insult to my great husband and me to say otherwise. He was brilliant. He’s my mate. One of the best things I have achieved is getting through a divorce amicably,” she announced with grace, and silenced any further speculation.

Stress-free philosophy

“Today is the day that you worried about yesterday” is Mary’s motto for life, according to a recent interview with ‘The Mirror’ newspaper. As founder and front person of Yellowdoor (a leading UK brand consultancy steering such heavyweights as Louis Vuitton and Mulberry), it no doubt serves her well in remaining calm in the frantic world of megabrand marketing. And quite frankly, any mantra that stops her precision bob, chiselled cheekbones, killer heels and impeccable choice of couture from buckling under pressure is worthy of being deemed sacred.

Worst and best Portas purchases

Despite being a leading authority on shopping and style, Portas is not too proud to admit to making some dodgy buys in her time. “My biggest mistake was a pair of Terry De Havilland gold platform wedges. That shouldn’t have happened,” she confessed. She rapidly redeemed herself by citing a figure-hugging Claude Montana jersey jacket as her best-ever designer acquisition.

Militant Mary

Sloppy shop service is no-go for Mary, and she is committed to convincing consumers to take a stand and stamp it out. If you want to join her ‘bring back service culture’ crusade, take note of her manifesto. 1. If you don't get good service you are effectively being ripped off. Remember, it's part of the margin built into the ticket price. 2. If you're not being served, walk out. There are few stores selling things that can't be found elsewhere. Shops won't improve their standard of service until their sales figures give them reason to.

Second-hand mission

Portas is currently tailoring the ‘Mary, Queen of Shops’ concept for the charity shop sector. "I want to turn hardworking and dedicated volunteers into clued-up retail experts, their jumble sale stock into must-have collections,” declared Mary about her spin-off series. "At the same time, I intend to radically change consumer shopping habits, and prove that a trip to a local charity outlet can be a fun and rewarding experience." To this end, her top tip to bag a designer bargain is to head to stores in posher postcodes of cities, while out-of-town shops are the best bet for jewelry and classic items.

By Paul Barfoot

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