Industry Wisdom with Joanna Binder and Gwendoline Brosio
A profound conversation with two custodians who embody both the inheritance and urgent transformation of the luxury fashion world.
Joanna Binder
Board & Business Advisor, Luxury, Fashion, Arts, Interiors, Sustainability
Gwendoline Brosio
Fashion Design Consultant | Apparel Design, Luxury Sustainability
"After decades in the business, I've learned: leadership is about being open, building trust, and truly listening – especially amid change."
"I see myself in a dual role – guardian of both craft and the planet. That is what stewardship truly means to me."
Honouring the Custodians of Craft
Within the walls of the Custodian Circles™ lies a profound ambition: to honour the artisans, the original thinkers, and the boundary-breakers who keep their industries alive and evolving. In its inaugural conversations, the Circle welcomes two exemplars of this ethos - Joanna Binder and Gwendoline Brosio - whose insights embody both the inheritance and the urgent transformation of the luxury fashion world.
Reimagining Luxury in the 21st Century
"Passing on the knowledge…I've now acquired through years in the industry is as much about craftsmanship as it is about protecting the planet," Brosio reflects, her path winding from formative years in Paris's design studios to the high-velocity world of London luxury. For her, sustainability is not a corporate slogan - it is earned through hands-on practice and the continual reimagining of what luxury means in the 21st century. "When I started, we weren't speaking about sustainability. Today, it's absolutely major. Guardianship means embedding those values in new generations and defending them fiercely."
"The way the industry has grown over 25-30 years is simply unsustainable," adds Binder, whose authority spans the creative-commercial bridge - launching designer stores, leading at Burberry during its reinvention, and now guiding brands and startups as a board advisor. "Fast fashion's relentless pace is not just unsustainable for the ecosystem but for creative teams and business models. Systemic change can only happen if the industry's biggest names make brave, bold moves to lead the way. Small brands alone can't pivot the iceberg."
First Memories of Fashion
"My first memory of fashion? My grandmother's hand-made dresses, each more exquisite than the last," Brosio confides, recalling childhood afternoons transformed by luxury fabrics and Vogue magazines. This early immersion in quality left its mark: "The sensory experience - the drape, the smell, the silhouette - these are what teach us why materiality and make matter."
Binder's story is equally tactile: "A glamorous, artistic sister dressed me up, letting me experience clothing's power to give confidence, to become someone else. Clothing gave me a voice - and made me fall in love with this world."
"The sensory experience - the drape, the smell, the silhouette - these are what teach us why materiality and make matter."
Building Trust and Shared Growth
Mentorship—formal and informal—stands as a recurrent theme. "Helping people through imposter syndrome, building confidence, and ensuring leadership is truly open-door—the most effective mentorship happens when trust is mutual, and growth is shared," Binder reflects.
"You learn by working with, observing, and staying curious," Brosio insists, emphasising that guidance happens in the everyday act of showing up, sharing skills, and allowing others to watch how you work.
Creative Levers, Not Threats
Technology and cultural transition are recast not as threats but as creative levers. Brosio enthusiastically sees AI as a "co-pilot in design, never a replacement." Her recent forays into AI-powered 3D visualisation have already streamlined communications with colleagues - "you can render what's in your head instantly, making the whole chain - from factories to marketing - more efficient."
But she is unequivocal: "AI is only as good as its human guidance. Real creativity cannot be automated."
"AI is only as good as its human guidance. Real creativity cannot be automated."
Forged Under Pressure
Leadership, the women agree, is forged under pressure. "When you consider legacy, it's not only about what you create, but the values you instil in others - honesty, stewardship, continuity," Binder reflects.
Brosio concurs: "Our hope is to improve the industry - making it more inclusive, more human, more beautiful. That, I believe, is the legacy worth fighting for."
Provoke, Don't Just Reflect
The Custodian Circle thus aspires not just to reflect or seduce, but to provoke. As Brosio proposes: "Universities should integrate year-long industry placements, giving students a full, practical view. Let them run a store, oversee the whole process. Only then do they really learn."
Binder, too, insists on the value of genuine collaboration: "The best ideas often come from unexpected voices - if and only if we are willing to listen deeply."
In a world driven by cycles of novelty and the pressure for double-digit growth, both experts urge a shift towards mindful consumption, intergenerational mentorship, and systemic restructuring that balances business and cultural stewardship.
Both Gwen and Joanna agree: the enduring legacy of a career is measured not just in collections or accolades, but in the people whose lives you change, the values you nurture, and the courage you inspire.
"If the fashion god meets me at heaven's gate, I hope to hear: 'You moved the needle towards the right direction, however little,'" Brosio ends thoughtfully. Our Custodian Circle is a growing tribute to leaders, artisans, and thinkers like Gwen and Joanna, whose wisdom lights the way for tomorrow's custodians of culture and craft.
Interview and editorial: Arra and Partners (SRCD) Ltd
Joanna Binder: Board & Business Advisor, Luxury, Fashion, Arts, Interiors, Sustainability
Gwendoline Brosio: Fashion Design Consultant | Apparel Design, Luxury Sustainability
