Women Who Inspire

Across the world, March 8th marks International Women’s Day. A significant date on our calendar, the Lane Crawford team sees it as a great opportunity to champion the achievements of women from around the world in hopes to inspire and empower. These women strive to explore beyond the outermost bounds, daring to expand the horizons of their own industries.

Here, we salute 5 trailblazing women bringing fresh perspectives and new energy to the realms of fashion, poetry, community service, sports, and even social media. Their work creates a revealing portrait of our times while paving the way for a brighter, better future.

Boasting a client list like Dr. Jill Biden, Oprah Winfrey, and Johnny Ive, Gabriela Hearst has gained a loyal following for her luxurious collections, quality craftsmanship, and sincere advocacy for sustainable fashion. Since the launch of her eponymous label in 2015, the designer has continuously pushed the envelope with a forward-thinking approach to reducing waste. Upcycling cashmere, yarn, and fabrics that would have otherwise gone into waste landfills; producing the first ever carbon-neutral runway show; and using the fully compostable plastic packaging alternative TIPA, Hearst proves that sustainability isn’t just a buzzword, it is actionable.

In 2020, Hearst was appointed as Creative Director at Chloe, charged with taking the brand forward as a purpose-driven business model, focusing on values as much as on trends. Her first collection at the fashion house was comparably four times more sustainable than that of the previous year. As Hearst tells Financial Times, “The two things I ask about every decision are: ‘Is this sustainable and environmentally friendly?’ and ‘Is this good for the long-term view?’ Because this is an endurance race.”

The 6'0" former Chinese volleyball player Jenny ‘Iron Hammer’ Lang Ping (郎平) is a legend, having had both a star-studded playing career and coaching stint with the Chinese volleyball national team. Driven by passion, Lang and her former teammates trained tirelessly under strict conditions in the 1980s. They won five consecutive world titles, including the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, catapulting the team to international recognition and dominance.

Lang subsequently retired from the national team, and went on to lead volleyball teams in Asia, Europe and the US, guiding them to win regional and world championships.

In 2013, Lang returned home to coach the Chinese national team with unorthodox training methods, culminating in a spectacular win in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Her strength to fight through hardship under challenging circumstances and willingness to push boundaries as a woman, athlete, and coach are worth celebrating.

23-year-old Amanda Gorman became a household name after delivering “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January last year, a hopeful rhetoric about unity, collaboration and togetherness. On February 7, 2021, she presented “Chorus of the Captains” at the Super Bowl’s pregame ceremony. In the following 11 months, she published three number-one bestselling books, graced the cover of Time in February and Vogue in May, and co-chaired the 2021 Met Gala. The Harvard graduate was also the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate - and has her sights set on running for POTUS in 2036.

Quickly blowing up as a modern style icon, Gorman explained in an interview with Vanity Fair that she hopes to “marshal fashion as a way to say something, while also making sure that the focus is always on the words, on the language, on what is being said" - the goal is never fashion itself. Take her vivid inauguration ensemble for instance, a buttercup yellow coat and red satin headband worn at the fore of her head like a crown - both from luxury fashion house Prada. The outfit's meaningful finishing touch? A ring depicting a caged bird, referencing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, another notable African-American inauguration poet. For Gorman, fashion, however fun or luxurious, is best perceived and utilised as a way “to lean into the history that came before me and all the people supporting me.”

Your grandma has probably never even heard of Instagram, but 93-year-old Helen Ruth van Winkle, more commonly known by her handle @baddiewinkle, boasts 3.4m followers and the bio - Stealing Ur Man Since 1928 - you’re not likely to forget anytime soon. Her journey to superstardom began when her great-granddaughter snapped a pic of her in a tie-dye t-shirt and denim cut-off shorts, posting it on Instagram. Since then, van Winkle has taken to sharing her bold OOTDs - from skin-tight latex mini dresses to rainbow feather boas to hot pink swimsuits with cut-outs and plunging necklines.

Known for her body-positive, anti-ageist messaging breaking the norms of the beauty industry, the carefree rebel is a testament to the fact that you can wear whatever you want no matter your age. Look to her Instagram for inspiration on bright, playful dressing and makeup, and moreover, on humour, confidence, and self-expression.

A respected voice and advocate of social justice, Shalani Mahtani is the granddaughter of George Harilela, older brother to businessman, hotelier, and philanthropist Hari Harilela. Mahtani founded multiple non-profit organisations dedicated to the plight of ethnic minorities: ‘Community Business’ promotes greater diversity and inclusion across companies in Asia; ‘The Zubin Foundation’ – named after her son who tragically passed away in 2009 – provides work opportunities to ethnic minorities; and ‘Call Mira’ – a multi-lingual hotline named after her late mother – provides a safe platform for vulnerable women experiencing abuse and mental health issues and offers tertiary education scholarships for those in need.

A changemaker and non-conformist, Mahtani stepped out of her conservative upbringing, bringing change to ethnic minorities in Hong Kong.