Mary Portas

Advance tickets for this event are now available for MLF Get Closer Members to buy. Memberships start at £25 per year - for full details of membership benefits and buying options click HERE. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday 14 August at 10am.

'Britain’s “Queen of Shops” takes us back three decades to her time stalking the floor at Harvey Nichols, at the height of its Ab Fab-inspired cachet’ – Guardian

Join acclaimed author, retail pioneer and innovative businesswoman Mary Portas as she shares the inspiration behind her bold new memoir, I Shop, Therefore I Am: The ‘90s, Harvey Nicks and Me. With her signature wit and no-holds-barred honesty, Mary charts her transformation of Harvey Nichols from a tired department store into a global brand destination.

Mary will discuss how, armed only with the blank canvas of a shop window and her own creativity, she reimagined what luxury and style could be. Hear about the vivid world of ‘90s Britpop and retail, fashion-world revelations, and the highs and lows of a career that shaped the high street. Hosted by Ellah P. Wakatama.

Mary Portas is of the UK’s most prolific businesswomen and creative leaders. A regular on our TV screens, her proudest achievement to date is the creation of twenty-six Mary’s Living & Giving shops for Save the Children. She is the author of Shop Girl, Work Like a Woman and Rebuild: How to thrive in the Kindness Economy.