Behind every fashion product, collection, or storefront, there’s an ambitious designer, buyer, merchandise planner, or wholesale or e-commerce manager who has spent years arming themselves with a unique set of skills. And for every one of these fashion industry experts, there’s an inspiring career journey.
In Style Arcade’s Fashion Career Series, we leverage our passionate network to go beneath the glamour of fashion’s most sought-after roles—and take a seat with the people whose hard work and dedication are shaping the future of retail.
Meet Nicole Smily, a commercial growth leader at the forefront of the fashion industry. Nicole has spent over 20 years scaling founder-led brands globally, including time spent at beloved brands Assembly Label and P.E. Nation. Here, Nicole shares her tech stack non-negotiables, how she handles the industry’s relentless turbulence, and why fashion is at one of its most exciting points yet.
Tell us about your career journey and what led you into the fashion industry.
I’ve built my career helping founder-led businesses scale. Having worked across all aspects of businesses from the ground up, I bring deep experience across finance and operations, global omni-channel markets, brand and marketing, and design and production. This gives me a holistic perspective, allowing me to translate founder vision into strategic growth.
Over time, my focus has centred on the human side of scaling — building leaders, developing high-performing teams, and creating cultures where people have the clarity and confidence to make bold decisions. That's the work I'm most proud of – combining the strategies with the people and organisations I've helped build.
Fashion drew me in because it’s a space where creativity and commerce intersect uniquely, demanding both strategic analytical discipline and creative, bold, and innovative thinking.
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What do you love about your work, and how has your experience played into that?
The moment I love most is when clarity cuts through complexity. When a leadership team suddenly finds alignment, and you can feel the whole organisation shift gear. That's what I build toward in every engagement.
I've spent my career operating at the intersection of creative and commercial, and what that's given me is the ability to move fluidly across the business. I don't just advise from the outside. I immerse myself in the work, understand the dynamics, and support leaders in making decisions they feel genuinely confident in. Watching a leader I've worked with make a bold call and back themselves. Seeing a team unlock a level of performance they didn't think was possible. That's the outcome I'm always working toward — not just the strategy, but the capability and culture that sustains it.
Each brand has unique challenges. What are the biggest differences you’ve experienced in scaling brands?
The biggest differences I’ve seen come from how clearly a brand knows who it is and what it stands for. In an oversaturated market, authenticity is what separates successful businesses from the rest. Scaling a brand effectively starts with a clear North Star—a guiding set of values that informs every decision, from product and marketing to team culture.
I focus on building businesses and teams around those core values, mentoring leaders and teams to operate with clarity and purpose. When a team understands the brand’s “why” and is aligned to a common vision, they make better decisions, move faster, and innovate more confidently. For me, scaling isn’t just about numbers—it’s about creating a culture and organisation that lives the brand’s values at every level, ensuring long-term success.
What are your non-negotiables for a fashion tech stack?
One source of truth. Everything else builds from there. Real-time visibility and integrated systems with AI-powered support aren't competitive advantages anymore — they're the baseline for operating at speed and will become visible in their margins and their customer experience.
Beyond AI, I think we'll see a meaningful shift toward tools that connect content, commerce, and community in real time.
The separation between inspiration and transaction is collapsing, and the brands best positioned are the ones whose tech stack reflects that — not just in their consumer experience, but in how their internal teams make decisions.
The fashion industry often deals with setbacks and disruption. How do you help your team navigate turbulent times?
When everything feels uncertain, the leader's job is to be the steadiest person in the room. Calmness is a strategy.
In practice, that means radical clarity on priorities — stripping back to the two or three things that truly matter right now and protecting the team's focus relentlessly. It means communicating honestly and often, even when you don't have all the answers. And it means creating enough psychological safety that people can do their best thinking under pressure, rather than retreating into survival mode.
I've led and supported teams through significant disruption: global market contractions, structural pivots, external shocks. What I've learned is that people need a leader who doesn't flinch, tells the truth, and keeps moving forward. That combination of commercial rigour and emotional steadiness is what I bring when things get hard.
How do you personally stay creative or motivated when managing at scale?
Architecture, art, interiors, fashion, food, travel — I'm constantly absorbing from the worlds I've been very fortunate enough to work across, live in and travel. Creativity isn't a mode I switch into — it's how I move through the world.
I am deeply curious and obsessed with learning. I bring a genuinely cross-category lens to everything I do, having operated across fashion, interiors, lifestyle, and beauty. The threads between these worlds —how people live, how they want to feel, what they choose — inform how I think about brand, experience, and culture.
At scale, what keeps me motivated is the human outcomes. Watching someone grow into a leader they didn't know they could be. Seeing a team find their rhythm and start to back themselves. That's what sustains me through the complexity.
Tell us about your work with Thread Together.
I first connected with Anthony and Andie from Thread Together during the summer fires in NSW in December 2019, and I arranged a mass donation of clothing to support those affected. From there, we developed an ongoing friendship and partnership that included donations, team volunteering at Thread Together, and my own personal time providing business advice as they scaled.
Over the years, I’ve continued this relationship, partnering with Thread Together with other brands to amplify their impact. For me, business with purpose and giving back isn’t just important—it’s essential. Supporting initiatives like Thread Together allows me to combine my commercial experience with social impact. Having grown up overseas, in a country where waste is a privilege, I feel very strongly about providing for those in need and providing the dignity that they deserve.
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What do you think needs to change in fashion right now?
Fashion is at one of its most exciting inflection points — and the brands that will define the next decade are the ones leaning into that with both ambition and integrity.
For me, the greatest opportunity is closing the distance between the promise and the experience. The brands that build the kind of loyalty that no marketing budget can manufacture. That starts with leadership, culture, and courage.
At the same time, the pace of technological change is creating a real opportunity for organisations willing to invest in their people alongside their platforms. AI is reshaping how fashion businesses operate, and the ones who will lead are those building teams that can work fluidly with new tools — not just adopt them.
Fashion has always been about how it makes people feel. The opportunity now is to pursue that with more discipline, more honesty, and more humanity than ever before.
Do you have any fashion or retail tech predictions for the year ahead?
AI will continue to be the most transformative force in the industry, and brands need to understand not just the technology itself, but which AI systems will be most effective for their teams, and how to integrate them seamlessly into workflows.
Brands will need to embrace agility, keeping up with rapid innovation cycles while supporting their teams through steep learning curves. This includes upskilling people to make the most of new systems, balancing technology adoption with human insight, and maintaining a culture that thrives through change.
From my perspective, the brands that will truly succeed are those that combine strategic foresight, operational excellence, and empowered teams, using technology not just for speed or scale, but to enhance creativity, customer experience, and long-term brand value.
What advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your footsteps in the fashion industry?
My advice is to approach every opportunity with curiosity, energy, and a relentless desire to learn. From the very start, I put my hand up for everything—immersing myself in every part of the business. Growth comes from the combination of hard work, hands-on experience, and stepping outside your comfort zone.
Most importantly, lead with people-first principles. I’ve always sought to balance IQ with EQ, leading with vulnerability, honesty, and empathy. Mentor teams, empower leaders, and cultivate empathy and accountability. Success comes from driving measurable outcomes while inspiring and developing the people around you.
