Graduates set to take on digital fashion world

London Business School graduates are set to give fashion leaders like Victoria Beckham a run for her money, with their own e-commerce project.

Victoria Beckham is set to launch her online digital store in the Spring, which will give users a more interactive atmosphere where they can get updates or share and discuss items of clothing and accessories on social networking sites.

Drawing on a similar enthusiasm for the possibilities of e-commerce, former graduates, Cheryl Mainland and Polly McMaster have set up The Fold, which designs, produces and retails clothes for professional women..

The pair left their city jobs to set up the business, which was inspired by their own experiences of dressing for work, according to Polly, who worked in finance and studied at Cambridge University.

Cheryl, who graduated from Harvard University, met Polly at the School, where they were both studying.

On starting The Fold, Polly shares “Cheryl and I really loved fashion but found it difficult dressing for work – it felt really stodgy. Men’s suits have made history for years but women’s suits have always been an afterthought.”

The business hopefuls were thrown in at the deep end, according to Polly, after they both enrolled on the schools' entrepreneurship summer school, where they were able to put their business plans to the test and meet well-known people in their industry who gave advice on the business world.

To read more about The Fold click here.